Ozymandian Red. Ipomoea hederifolia, Scarlet Creeper, Shaffy's Tuin, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
In Shaffy's Garden the other day, I came upon this wonderful Scarlet Creeper, Ipomoea hederifolia, also called Mexican Scarlet Creeper or Mexican Morning Glory and a variety of other 'red' names. Those vernacular names are applied to a range of Ipomoeas: quamoclit, coccinea (as you might imagine), hederifolia. Each of these Ipomoeas is distinguished from the others on closer examination. Thus there's a range of red shades, and also the corollas ('throats') vary from light - even yellowish - to the same scarlet as the petals. They are also distinguished by different foliage, e.d quamoclit's looks a bit like that of pines, hederifolia's like that of ivy. Incidentally, I once saw a marvelous 'quamoclit' near Darwin in northern Australia.
You might ask: whence 'Ozymandian Red'? Well, the place I saw this Scarlet Creeper is called Shaffy's Garden, named for the Dutch singer Ramses Shaffy (1933-2009), whose boat was moored next to it. His name reminds of Ramses II the Great, Egyptian farao (1303-1213 BCE). Apparently that Great Ancestor had red hair! His name in Greek was Ozymandias, and I liked an adjectival form of this word better than of Ramses...
Ozymandian Red. Ipomoea hederifolia, Scarlet Creeper, Shaffy's Tuin, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
In Shaffy's Garden the other day, I came upon this wonderful Scarlet Creeper, Ipomoea hederifolia, also called Mexican Scarlet Creeper or Mexican Morning Glory and a variety of other 'red' names. Those vernacular names are applied to a range of Ipomoeas: quamoclit, coccinea (as you might imagine), hederifolia. Each of these Ipomoeas is distinguished from the others on closer examination. Thus there's a range of red shades, and also the corollas ('throats') vary from light - even yellowish - to the same scarlet as the petals. They are also distinguished by different foliage, e.d quamoclit's looks a bit like that of pines, hederifolia's like that of ivy. Incidentally, I once saw a marvelous 'quamoclit' near Darwin in northern Australia.
You might ask: whence 'Ozymandian Red'? Well, the place I saw this Scarlet Creeper is called Shaffy's Garden, named for the Dutch singer Ramses Shaffy (1933-2009), whose boat was moored next to it. His name reminds of Ramses II the Great, Egyptian farao (1303-1213 BCE). Apparently that Great Ancestor had red hair! His name in Greek was Ozymandias, and I liked an adjectival form of this word better than of Ramses...