Monday 15 February 2016

It's Guess the Flower Time Again

Several of you enjoy my flower quiz but I have yet to be successful at catching you out. At least one of my blogging friends always manages to identify the flower shown..... but I live in hopes♡ Sometimes I show just part of a flower, or take a micro shot, but today I am generously giving you a whole flower spray.

This flower is completely new to me. I spotted it during our Christmas holiday in Paris. It was growing in a municipal roadside flower bed near to where our eldest son and family live.
The flowers are small, creamy yellow - my first impression was that they are rather insignificant, but on closer inspection they were prettier than I initially thought. The leaves are strap like resembling those of the Oleander. One clue is that it has very extraordinary seed pods, details of which I am saving until I give the answer!
We bought some seeds home with us which we may well live to regret!!!
As usual I shall turn comments moderation on to give everyone a fair chance, and will post the answer on Thursday 18th February.

48 comments:

  1. I opened my blogging dashboard and immediately saw this wonderful flower. Aha, a new quiz of Rosemary. At first glance I thought it was a trick of an Oleander with an Orchid in front, but no it was not. I really have never seen this flower before and I´m very curious to know. It might be a terrible weed when it was flowering in Christmastime. Looking forward to hear the result.

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    1. Some very astute observations Janneke and I too thought that it resembled an orchid when I looked at it closely. You are one of my blogging friends who often gets the answer right.

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  2. As you said the leaves are like that of Oleander leaf.
    Looks like an orchid of some kind but it's not - said much the same as Janneke. Expect husband doesn't know!

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  3. I have no idea. But have every confidence someone will get the right answer. If I need a plant ID I put it up on the blog and haven't been disappointed yet.

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    1. Yes, I suspect someone from the country where it grows prolifically will get it right. I only discovered the answer myself after researching it.

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  4. Orchid, narcissus - I have no idea! I shall have to wait and see!

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  5. Never fear -- you always stump ME with these flower quizzes!

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  6. Hello Rosemary, I am sure that I have seen this, but racking my brain does no good, so I'll have to wait with everyone else for the big unveiling.
    --Jim

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    1. Hello Jim - I suspect that you probably do know this plant.

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  7. Aqui no Brasil, especificamente no Rio de Janeiro onde vivo tem muitas "espirradeiras" Nerium, quando se chega próximo ao nosso nariz, seu pólen nos faz espirrar. São lindas e de várias cores.
    beijinhos, Léah

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    1. Thank you Léah for your comment - the plant does share features with the Oleander in particular the strap-like leaves, and also they are both poisonous.

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  8. At first I thought the flower reminded me of Hoya, but after thinking and looking close at the flower I would say it is a type of milkweed, possibly Narrow-leaf Milkweed, Asclepias fascicularis.

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    1. Asclepias fascicularis has different flowers

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    2. Noticed in another post that you said it is from South Africa, so could it be Asclepias physocarpa?

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  9. I have absolutely no clue but am curious to find out!

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  10. Looks like an orchid with Oleander leaves, and I get the feeling that the flowers are beautifully scented ...but really can't think of the name.

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    1. It does look a bit like an orchid, however, the flowers are very small and the leaves are very similar to the Oleander. I didn't smell the flowers but understand that they have a light vanilla scent.

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  11. Hi Rosemary,
    It is beautiful and seems to have descended from a tropical flower. No answer from me

    Hope you have a great week


    Helen xx

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    1. Hello Helen - lovely to hear from you - the plant originates from S.Africa.

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  12. No idea! I am fascinated though as always to find out more, I always learn so much from your quizzes! xx

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    1. As I mentioned this flower was also new to be too Amy

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  13. So interesting - it looks a bit like the Singapore orchids I had in my wedding bouquet! But as you say not an orchid, I also think it looks like a Passionfruit flower, or some other fruit perhaps?

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    1. When I saw it growing, an orchid didn't immediately spring to my mind, but when I processed the photo I too thought that it resembled an orchid.

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  14. Absolutely no idea from this side of the pond.....but happy to see you back!

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    1. This plant is grown on your side of the pond for a specific reason!

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  15. Mmmmh - I'm at a loss: the leaves look like oleander; the flowers like little orchids or vanilla - but in Paris?? The seedpots might contain many, many seeds, I imagine (as my evening primrose - thousands, when young easily to plug out of the soil). Family of Euphorbia?

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  16. Dear Rosemary, This one is a tough one. The plant must be related to Oleander...the leaves, the many seeds and even the flowers. You say that the flowers are very small. That is probably why most of us can't identify it. But you are going to see if you can be successful in growing it from seed. So this little plant must have some charm. Looking forward to the answer.

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    1. It shares many similarities with Oleander Gina and even exudes the same white poisonous sap which is enjoyed by the same insects to both plants. However, I can't find any botanical link to both of them. I am going to try and grow some but mostly out of curiosity.

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  17. Hello dear Rosemary!Welcome back!
    No ,i can not guess !
    It looks alot like the lemon blooms!
    Have a happy week!
    Dimi...

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    1. The flowers do bare a resemblance to lemon blooms Dimi - but this is a small shrub rather than a tree.

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  18. It is indeed an early spring.

    Greetings,
    Filip

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  19. It is so perplexing I can't think of any plant that has so many characteristics of an oleander but looks like an orchid! Sarah x

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    1. This plant is even stranger than that Sarah - you will see when I post the answer.

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  20. Oh Dear Rosemary,

    I actually don't know a petunia from a pansy. I do on the other hand know what an Oleander is. We have a lot of them in Texas. I will be interested to hear what your flower is.

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    1. Dear Janey - there are over 100 species of this particular plant and I do know that some of them grow in Texas, but whether this particular one does, I am not sure.

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  21. No clue whatsoever :-) Looks a bit like an orchid, but it has the leaves of an oleander.....

    Have a lovely evening!

    Madelief x

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  22. I love a challenge!
    Is it the Balloon Plant ? which explains why you aren't showing the seed pods ;-)
    Gomphocarpus physocarpus

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    1. You scuttled in at the last minute Celia - I am very impressed - well done

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    2. It was your reply to Helen saying it was from South Africa that gave me a pointer - I googled 'South African plants cream flowers five waxy petals' and found a related species, them searched for others with the same botanical name - when I spotted one with such distinct seed pods BINGO!
      Good luck with trying to germinate the seeds.

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    3. Dear Celia and there was me thinking that you had an encyclopedic botanical knowledge. The other person who got it right also got his pointer from that comment too apparently.
      However, well done for using your initiative. Do you think that I am too generous with my clues?

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