View allAll Photos Tagged Prostrate
Introduced, warm season, perennial, prostrate herb to 60 cm tall. Leaves and stems are hairy with glandular and non-glandular hairs. Leaves are alternate, lanceolate, deeply veined and stem clasping. Blue to mauve tubular flowers (with yellow stamens and throat) arranged caterpillar-like in 2 rows on one side of the flowering stem (scirpoid cyme). Flowers most of the year, but not in winter in southern areas. Grows on a wide range of soil types. Predominantly in areas that receive at least 50% of average annual rainfall in summer. It is mostly a problem of run down pasture and disturbed areas such as cropping paddocks, roadsides and waste land. Regenerates from seed and vegetatively from pieces of plant and roots. It is spread by water, fur of animals and in the gut of animals. A weed which is toxic to animals, quite invasive and difficult to control. Causes chronic liver damage in cattle, sheep and horses; can be fatal. Cultivation encourages its spread by stimulating germination and regrowth of plant parts. Management requires an integrated approach including herbicides, productive pasture, grazing management and biological control. There has only been one biological control agent released in Australia, the blue heliotrope leaf-beetle. At high densities, leaf-beetles can completely defoliate blue heliotrope, with both the larvae and adults feeding on the leaves.
This is an illuminated and illustrated Timurid copy of the Khamsah of Niẓāmī Ganjavī (d. 605 AH / 1209 CE), completed in 886 AH / 1481 CE. The text is written in black nastaʿlīq script with chapter/section headings in red. Illuminated headings written in a foliated New Abbasid (broken cursive) style in white ink on a blue background with polychrome decoration introduce the poems of the Khamsah (fols. 26b, 97a, 146b, and 202b). (The beginning of Makhzan al-asrār is now missing). There are sixty illustrations. The reddish brown leather binding dates to the thirteenth century AH / nineteenth CE. Majnūn lies prostrate at Laylá’s tomb.
To explore fully digitized manuscripts with a virtual page-turning application, please visit Walters Ex Libris.
Introduced, warm-season, perennial, prostrate to erect, woody herb or shrub to 1 m tall. Stems are reddish, hairless, with weak opposite longitudinal ridges; they arise from rhizomes or woody crowns. Leaves are opposite, sessile, hairless, to 3 cm long and have many translucent dots (oil glands) that are easily seen when held to the light. Flowerheads are panicles or corymbose cymes. Flowers are numerous and 15-20 mm wide. Petals are yellow and have black glands on their edges. Styles are 3-branched. Fruit are sticky 3-valved capsules, 5 to 10 mm long. Flowers in late spring and summer. Found in neglected pastures, sparse bushland and disturbed areas. Tiny seeds spread by water and in soil, hay and livestock. Sticky fruits adhere to animals; long runners spread from crowns. Causes photosensitisation and numerous other disorders in livestock; animals tend to recover once removed. Established plants are very competitive and are best controlled by herbicides or, if suitable, by cultivation. Introduced insect (Chrysolina beetles) and mite (St John’s wort mite ) predators provide good levels of control in many areas. Promote dense, healthy pastures to compete with seedlings, which are not robust.
Introduced, warm season, perennial, prostrate herb to 60 cm tall. Leaves and stems are hairy with glandular and non-glandular hairs. Leaves are alternate, lanceolate, deeply veined and stem clasping. Blue to mauve tubular flowers (with yellow stamens and throat) arranged caterpillar-like in 2 rows on one side of the flowering stem (scirpoid cyme). Flowers most of the year, but not in winter in southern areas. Grows on a wide range of soil types. Predominantly in areas that receive at least 50% of average annual rainfall in summer. It is mostly a problem of run down pasture and disturbed areas such as cropping paddocks, roadsides and waste land. Regenerates from seed and vegetatively from pieces of plant and roots. It is spread by water, fur of animals and in the gut of animals. A weed which is toxic to animals, quite invasive and difficult to control. Causes chronic liver damage in cattle, sheep and horses; can be fatal. Cultivation encourages its spread by stimulating germination and regrowth of plant parts. Management requires an integrated approach including herbicides, productive pasture, grazing management and biological control. There has only been one biological control agent released in Australia, the blue heliotrope leaf-beetle. At high densities, leaf-beetles can completely defoliate blue heliotrope, with both the larvae and adults feeding on the leaves.
Introduced, warm-season, perennial, prostrate legume, with rhizomes and usually less than 15 cm tall. Stems are hollow. Leaves have 5 leaflets, which are ovate to obovate, to 25 mm long and with long marginal hairs. Flowerheads are clusters of 8-14 yellow flowers (10-12 mm long) on the end of unbranched stalks. Pods are long and cylindrical. Flowering is from late summer to autumn.
A native of Europe and North Africa, it is sown and naturalized in high rainfall areas and on wet and waterlogged soils. It is tolerant of acid low-fertility soils. Seed is now difficult to obtain. Usually slow to establish, but will tolerate grass competition after 2-3 years. Can grow under low fertility conditions, but is responsive to increased phosphorus. Tends to die off in patches in hot, dry conditions; reshoot when conditions are favourable. Tolerant of wet conditions, but does not survive prolonged flooding. Low bloat risk. High tannin in some varieties can cause periods of lower palatability, but this can reduce overgrazing and help persistence. More tolerant of grazing than Lotus corniculatus, but some leaf should remain after grazing. Provide some rest in autumn to aid seed set and spread, but conditions may not be suitable every year for seed set.
The township's iconic water tower snapped on the evening of Saturday, 3 September 2016.
The water tower was constructed in 1923 and still provides pressurised water distribution for Foxton.
Foxton's water tower now stands out from the dark beside State Highway 1 with its new colourful lighting.
Viewed illuminated in blue lighting for the "Blue September" campaign that challenges Kiwi men to get themselves checked out for prostrate cancer - a blood test is all it takes.
NEW LIGHTING DISPLAY INSTALLED FOR FOXTON WATER TOWER
Thursday, September 1, 2016
Foxton's landmark water tower is now a beacon of light.
Evenings in Foxton will now be be lit by the glowing beacon of the town's water tower, newly kitted out with a gleaming multi-coloured light display.
The $35,000 LED lighting rig is set up for a one hour cycle of changing colour displays, turning the industrial concrete water tower to bright multicoloured hues, overlooking the town's Main St.
It was launched at a small ceremony on Wednesday night, by members of the Foxton Rotary Club, who have driven the project, and political backers.
The lights are intended to boost the town's profile, entice travellers to spend some time, and to mark the seasons, club president Chrissy Pedersen said.
"It has 18 programs, we've already set it up to be green for St Patrick's day, pink for breast cancer week, and it'll have it's own sequence for Christmas."
"The lights that were here were old and needed to be replaced, and the water tower is an emblem of our town. Now it's a really big beacon."
Fifth generation Foxton resident Samantha Hatsell said she often walked in Seaview Gardens, which surround the tower, and planned to come up to watch the sunsets and lights in the evenings now.
"It's pretty cool - I reckon it will stop people on the main road.
"It'll be nice for families, especially in the summer they can come up here and walk around, there's lots of potential in the garden and in the river. The kids were saying it's like the Sky Tower."
Pedersen said initial plans to have the lights working for Christmas 2015 were stymied when it was discovered the park's mains power unit had to be shifted from the neighbouring water treatment plant before work started.
Designs drawn up for the lights include a second stage to extend the display through Seaview Gardens. Fundraising would start again to support this, though the cost could not yet be released, she said.
Funding for the first stage included a $25,000 grant from Horowhenua District Council, secured by an application from the Foxton Community Board before the project was taken over by the rotary club.
Foxton was on the up, community board chairwoman Janine Smart said.
A $1.5 million upgrade to the town's Main St and cenotaph expected to start in October, and work started in June on the new Te Awahou Nieuwe Stroom cultural centre and library, expected to cost about $6m. - Stuff
Story and video:
www.stuff.co.nz/manawatu-standard/news/83778899/new-light...
Introduced, warm-season, perennial, prostrate legume, with rhizomes and usually less than 15 cm tall. Stems are hollow. Leaves have 5 leaflets, which are ovate to obovate, to 25 mm long and with long marginal hairs. Flowerheads are clusters of 8-14 yellow flowers (10-12 mm long) on the end of unbranched stalks. Pods are long and cylindrical. Flowering is from late summer to autumn.
A native of Europe and North Africa, it is sown and naturalized in high rainfall areas and on wet and waterlogged soils. It is tolerant of acid low-fertility soils. Seed is now difficult to obtain. Usually slow to establish, but will tolerate grass competition after 2-3 years. Can grow under low fertility conditions, but is responsive to increased phosphorus. Tends to die off in patches in hot, dry conditions; reshoot when conditions are favourable. Tolerant of wet conditions, but does not survive prolonged flooding. Low bloat risk. High tannin in some varieties can cause periods of lower palatability, but this can reduce overgrazing and help persistence. More tolerant of grazing than Lotus corniculatus, but some leaf should remain after grazing. Provide some rest in autumn to aid seed set and spread, but conditions may not be suitable every year for seed set.
Introduced, warm-season, annual or short-lived perennial, more or less prostrate herb; to 25 cm tall and with thick, tough stems that put roots down where the nodes come into contact with the soil. Leaves are oval and usually lobed, with toothed margins; 3-7 veins radiate from the heart-shaped base. Flowers are solitary in the leaf axils and have 5 red to orange-red petals. Flowering is in spring and summer. A native of South America, it is a weed of disturbed areas, such as newly sown pastures and turf; less so
in crops. It is spread by seed and vegetatively by putting down roots where ever stem nodes contact the ground. It is salt and drought tolerant. Has caused occasional stock poisoning, but its very prostrate habit limits the quantity eaten. Control in pastures by promoting dense swards. Can be controlled by herbicides at the seedling stage, but it is extremely tolerant of glyphosate, often making it a problem weed of direct drilled crops and pastures.
Astroloma ciliatum
This is a prostrate shrub with flowers that look like lights shining from the leaves.
It is a variable shrub 0.05-0.3 m high. Fl. purple-red/red-black, May to Oct.
June 2020 Styphelia discolor
Previously Astroloma ciliatum
Amaranthaceae (amaranth family) » Cyathula prostrata (L.) Blume
sy-ATH-uh-la or sy-ATH-yoo-la -- small cup ... Dave's Botanary
prost-RAY-tuh -- prostrate ... Dave's Botanary
commonly known as: cyathula, prostrate pastureweed • Hindi: लाल चिरचिटा lal chirchita • Kannada: ನೆಲ ಉತ್ತರಾಣಿ nela uttharaani, ರಕ್ತಪಮರ್ಗ raktapamarga • Konkani: ¿ धाकटो मोगरा dhakto mogra ? • Malayalam: ചെറുകടലാടി cerukadalaadi • Marathi: भुईअघाडा bhuiaghaada • Tamil: சிவப்பு நாயுருவி civappu nayuruvi
Native to: tropical Africa, s China, Indian subcontinent, Indo-China, Malesia; naturalized elsewhere
References: Flowers of India • Flora of China • PIER • NPGS / GRIN • ENVIS - FRLHT
gom-FREE-nuh -- from the Latin gomphaena, ancient classical name for an amaranth ... Dave's Botanary
sair-AY-tuh or ser-RAT-uh -- toothed like a saw ... Dave's Botanary
commonly known as: coastal globe amaranth, prostrate globe amaranth, prostrate gomphrena • Kannada: ಅಡಿಕೆ ಹೂವು adike hoovu, ನೆಲರುದ್ರಾಕ್ಷಿ nelarudrakshi • Telugu: గడ్డి పూలు gaddi poolu
botanical names: Gomphrena serrata L. ... heterotypic synonyms: Gomphrena bicolor Moq. • Gomphrena decumbens Jacq. ... homotypic synonyms and more at POWO, retrieved 10 December 2025
~~~~~ KNOWN DISTRIBUTION in INDIA ~~~~~
Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu; native of tropical America, introduced, naturalized
Names compiled / updated at Names of Plants in India.
This street beggar holds her prostrate child in a pose that is likely to evoke empathy in even the most jaded hearts. While most sick children brought to the street by beggars are usually much younger than this boy, it is a common sight in tourist centers throughout Europe and North Africa.
There is a disturbing and growing "school of thought" from some local sources that many of these sick children being displayed on the streets are actually healthy youngsters who are trained by their families to play this role in a scam to gain more donations from sympathetic passers-by.
Saw palmetto is endemic to the southeastern U.S. It can be very common. Normally the trunk is prostrate on or just above the ground. Erect trunks seem to be rare. A couple of years ago, I observed this saw palmetto with a 20 foot plus high erect trunk. Since that time I've wanted to photograph it but conditions were never good. Yesterday conditions were perfect. Chris is in the photo for scale. There are several fairly tall ones but this is the largest. I consulted the Georgia Champion Tree Program List and Serenoa repens isn't listed. I suspect this tree is very old. For more information: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serenoa
plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=sere2
www.gfc.state.ga.us/forest-management/champion-tree-program/
Prostrate spreading plant to 6 cm high x to 15 cm wide. Purple flowers.
They grow in seasonal wet areas flowering into summer.
Photo: Fred
15 Dec 2017
Variable shrub, prostrate to 1.5 m high, stems glabrous.
Leaves mostly narrow-elliptic to oblanceolate, 5–30 mm long, 2–7 mm wide.
Flowers in bracteate heads, terminal; peduncles mostly 1–40 mm long, glabrous. Bracts 4, sometimes 8. Flowers bisexual or female, 7–60 per head, white or occasionally pink, mostly 10–20 mm long, female flowers shorter.
Fruit 3–5 mm long, green, enclosed in the hypanthium base.
(Source: PlantNET)
Dorycnium pentaphyllum subsp. germanicum (Gremli) Gams, syn.: Dorycnium germanicum (Gremli) Rikli, Dorycnium jordanii subsp. germanicum Gremli, Dorycnium sericeum (Neilr.) Borbás, Lotus dorycnium L.
Family: Fabaceae Lindl.
EN: Prostrate Canary Clover, German Leopard's Bane (?), DE: Deutscher Backenklee, Seiden-Backenklee, Seidenhaar-Backenklee
Slo.: malocvetna španska detelja
Dat.: May 23. 2022
Lat.: 44.81544 Long.: 14.34782
Code: Bot_1469/2022_DSC8123
Habitat: Rocky sea shore; moderately inclined terrain, southeast aspect, about 10 meters from sea shore; full sun; hot, dry, open terrain, in the reach of sea water splash; exposed to direct rain; elevation 5 m (15 feet); average precipitations ~ 1.000 mm/year, average temperature 13-14 deg C, Sub-Mediterranean phytogeographical region.
Substratum: soil among rocks
Place: Adriatic Sea, island Cres, sea shore south of village Martinšćica, Kvarner bay, Rijeka region, Croatia.
Comment (pertains to pictures in the Flickr album Dorycnium pentaphyllum subsp. germanicum): Dorycnium pentaphyllum subsp. germanicum is a low half-scrub loving warm, dry and sunny places. It is essentially a south European plant, however, it can be found also in the countries of east Balkan peninsula, Ukraine and Poland. Its key distinguishing traits from other similar species are long, adpressed, silver hairs on the sessile leaflets of five palmate leaves and relatively small number of very shortly petiolate flowers in the flower heads (8 – 15, Ref.:3). The traits of this find fit well to the descriptions in literature, so I have little doubts about the determination. However, two things bother me. The first is that many flower heads of this find consist of more than 15 flowers and the second is that the plants photographed, considered zero tolerant to salt (Ref.: 6), grow definitely in the reach of sea water splash during rough sea periods (and at the same time bloom so abundantly).
Ref.:
(1) T. Nikolić, Flora Croatica, Vaskularna flora Republike Hrvatske (Vascular Flora of Republic Croatia) (in Croatian), Vol. 2., Alfa d.d., Zagreb (2020) p 773,
(2) A. Martinči et all., Mala Flora Slovenije (Flora of Slovenia - Key) (in Slovenian), Tehnična Založba Slovenije (2007), p 308.
(3) K. Lauber and G. Wagner, Flora Helvetica, 5. Auflage, Haupt (2012), p 368.
(4) D. Aeschimann, K. Lauber, D.M. Moser, J.P. Theurillat, Flora Alpina, Vol. 1., Haupt (2004), p 936.
(5) 'WFO (2023): Dorycnium pentaphyllum subsp. germanicum (Gremli) Rikli. Published on the Internet; www.worldfloraonline.org/taxon/wfo-0000163644 (accessed on: 09 Jan 2023)
(6) daten.bayernflora.de/de/info_pflanzen.php?taxnr=1998 (accessed on: 09 Jan 2023)
Sarvabhaksa was a man with an enormous appetite. One day, his appetite overreached his ability to fill it. In despair, he retreated to a cave to bemoan his obsession with food. The guru Saraha found him and asked what caused his distress. He then told his tale to Saraha of which the guru asked what will happen if he reborn as a hungry ghost, and gave further explanation about beings of that realm.
The glutton was shaken, so he prostrated himself before Saraha and begged the guru to teach him a way to release. So the guru initiated his disciple into the path of Bhusuku and gave him instructions. The glutton practiced with great devotion, and through the advice of his guru to visualize everything he eat as absolute nothingness, he understood the indentical nature of appearances and emptiness, and thus attained his goal.
After 15 years of practice, he attained mahamudra-siddhi. For 600 years thereafter he served humanity with compassion and generosity. Accompanied by a thousand disciples he entered the Paradise of the Dakinis.
“Jetera? Jetera?”
He was pulled out of his memory by a word that resembled his name. He didn’t know what his name was, but had taken one that sounded close to it.
He looked around him. He was prostrate on the ground, in a damp, dimly lit forest. He got up and tried to brush himself off, but the dirt and undergrowth had settled on him.
“Jetera? Where are you?” The voice replied.
“Over here,” he called out.
The trees nearby suddenly swayed and tore apart from each other. In the makeshift gateway, a muscular red-clad figure stepped through, with a small axe in his hand. He was instantly recognizable as Zerkah, the leader of the Toa Vihagu, and Jetera himself was under his service. He was followed by one in blue and gold armor, with a foreign air about her — Therina, the Master of Spirit. The last one was difficult to recognize as she blended in almost perfectly with the forest around her, but he knew it was Ayen, Master of Jungle.
“What has happened to you?” Therina said to him. Jetera only mumbled in response. Zerkah reached out his hand to pull him up, but pulled it away in pain when Jetera touched it. Bits of static electricity sparked up in the air between them. For a couple seconds the two Toa stared at each other, unsure what to do. Aye, with a frustrated sigh, called up a vine from her hand, and lashed Jetera’s wrist with it. He gave a surprised yelp as she pulled him up, and as soon as she let go of the vine, it loosened and fell to the ground. She reached out her hand again, and some of the plants that had tied on to the Master of Storms while he was unconscious fell off of his body.
“Thank you,” he said succinctly, to no one in particular. “Now then.. where am I?”
“Still in Verius,” Zerkah informed him. “And still in the Shadowed Glade, where we lost you yesterday. Mokatu has also missing from us.”
“But knowing him,” Ayen added, “He’ll return to us in his own time.”
Zerkah gave a glance at Ayen, perhaps a bit protectively of the Master of Wind, but she had a reasonable understanding of Mokatu’s self-absorbed nature.
“If that’s the case,” Zerkah continued, “Perhaps we should continue to our objective?”
“Wait”, Therina said. They stayed still for a moment, then heard a freakish howl echo through the glade. “The Malevolent presence is still strong here.”
“Then I suppose we’d better finish it off,” Jetera responded. Reaching behind his back, he unfastened his sword, and drew it before him, as it crackled with electricity. It was Faera, the Stormhawk’s blade, which he had been given by a stranger in Talis. Legends said that few could wield Faera without it killing them, so he had felt assured that the instance was not a coincidence - especially after other incidents that connected Jetera to the mythical being known as the Stormhawk. Moreover, Faera greatly improved Jetera’s elemental power, which he still had not mastered, and this elemental power was the key to battling the eldritch monsters of the Malevolent.
A second howl pierced the sounds of the forest, louder. Therina drew her great spear, and Ayen unfastened one of the two Chronicles at her side, which glowed with a pale yellow light. The third howl indicated that the enemy was almost upon them, and they could see black bodies and pale eyes darkening the glade.
The four Toa rushed upon their enemies. Zerkah, the fleetest of foot among them, struck an armored foe with his axe, knocking him into the sky. The Sapin could only be slain by elemental power, so this foe was only paralyzed — until he was subsumed by a great carnivorous plant, that Ayen had moved into the path of the monster. Jetera, on Zerkah’s right side, sent his sword through the naked body of another Sapin, which quickly disintegrated after contacting the blade. He could see Therina charging in on Zerkah’s left, and striking another foe with her power-absorbing spear. The three of them advanced quickly through the Malevolent contingent; Ayen weakened the figures before them by stirring the trees and bushes to release chemicals from within them on their foes.
Within minutes, the assault was diminished, and two or three Sapin had turned to run. Zerkah prepared to pursue, buith a hand motion Jetera stopped him. He then ran after the Sapin, but while doing so, flipped the sword in an underhand grip, letting it build up with power. Then, in a fraction of a second, he was on the other end of the Sapin, and had sliced him through the waist with his sword along the way. The dark foe split into two, and dissipated.
Jetera slid to a halt, turned around to see that his plan had worked, then turned around, and came back to the others.
“Well, you aren’t the same helpless wanderer when you arrived anymore,” Zerkah said aptly.
“I suppose not,” Jetera returned. “Where to next?”
The Kaanapali Beach Walk has planted a few long stretches of prostrate naio in the hotel landscaping.
www.starrenvironmental.com/images/search/?q=naio+kaanapali
Naio Thrip is a new insect that can kill native Naio (Myoporum) plants. It has been detected on the Big Island and Oahu, but not yet Maui. Every six months we check on cultivated naio plants on Maui. So far so good, no signs of the thrip on Maui.
dlnr.hawaii.gov/hisc/info/invasive-species-profiles/naio-...
Introduced, warm-season, perennial, prostrate legume, with rhizomes and usually less than 15 cm tall. Stems are hollow. Leaves have 5 leaflets, which are ovate to obovate, to 25 mm long and with long marginal hairs. Flowerheads are clusters of 8-14 yellow flowers (10-12 mm long) on the end of unbranched stalks. Pods are long and cylindrical. Flowering is from late summer to autumn.
A native of Europe and North Africa, it is sown and naturalized in high rainfall areas and on wet and waterlogged soils. It is tolerant of acid low-fertility soils. Seed is now difficult to obtain. Usually slow to establish, but will tolerate grass competition after 2-3 years. Can grow under low fertility conditions, but is responsive to increased phosphorus. Tends to die off in patches in hot, dry conditions; reshoot when conditions are favourable. Tolerant of wet conditions, but does not survive prolonged flooding. Low bloat risk. High tannin in some varieties can cause periods of lower palatability, but this can reduce overgrazing and help persistence. More tolerant of grazing than Lotus corniculatus, but some leaf should remain after grazing. Provide some rest in autumn to aid seed set and spread, but conditions may not be suitable every year for seed set.
In Hindu system of religion to worship the God in a human form is regarded as the highest form of worship. In old Vedic era it is the Acharya (The Master/Teacher) who was worshipped as the embodiment of the God. Even today all the popular religious beliefs, like Vaishnavism, Bauls and the others, consider a human form as a temple of the God.
Kumari puja is one such ritual where the Goddess durga is being invoked and worshipped within the form of a virgin girl whose age is between 1 to 16 years. This ritual is being observed mostly on the third day, that is "Maha Astami", of Durga puja while in some places the fourth day, that is "Maha Navami", is considered to be the day for it. Kumari puja is actually a Tantrik ritual of Sadhana (worship) which is believed to bring great blessings on the worshipper. Different Tantras have extensive discussions on the methods and procedures to be followed by different categories of Sadhakas (worshipper); however I think the ritual is not being observed in all its rigorous details now-a-days during the puja, at least that is not realistically possible.
The choice of the virgin for Kumari puja is not made based on caste, religion or social backgroung, rather the physical, emotional and mental characteristics are taken into consideration. Swami Vivekananda is said to have worshipped a Muslim girl as a Kumari. The girls at different ages are believed to represent the different manifestations of the Goddess: A girl of 1 year is called Sandhya, of 2 years Saraswati, of 3 years Tridhamurti, of 4 years Kalika, of 5 years Subhaga, of 6 years Uma, of 7 years Malini, of 8 years Kuvjika, of 9 years Kalasandarbha, of 10 years Aparajita, of 11 years Rudrani, of 12 years Bhairavi, of 13 years Mahalaksmi, of 14 years Pithanayika, of 15 years Ksetrajna and of 16 years Annada or Amvika.
At the end of the puja everyone present in the premise prostrate before the Kumari, irrespective of their ages, for Her blessings. "Charanamrita", the blessed water, is offered to the devotees.
Acknowledgement: I like to give thanks to the family members of Rani Rashmoni's house at Jaanbazar, Kolkata, for allowing me to photograph the rituals at their premises.
Jaanbazar, Kolkata.
October, 2007
Soom Cuprit (Black Frost) & Souldoll Shiva (4-Arms). This is a pose-test I did to see what I could get my girls to do. There's a scene I want to photograph (not in my office, with all that junk in the background of course!) of Sylpedae approaching the Snow Queen with a proposition. I wanted to see how Cuprit's wings would show up against a dark background (not well at all!) and I wanted to see how well Sypedae actually kneels (also not well at all.)
"Prostrate, lignotuberous shrub, 0.15-0.4 m high. Fl. yellow-brown, Dec or Jan to Feb. White or grey sand over laterite, sandy loam." florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/browse/profile/32211
2 Feb 2019 Plants returning after burn.
Threatened flora
Introduced, warm-season, short-lived perennial, prostrate to semi-erect legume with a shallow taproot. Leaves have 2 asymmetrical, obovate to rounded leaflets, each 12-35 mm long. Flowerheads consist of 1-2 flowers in the leaf axils,
each with 5 symmetrically arranged yellow petals. Pods are linear, flat, sparsely to very hairy and 35-40 mm long. Flowering is in the warmer months. A native of North and South America, it is sown for
grazing and naturalized in frost free areas. It is suited to free-draining, lower fertility, acid soils
and cannot tolerate heavy soils or waterlogging. Not
recommended for fertile soils. Frost can limit spread. Wynn is the only sown cultivar. Seeds germinate and establish quickly and plants can rapidly grow and spread. Produces good weight gains in cattle, but old stems
have low feed value. It has low palatability for cattle during the growing season and is not readily grazed until grass quality
has declined sufficiently in autumn. It is not grazed by horses. Grazing management should aim to limit selective grazing during the growing season and maintain plants in a low radiating growth habit. Short
duration heavy grazing with appropriate rest periods is best to achieve this. Grazing periods can be extended in winter in frost free areas when grasses
are dormant. In areas with heavy frosts grazing should occur before first frost to avoid total leaf loss. Continuous heavy grazing leads to a decline in companion grasses, dominance by round-leafed
cassia and invasion by weeds.
Introduced, warm-season, perennial, prostrate to erect, woody herb or shrub to 1 m tall. Stems are reddish, hairless, with weak opposite longitudinal ridges; they arise from rhizomes or woody crowns. Leaves are opposite, sessile, hairless, to 3 cm long and have many translucent dots (oil glands) that are easily seen when held to the light. Flowerheads are panicles or corymbose cymes. Flowers are numerous and 15-20 mm wide. Petals are yellow and have black glands on their edges. Styles are 3-branched. Fruit are sticky 3-valved capsules, 5 to 10 mm long. Flowers in late spring and summer. Found in neglected pastures, sparse bushland and disturbed areas. Tiny seeds spread by water and in soil, hay and livestock. Sticky fruits adhere to animals; long runners spread from crowns. Causes photosensitisation and numerous other disorders in livestock; animals tend to recover once removed. Established plants are very competitive and are best controlled by herbicides or, if suitable, by cultivation. Introduced insect (Chrysolina beetles) and mite (St John’s wort mite ) predators provide good levels of control in many areas. Promote dense, healthy pastures to compete with seedlings, which are not robust.
Introduced, warm-season, perennial, prostrate, climbing legume, with stolons. Leaves have 3 leaflets, each hairy, 1-9 cm long, round to ovate. The central leaflet has a longer stalk than the lateral leaflets. Leaf size varies with grazing pressure. Flowerheads are racemes of 2-5, blue, 5-9 mm long, pea-like flowers in the leaf axils. Pods are straight sided, narrow, flattened and 1-3 cm long. Flowering is in summer and autumn. A native of Africa, it is sown for grazing on wide
range of soils. Grows best on moist, fertile soils, but it will tolerate low fertility. It is tolerant of acidity, moderate levels of aluminium and light shade, but is sensitive to frost. Shaw is the only variety sown. Provides a good quality, high protein, non-bloating feed, it is of greatest value in late summer and autumn as the quality of pasture grasses declines. It is slow to establish and drought will kill it. Tolerates prolonged heavy grazing, but needs to be allowed to seed in the first and second year for longterm
persistence. Grazing pressure should be sufficient to produce a low leafy stand as undergrazed stands develop severe leaf disease.
Introduced, warm season, perennial, prostrate herb to 60 cm tall. Leaves and stems are hairy with glandular and non-glandular hairs. Leaves are alternate, lanceolate, deeply veined and stem clasping. Blue to mauve tubular flowers (with yellow stamens and throat) arranged caterpillar-like in 2 rows on one side of the flowering stem (scirpoid cyme). Flowers most of the year, but not in winter in southern areas. Grows on a wide range of soil types. Predominantly in areas that receive at least 50% of average annual rainfall in summer. It is mostly a problem of run down pasture and disturbed areas such as cropping paddocks, roadsides and waste land. Regenerates from seed and vegetatively from pieces of plant and roots. It is spread by water, fur of animals and in the gut of animals. A weed which is toxic to animals, quite invasive and difficult to control. Causes chronic liver damage in cattle, sheep and horses; can be fatal. Cultivation encourages its spread by stimulating germination and regrowth of plant parts. Management requires an integrated approach including herbicides, productive pasture, grazing management and biological control. There has only been one biological control agent released in Australia, the blue heliotrope leaf-beetle. At high densities, leaf-beetles can completely defoliate blue heliotrope, with both the larvae and adults feeding on the leaves.
ʻIlima
Malvaceae (Mallow family)
Indigenous to the Hawaiian Islands (all the main islands and many offshore islands. In the Northwest Islands, found on Midway (Pihemanu) and Nīhoa (Moku Manu). Pollen samples from Laysan (Kauō) indicate that "ʻilima bushes" once were found on this island in the past.
Photo: Kalaeloa, Oʻahu
This is a coastal prostrate (papa) form of ʻilima.
Closeup of Flower
www.flickr.com/photos/dweickhoff/10897378366/in/datetaken...
ʻIlima may have been the only plant cultivated by early Hawaiians just for the flowers to be used for lei. ʻIlima flowers were treasured by early Hawaiians and given specific names based on their flowers, as well as leaves. Originally, lei ʻilima, or the royal lei, was reserved for royalty since they looked very much like the yellow feather lei worn only by aliʻi. Lei ʻilima were fashioned for the head (lei poʻo) or the neck (lei ʻāʻī), the latter comprising a thousand flowers!
The early Hawaiians also recognized and named wild and cultivated ʻilima. The wild types included ʻilima kū kahakai, a flat beach form; ʻilima kū kula or ʻilima kū kala, very tall form; and a plant with smaller flowers, medium height found on old lava in Kaʻū known as ʻilima makanaʻā. The cultivated, or domesticated, forms were called ʻilima ʻāpiki or ʻilima lei, a tall spreading bush with golden flowers; and ʻilima kolikukui or ʻilima kolī kukui (Lit., kukui candle or torch), an Oʻahu cultivated form with bronze red flowers.
ʻIlima kū kala along with other plant materials were placed over hot stones in the imu. The food to be cooked was then placed on the ʻilima to prevent it from being burned by the heated stones.
Medicinally, ʻilima was called kanaka makaʻi, literally meaning "good man." Early Hawaiians gave babies the juice of the flowers (pua ʻilima) as a mild laxative but apparently does not have an effect on adults. The number of buds were used was according to the age of the child. The buds were chewed by the mother before given to her baby. Wild ʻilima sap with warm sea water was used medicinally as enemas (hahano) for adults. ʻIlima flowers mixed with other plants were also used for "womb troubles." When a person felt weak, the bark of the roots were mixed with other plants and pounded together, strained and drunk as a tonic. Additionally, the root bark mixed with the flowers was used for asthma.
Other early uses of ʻilima included sleeping house construction, slats in building houses, rough baskets, and as a covering on pebbled floors in houses under floor mats and sleeping mats.
Hawaiian Queen Emma Kalanikaumakaamano Kaleleonālani Naʻea Rooke (1836-1885) enjoyed lei ʻilima over all other lei.
Flowers often used for modern lei making in combination with materials or just as one prized lei. Local lei maker, Laurie Shimizu Ide, states that it takes "about 700 blossoms for a single lei, kui pololei, straight pattern." Though lei ʻilima was associated with royalty at one time, today anyone can wear this very special and beautiful lei. When lei ʻilima is seen on the wearer, its striking beauty certainly commands attention! Fruits of the non-native maʻo (Abutilon grandifolium), when green and soft, are used with lei ʻilima, one fruit at each end of the lei; or the pale-green, cap-like calyx of the ʻilima flower is used.
Flowers are edible and can be used as a garnish with food. The flavor is mildly sweet to tasteless but with a refreshing, clean after taste.
The mele (song) "Aloha Oʻahu" by Clarence Kinney opening verse says: "Aloha Oʻahu lei ka ʻilima Kohu manu ʻōʻō hulu melemele." Translated: "Beloved is Oʻahu with the ʻilima lei Like the ʻōʻō it's golden plumage."
ʻIlima is still abundant in the Hawaiian coastal lowlands and forests. Sadly, though, the Oʻahu ʻōʻō (Moho apicalis) and it's relatives, the Hawaiian honeyeaters, are now all extinct.
In 1923, the Territorial Legislature chose ʻIlima as the official flower for the island of Oʻahu.
Etymology
The generic name Sida is from a Greek name used by Theophrastus (c.371-c.287 B.C.E.) in his writings for both a water-liy (Nymphaea alba) and a pomegranate tree.
The specific epithet fallax is from fallacis, deceitful or false.
Bertam, Pulau Pinang (Penang), Malaysia.
Pectis prostrata Cav. Compositae, alt. Asteraceae. CN: Spreading cinchweed, Cinchweeds. Native to Caribbean region, Central America, Mexico, and S United States. Annual herbs. Stems prostrate or ascending, 1-30 cm, puberulent, hairs in 2 rows (often mat-forming, densely leafy, especially distally). Leaves linear to narrowly oblanceolate, 10-30 × 1.5-7 mm, abaxially densely pubescent and dotted with conspicuous orbicular oil glands. Inflorescences of solitary terminal capitula or capitula in groups of 2 or 3; peduncles 1-2 mm, bracteolate. Autogamy has apparently assisted P. prostrata to spread rapidly as suitable new habitats have become available. Minor weed.
Synonym(s):
Chthonia prostrata Cass.
Lorentea prostrata (Cav.) Lag.
Pectis costata Ser. & Merc. ex DC.
Pectis multisetosa Rydb.
Pectis prostrata var. prostrata Greenm.
Pectis prostrata var. urceolata Fernald
Pectis urceolata (Fernald) Rydb.
Ref. and suggested reading:
www.theplantlist.org/browse/A/Compositae/Pectis/
www.theplantlist.org/tpl/record/gcc-32552
Introduced, warm-season, perennial, prostrate, climbing legume, with stolons. Leaves have 3 leaflets, each hairy, 1-9 cm long, round to ovate. The central leaflet has a longer stalk than the lateral leaflets. Leaf size varies with grazing pressure. Flowerheads are racemes of 2-5, blue, 5-9 mm long, pea-like flowers in the leaf axils. Pods are straight sided, narrow, flattened and 1-3 cm long. Flowering is in summer and autumn. A native of Africa, it is sown for grazing on wide
range of soils. Grows best on moist, fertile soils, but it will tolerate low fertility. It is tolerant of acidity, moderate levels of aluminium and light shade, but is sensitive to frost. Shaw is the only variety sown. Provides a good quality, high protein, non-bloating feed, it is of greatest value in late summer and autumn as the quality of pasture grasses declines. It is slow to establish and drought will kill it. Tolerates prolonged heavy grazing, but needs to be allowed to seed in the first and second year for longterm
persistence. Grazing pressure should be sufficient to produce a low leafy stand as undergrazed stands develop severe leaf disease.
It is not often now I will have the chance to see a new UK orchid species, however, over the border and over the border after that, in West Sussex, there is a place where they have two very rare species, seeded, but a wild UK orchid. Well, the Greater Tongue is not a native orchid, but there has now been four confirmed records of them growing in the UK, these being one of them. But the second species, the Loose-Flowerd Orchid, is only found in the Channel Islands, and here.
So, better go and prostrate myself at their lips. As it were.
There is a quick way, via the motorway, or the lazy way, taking the coast road. And as I planned to do two or three stops on the way, I would take the coast road.
Once I had dropped Jools off at work first.
Have you got your phone? Jools asked. Hell no. How will I know if anything goes wrong? You won't, but it'll be fine.
He hoped.
After coffee, we load up the car with work bag and cameras, and off into the bright dawn, or an hour after dawn, and onto the almost empty roads to Hythe.
Having dropped Jools off, I drive out of Hythe and out onto the Romney Marsh. The road meanders over ditches and the railway line, I make good time, getting to Rye just before eight.
Last year I saw a Tweet saying a rare plant was found in, what I thought was, Rye. Growing on the church wall.
No matter, I had not been there for ages, and wandering around it cobbled streets, looking at its wonderful ancient buildings is all the more enjoyable when you're the only one ding it, and with a soundtrack of the dawn chorus.
I check all the wall s of the churchyard, and find many plants growing on or out of the wall, but not what I was looking for.
Maybe, I thought, I meant they were in Winchelsea?
Maybe indeed. Anyway, Winchelsea is just a ten minute drive away, another ancinet town, this time set on a hill with the main road up from the marsh passing through a huge stone gate.
And the town itself is set on a grid system, and some would have you believe that this was the system New York was based on. I don't know, but it aint no Manhattan.
I park beside the church, walk in and look for the plant with round shaped leaves. None found. I then go to check on the church, and about eight feet up was a single plant.
I was so excited. So excited, I told a guy from English Heritage that I had found a rare plant. Oh really, what's it called? Wall Pennywort says I. Oh that grows everywhere in this town I was told.
I deflated, slightly.
And indeed I find it everywhere I looked. Anywhere made of stone, anyways.
I go back to the car and set sail to Eastbourne, in the west.
To get there I would have to pass through, ahem; Hastings, Bexhill then Eastbourne, then St Leonards.
The road meanders through towns, up and down downs, it takes a long time to get a little distance. Hastings is jammed with traffic due to a collapsed sewer. Pooey.
But further along, it is the endless traffic lights and roundabouts.
West of Eastbourne is Beachy Head. Not a beach. It is a high chalk cliff, which then goes on to make up part of the Severn Sisters, a line of undulating chalk cliffs.
I was there as I seem to remember being told, many years ago, of a hybrid Orchid growing near there, so after what might have been six years since being told, I was following up. And directions were very sketchy to say the least
I park in the main car park, but unlike everyone else, I walk away from the cliffs to the edge of a field, to scour the hedgerow and see if any pikes could be found.
I look and look, but see nothing orchid-like.
Drat.
But I do see butterflies. Lots of butterflies, including a pair of Wall Browns who land at my feet, mid-courtship, so I was able to snap them. There was also Brown Argus and a Common Blue, though the latter was flighty and I got no shot.
Back to the car, program the sat nav and I find I still had an hour and ten minutes to go. Best get a move on.
Sussex is a smarter and posher county than Kent, I pass my gated mansions, prep schools and villages I could not afford to look at let alone live.
As I drove, the sky clouded over, meaning my plan for top shots was being ruined.
Wakehurst is a National Trust property, but the gardens are maintained by Kew, it is where they have a lot of their wild plants. And in a quiet corner there was a small collection of orchids.
He hoped.
I pulled up at midday, and I realised i had not eaten; not a problem, but with it raining, best take a break, have lunch, and hopefully the weather would get better.
Being hungry, I order a panini, a sausage roll, and get a bowl of salad with the meal too. I had a lot of food.
Anyway, I sit down to eat and hope the weather blows over.
Which it does. Kinda. It at least isn't raining.
The kind staff had given me a map, and ringed the bank where the orchids were. So, I just had to find it.
I wander through beds of Korean, Chinese then Japanese plants, before finding a small dip, down that and up a grass track, and behind some simple low fencing was a small group of orchids.
I had found them.
So, I lay down, got my shots, then wandered round the grounds, down an ornamental valley, all overflowing with highly scented rhododendrons, all marvellous stuff.
But I was worried about getting back. So, I made my way back to the car, through the shop without buying anything.
The sat nav said one hour twenty minutes. Seemed short. I decided not to believe it, so drove out of the car park and towards the motorway at warp factor nine.
But it is true: just six miles to Gatwick, then six more to the M25, 15 to Kent then down the M20 towards Hythe. I was back in east Kent before three, meaning I had two hours to kill.
Introduced, warm-season, perennial, prostrate legume, with rhizomes and usually less than 15 cm tall. Stems are hollow. Leaves have 5 leaflets, which are ovate to obovate, to 25 mm long and with long marginal hairs. Flowerheads are clusters of 8-14 yellow flowers (10-12 mm long) on the end of unbranched stalks. Pods are long and cylindrical. Flowering is from late summer to autumn.
A native of Europe and North Africa, it is sown and naturalized in high rainfall areas and on wet and waterlogged soils. It is tolerant of acid low-fertility soils. Seed is now difficult to obtain. Usually slow to establish, but will tolerate grass competition after 2-3 years. Can grow under low fertility conditions, but is responsive to increased phosphorus. Tends to die off in patches in hot, dry conditions; reshoot when conditions are favourable. Tolerant of wet conditions, but does not survive prolonged flooding. Low bloat risk. High tannin in some varieties can cause periods of lower palatability, but this can reduce overgrazing and help persistence. More tolerant of grazing than Lotus corniculatus, but some leaf should remain after grazing. Provide some rest in autumn to aid seed set and spread, but conditions may not be suitable every year for seed set.
I was prostrate to capture my first image of the Green-veined White this year on the very low vegetation at Ketton Nature. Reserve
Prostrate spreading plant to 6 cm high x to 15 cm wide. Purple flowers.
They grow in seasonal wet areas flowering into summer.
Photo: Fred
15 Dec 2017
I like the moss capsules at the front of the flower.
Introduced, warm season, perennial, prostrate herb to 60 cm tall. Leaves and stems are hairy with glandular and non-glandular hairs. Leaves are alternate, lanceolate, deeply veined and stem clasping. Blue to mauve tubular flowers (with yellow stamens and throat) arranged caterpillar-like in 2 rows on one side of the flowering stem (scirpoid cyme). Flowers most of the year, but not in winter in southern areas. Grows on a wide range of soil types. Predominantly in areas that receive at least 50% of average annual rainfall in summer. It is mostly a problem of run down pasture and disturbed areas such as cropping paddocks, roadsides and waste land. Regenerates from seed and vegetatively from pieces of plant and roots. It is spread by water, fur of animals and in the gut of animals. A weed which is toxic to animals, quite invasive and difficult to control. Causes chronic liver damage in cattle, sheep and horses; can be fatal. Cultivation encourages its spread by stimulating germination and regrowth of plant parts. Management requires an integrated approach including herbicides, productive pasture, grazing management and biological control. There has only been one biological control agent released in Australia, the blue heliotrope leaf-beetle. At high densities, leaf-beetles can completely defoliate blue heliotrope, with both the larvae and adults feeding on the leaves.