Hello Friends and Family,

UCSC Arboretum, Part 2

Link to this year's index by clicking here.

We start this week with a closeup of a Pincushion Protea (Leucospermum cordifolium) with multiple colors enhancing its beauty. As you may recall, Protea are native to South Africa. Life is good when it's full of Protea.



Competing in this beauty contest is another variety of Pincushion Protea (also Leucospermum cordifolium) but with mostly red coloration. It's hard to choose which variety is the most beautiful.



One blossom is beautiful but an entire pincushion Protea plant (Leucospermum cordifolium) exhibiting a multitude of gorgeous blossoms? It takes your breath away.



Here we encounter a different type of plant, a Hummingbird Heath (Erica speciosa), native to South Africa. As you might guess by its common name, this flower attracts hummingbirds.



A close relative to the precious plant is the Golden Heath (Erica grandiflora) also native to South Africa. I love the flowers that have a gradient coloration from orange to red on each tubular blossom. They are pollinated by nectar-feeding birds such as Sun-birds which insert their long beaks all the way to the base of the blossoms. The bird is rewarded with nectar and the flower gets pollinated.



Here is a Tree Pincushion Protea (Leucospermum conocarpodendron) which is the largest Protea species, growing to a height of 16 to 20 feet. As you might expect, this species is also native to South Africa.



This unusual plant is a form of Protea, a Natal Spear-leaf Cone-brush (Leucadendron spissifolium) also from South Africa. I find the flowers to be quite unusual with a center (actually a seed head) that resembles a pineapple.



I shared a previous photo of a Rocket Pincushion (with a red flower-head) and this is another variety, the Yellow Rocket Pincushion (Leucospermum reflexum var. luteum) also from South Africa. It is also distinguished by gray-green leaves.



Next up is another closeup of the flower-head of a Pincushion Protea (Leucospermum cordifolium). The complex structure of the blossom is extraordinary. I also note the small "beads" on the ends of the leaves — quite unusual. Mother Nature is an extremely imaginative artist.



Here we see another closer view of a Tree Pincushion Protea (Leucospermum conocarpodendron). Boy, would I ever love to have one of these growing in my yard. If I lived in Hawai‘i, I could probably arrange that — another reason to move to paradise.



This is a most unusual flowering plant, a Tall Kangaroo Paw (Anigozanthos flavidus) native to Southwest Australia. Interestingly, I can see the resemblance of the flowers to a kangaroo's paw — the name is very fitting. Nectar-loving birds are the primary pollinators, inserting their beaks into the tubular flower to drink the nectar at the bottom. Each plant may produce up to 350 flowers on as many as 10 long stems.



To be continued...

Life is good.

Aloha,
B. David

P. S., All photos and text © B. David Cathell Photography, Inc. — www.bdavidcathell.com