A Flash of Red in the Forest. Ipomoea quamoclit, Cardinal Vine, Casuarina Coastal Reserve, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia
From Dripstone Park you have two main ways to go to the mouth of Sandy Creek (see my previous Mangrove photo) and on to Lee Point. You can traipse along the beach in a Full and Glorious Sun or there's the way through the Casuarina Forest where there are deep shades and during 'the Dry' crackling leaves and dried grass. Lots of dark greens, leathery leaves, browns and greys. And then suddenly in a patch of sunlight a bit of bright greenery on a slightly damp underground.
Of course, I went to look, sidestepping a dead snake on the side of the track and a squashed toad - victims of four-wheel vehicles, I would think. There in that bright green grass I saw a few twistings of the Cardinal Vine, Ipomoea quamoclit, with surprisingly smallish but very red flowers. The word 'cardinal' is quite appropriate.
Ipomoea (Creeping Stem) quamoclit (Botanical Latin derived from the Aztec Nahuatl) occurs in most tropical environs. In Northern Australia it is said to have been naturalised from India. Others classify it as a weed that was introduced into Australia as an ornamental. Whatever the case, its beauty made my afternoon...
A Flash of Red in the Forest. Ipomoea quamoclit, Cardinal Vine, Casuarina Coastal Reserve, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia
From Dripstone Park you have two main ways to go to the mouth of Sandy Creek (see my previous Mangrove photo) and on to Lee Point. You can traipse along the beach in a Full and Glorious Sun or there's the way through the Casuarina Forest where there are deep shades and during 'the Dry' crackling leaves and dried grass. Lots of dark greens, leathery leaves, browns and greys. And then suddenly in a patch of sunlight a bit of bright greenery on a slightly damp underground.
Of course, I went to look, sidestepping a dead snake on the side of the track and a squashed toad - victims of four-wheel vehicles, I would think. There in that bright green grass I saw a few twistings of the Cardinal Vine, Ipomoea quamoclit, with surprisingly smallish but very red flowers. The word 'cardinal' is quite appropriate.
Ipomoea (Creeping Stem) quamoclit (Botanical Latin derived from the Aztec Nahuatl) occurs in most tropical environs. In Northern Australia it is said to have been naturalised from India. Others classify it as a weed that was introduced into Australia as an ornamental. Whatever the case, its beauty made my afternoon...