#silk floss tree

3.1.21 - silk-floss and chinotto oranges

Just some weird & wonderful plants doing cool stuff:

A native of Australia, fiery red blooms emerge from this Eucalyptus macrocarpa after its tiny pointed cap (known as a calyx) pops off. See it blooming in the Australia Garden.

You can’t miss the brilliant turquoise flowers and hot pink stalks produced by the Puya—see three different varieties ( Puya alpestris, Puya venusta, and Puya coerulea var. violacea) blooming now in the Desert Garden.

Did you know that cool spring weather can affect the shape of rose petals? In varieties like ‘Mellow Yellow’ and ‘Easy Does It II,’ found in our Rose Garden, the flowers produce frilly petals only during the first bloom cycle of early spring.

Chorisia insignis, also known as the silk floss tree, palo borracho, samu'ũ, paineira, or toborochi, is native to Argentina and part of the baobab family. After flowering in the winter, it disperses seeds within balls of fluffy, fibrous matter, similar to wool or cotton. See it fluffing near the Huntington Art Gallery.