A worldwide community photographing and learning about wildlife
Project Noah Nature School
Moluccella laevis
I found this to be a truly fascinating flower, one I have never seen before. It has green bell-like bracts (actually the fused sepals) that grow close together up the stem like a Hollyhock. Each bell has 5 sharp little spines which actually hurt if you grab it carelessly. The flower itself looks like a small white moth feeding at the interior, which is what I thought it was at a distance. Above the "moth" is a fuzzy white cap which is pink on the underside and contains the pistol and stamen (see last picture). The leaves were growing out of the top of the stem (last 2 pictures), The little flowers last only about 2 days and fall off. The bracts are stiff and seem to last forever. Family Lamiaceae.
I found this in an arrangement at a garden wedding in San Cristobal de Las Casas, Chiapas but I really don't know where it actually came from, except that it must be Mexico. They are originally from Turkey, Syria and the Caucasus and are cultivated world wide, especially for arrangements.
Spotted on Apr 2, 2016
Submitted on Apr 8, 2016
1 Comment
Thank you SukanyaDatta :)
Fascinating flower...Nice and evocative name too. I thought that it was a moth when I looked at the thumbnail...Thanks so much for posting this. Such strange and marvelous things exist in nature...I am so glad I stumbled across PN and became part of this wonderful community. Seeing so much here which otherwise would have escaped me . Thanks, again SukanyaDatta.