Sunday, September 30, 2012

Centratherum punctatum, brazilian bachelor's button plant


I saw a photo of the flower in Facebook. I thought it was a thistle, guessing even a cyanara, centaureaus, or an artichoke. But yesterday, September 30, I saw it in person along the sidewalk in Kalayaan Avenue in Diliman Quezon City! So inspired by my find that I searched, using Google for photos of lavender button flower. In a short time, I zeroed on the final guess: a centrathenum punctatum commonly known as brazilian bachelor's button plant. So it is not native to the Philippines, but has become naturalized in in Negros Island.

It grows weedlike, nevertheless the lavender color is stunning. I just wish I brought along my olympus cam for better closeups, but the Samsung is much more versatile for far objects.




More photos in my facebook album.


PlantAsterales/Asteraceae/Vernonieae/Centratherum/punctatum
Common Names larkdaisy, Brazilian button flower, pineapple thistle, porcupine flower, Brazilian bachelor’s button and Manaos beauty.
LocationKalayaan Avenue
CameraSamsung WB150F
PhotographerDr. Ernesto P. Adorio
AlbumFacebook
Images copyright by Adorio Digital Library, 2012.

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Flowering crotons



The colorful leaves may be worth enough for gardeners to plant this ornamental plant, but the flowers which are infrequent are striking!


August 29, 2014: Not a croton but a pseuderanthenum or yellow morado.



Dragonfly at UP Clarkfield


Insect Dragonfly
Location UP Clarkfield, Pampanga
Date Sep. 27, 2012
Camera Samsung WB150F
Photograrpher Dr. Ernesto P. Adorio


Dorstenia, a strange looking plant.


My Australian based Facebook friend does it again. She posted this photo in our Handbook of Philippine plants and flowers page and I just have to ask more knowledgeable people in the species identification business. Someone remarked that this flower is of a dorstenia, but what dorstenia? Is is a Congo fig [dorstenia elata] or a dorstenia indica?



Here is a close up of the strange flower.






Plant Dorstenia [elata?indica?]
Location Australia
Camera Panasonic Lumix S3
Photorapher Susan Estrope Dicker
Attribution gcy (identification as a dorstenia)


Please support the Philippine Native Plants Conservation Society, founded by the late biologist Dr. Leonardo Co. Visit facebook page of PNPCSI


Image owned and copyright by Susan Estrope Dicker. Published with permision in this blog.



Thursday, September 27, 2012

A very beautiful sunset at the Ruins, Talisay.


I was speechless the first time I viewed this photo. It is so soothing to view the end of day marked by the colorful canvas in the sky. It made me pause from work.



Thanks to Jessica Alovera for posting it in Facebook and to Jealine Marie Bernabe who took the photo at the Ruins, Talisay.

Published with permission in this blog. Image owned and copyright by Ms. Jealine Marie Bernabe.


Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Cameras: Is the Nikon P510 worthy of having?




Here is a saleslady holding and demonstring the P510 42x zoom compact digital camera from Nikon in the 5th floor of SM Noth Annex Building.

The camera boasts of the following:
Resolution 16.1 megapixel, BSI CMOS sensor
Lens 24-1000mm ED glass
Max. Zoom Zoom 42X optical
view screen 3 in. TFT, (921,000 Dot Resolution) vari-angle LCD
Features GPS, Image stabilization, auto panoramic stitch
Video Full HD (1080p), stereo sound
Continuous shooting 5 frames per second



I have the samsung WB150F 18x zoom digital camera, but I would love to complement my arsenal of cameras with this Nikon P510. Perfect for shooting birds!

Yes, this camera is worth having not withstanding the GPS geotagging feature is virtually useless in the Philippines!


The price of this camera is around P25,000.00 with the regular price of P28,000. The price in the US right now is around 400 dollars minimum at Amazon! So I can only suggest when the price goes down to 17,000 pesos. Wait next year for prices to go down as right now the prices of most cameras are going down!

But right now, I have to save money. Maybe I will be able to afford one this coming December.


Further reading:

Plant or weed, Mimosa Pudica, sensitive plant.


Aah, we use to play with this plant when we were still in elementary school! Locally known as makahiya, the leaves will fold closed when touched. It grew in a grassy field and was considered a weed. It is not a native to the Philippines however.It came from South and Central America!

Plant Mimosa Pudica
Common Names bashful mimosa, Sensitive plant, makahiya
Location UP Clarkfield, Pampanga
Camera Samsung WB150F
Photographer Dr. Ernesto P. Adorio
References Wikipedia,
stuartxchange


Saturday, September 22, 2012

Salap (shrimp) traps in Pulupandan by Ella Bernales Jacildo





A perfect shot of shrimp traps in the sea in Pupulpandan. Photo taken by my Facebook friend Ella Bernales Jacildo with a Sony DSC
W120 digital camera.


Original image and copyright owned by Ella Bernales Jacildo, published with permission in this blog.

Flowers, loropetalum chinense var rubrum, strap flowers.


Our Facebook friend based in Australia posted a photo of the pink colored flower with strap shaped petals. Searching in Google identified the plant as loropetalum.






Plant Saxifragales/Hamamelidaceae/Loropetalum Chinense var rubrum
Common Name strap flower, fringe flower
Location Australia
Camera Panasonic Lumix S3
Photographer Susan Estrope Dicker
Reference Wikipedia


Image owned by Susan Estrope Dicker, published with permission in this blog.


Selective focus for depth of field.


We assume that the object of interest is near the center of the screen.
Your Samsung Camera can also take magnificent photos by selective focusing. First, you must not be in macro mode. Next, try to focus on one object in the scene and press the shutter. Hee is one photo which was well liked by someone, removing any hesitation to post it in this blog:




One can do more in Program Mode. We will soon start investigating about this option.


Photo taken at Quezon City Memorial Circle with a Samsung WB150F camera with Smart Setting.

Friday, September 21, 2012

Purple, Red and Blue Salvia Splendens



This is actually our second time to display salvias. Our first post on these showy flowers is in Salvia Splendens. The color of the flowers in our first post is orangy. This time, Susan's photos shows a redder version (but not red enough to our liking!).









FlowerSalvia Splendens
Common NameScarlet sage
LocationAustralia
PhotographerSusan Estrope Dicker
ReferencesStuart xChange

Images owned and copyright by Susan E. Dicker, published with permission
We are sorry to inform our reading public that the original images were either deleted from Facebook or the image urls were changed.


yellow snapdragons from Australia, antirrhinum majus


Our australian fiend's camera captured some good photos of flowers growing in Australia. Here is one, a yellow snapdragon flower.





Plant antirrhinum majus
Common Name Yellow Snapdragon
Location Australia
Camera Panasonic Lumix S3
Photographer Susan Estrope Dicker
Reference Wikipedia

Image owned and copyright by Susan Estrope Dicker. Published with permission in this blog.


Unknown Butterfly or Moth?


I do not know the species of this butterfly.


Identified by Dr. Romana Reyes of Bago City as Striped Albatross (Appias libythea olferna). Many thanks, Dr. Romana!


Ghostly calatheas spp



Here are two photos of beautiful calatheas. The first one is from prolific gardener S.E. Dicker, taken in Australia. The other from the blog author, shot in Quezon Memorial Circle, in the Philippine Horticultural Society section. Our first guess is "calathea picturata var argentea"




Plant calathea picturata var argentea
LocationAustralia (first photo), Philippines(second photo)
Camera Panasonic Lumix S3 (first photo), Samsung WB150F(second photo)
PhotrgrapherSusan E. Dicker(first photo), Dr.Ernesto Adorio(second photo)


First image courtesy of Susan Dicker, published in this blog with permission.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Stromanthe sanguinea 'Tricolor'


The happy combination of reddish brown, white and greens is found in this beautiful plant, Stromanthe sanguinea 'Tricolor', which the author found in Quezon Memorial Circle. I thought they were calatheas!





Digital Images by Dr. Ernesto P. Adorio, taken with a Samsung WB150F camera.

Plant Stromanthe sanguinea 'Tricolor'
Common name Sago(!)
Location Quezon Memorial Circle
Photographer Dr. Ernesto P. Adorio
Camera Samsung WB150F
Acknowledgment Al Claud(common name)

Australian hairy sheoaks plants, Casuarinacece family.



As befit a continent, Australia boasts of plant and animal life found in no other places. Here is a sheoak, growing near a beach in Australia and snapped by my friend Susan Estrope Dicker.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/541984_318265374938334_620889536_n.jpg


Image produced and owned by Susan Estrope Dicker. Published with her permission on this blog.

Furthere information: Bellamy

Pushing the optical zoom limits on the Samsung WB150F camera



I now find myself hemmed in by the generous(?) 15x optical zoom of the Samsung camera. I am not after high resolution. I am after usable images.This has been cropped.



Champagne Palm, Hyophorbe lagenicaulis


I just noticed them now, though I stared at one almost everyday in Philcoa (not fat though), meaning I was not looking at all. This fat looking (at the base) palm is called the champagne palm. The most curious part to me are the small growths of almost decorative stems (fruit inforesence) just before the waxy smooth tapering upper head trunk.




We are confused by the identification of this palm plant. Some call this the hyophorbe Indicus(our first ID), but Google shows more photos that this is actually hyophorbe lagenicaulis. There are related or similar looking species which may be confused with the champagne palm: spindle palm Hyophorbe verschaffeltii, and the bottle palm Hyophorbe indicus. Unfortunate that we are not really sure of the species name, as some sites call this plant BOTH champagne and bootle palm plant!! Some of these palms are considered endangered in the wild.


Plant Hyophorbe lagenicaulis
Common name Champagne palm
Location Petron Station, NLEX, Bulacan (going to MM)
Photographer Dr. Ernesto P. Adorio
Camera Samsung WB150F compact camera
Reference Wikipedia
AlbumFacebook

We will review for the final ID of this palm plant.


the tall flower spike of an agave plant



I saw this tall flowering spike of an agave plant in the Univerity of the Philippines Campus in Diliman, besides the Alumni building.


Taken on a dark morning with a drizzle! Hope my cam, Samsung WB150F, is OK!


Australian Macadamia nuts, flowers



I may have tasted macadamia nuts in mixed nuts servings, but I was surprised to learn they are not from Brazil but from down under Australia. Our Australian based Facebook friend, Susan Dicker posted this clear photo of the nut tree flowers. I await the photos of the nuts themselves.




Photo owned by Susan Estrope Dicker and published in this blog with her kind permission.

Calathea Zebrina



This patterned calathea comes from south-eastern Brazil.



We had already posted a aphelandra zerbra plant

Commelinids
Plant Zingiberales/Marantaceae/Calathea Zebrina
Location Quezon City Memorial Circle
Camera Samsung WB150F
Photographer Dr. Ernesto P. Adorio

Succulent: euphorbia tirucalli, milk bush,


Nature surprises us with a plant whose tiny leaves are mostly on the tips of the branches, making it look look like corals. This plant is not a cactus but belongs to the euphorbia family! My first guess of the name is Euphorbia Tirrucali. We will correct this if someone can correctly ID this plant. The latex is poisonous but it can be wonderfully converted to gasoline?!



Plant Euphorbia Tirucalli
Common name Milk bush
Location QC Memorial Circle Succulent Garden
Camera Samsung WB150F
Photographer Ernesto P. Adorio
Reference Wikipedia

Calathea Ornata



I saw this plant at Philcoa. The lines looked painted, and the leaf was blushing with a reddish tint. Home gardeners are impatient with their ornata plant. It has difficulty in blooming in twenty years!




PlantCalathea Ornata var roseo-lineata
Common name
Camera Samsung WB150F
PhotographerDr. Ernesto P. Adorio
Referencedavesgarden.com,

Dissoutis Rotundifolia, Trailing tibouchina for ground covers



This plant has relatively large flowers, looking like tibouchinas, in relation to its leaves. It has gained weed status in some parts of the world, for its fast growth, choking plants..




Plant Dissoutis Rotundifolia
Common names Spanish Shawl, pink lady, dwarf tibouchina
Location Quezon City Memorial Circle
Camera Samsung WB150F
Photographer Dr. Ernesto P. Adorio
Albums Facebook

Plants Clerodendrum thomsoniae, Bleeding hearts vine


This plant, a vine, is a native of West Africa. The flowers, in our photo specimen consist of lobed white calyx and a bright red lobed corolla[See Wikipedia article]







Plant /asterids/Lamiales/Verbenaceae/Clerodendrum thomsoniae
common names bleeding hearts vine, bleeding glory bower
Location QC Memorial Circle
Camera Samsung WB150F
Photographer Dr. Ernesto P. Adorio
Reference Wikipedia

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Insects: a new colorful butterfly.




It is the same buterfly in the fist and second photos. Butterflies usually visit flowering plans during warm weather.(Taken near noon!).


Camera Samsung WB150F
ISO 80
Fstop 4.5(first photo), 5.8(2nd photo)
Speed 1/350, 1/250
Flash Off
Size 4320x3240

Insects: a brown butterfly




Camera Samsung WB140F
Location Quezon Memorial Circle
Photographer Dr. Ernesto P. Adorio
F-stop 5.6
Speed 1/125
ISO 160
Flash OFF



Plants: angel wing begonia



This begonia, according to the Wikipedia is a hybrid variety of Begonia aconitifolia and B. coccinea.



PlantCucurbitales/Begoniaceae/Begonia-Fläckbegonior-Gruppen
Common namespotted angel-wing begonia
LoationQC Memorial Circle
CameraSamsung WB150F
PhotographerDr. Ernesto P. Adorio
ReferenceWikipedia
AcknowledgmentElla Bernales Jacildo(identification as begonia)

Birds. common eurasian sparrow (mayas), Passer montanus



There are 6 birds I can find in this photo.




Here is a photo of a single bird



It was said that the maya was the former National Bird of the Philippines, but the current one is the mighty monkey eating eagle. But before that an endangered native oriole bird.


Photo taken with a Samsung WB150F camera at Quezon Memorial circle. data from camera for the last photo:

BirdPasseridae/Passer montanus
CameraSamsung WB150F
PhotographerDr. Ernesto Adorio
SettingSmart
LocationUP Clarkfield (first photo), Quezon Memorial Circle(2nd, 3rd photo)
ISO 80
fstop 4.5
flash OFF
shutter 1/90
Size4320x3240


Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Euphorbia(Pedilanthus) Tithymaloides,luha, luhang dalaga, birdcatus, zigzag plant


This member of the euphorbia genus grows well in the Philippines. I saw it in Quezon City and Pampanga. But I still have to see the red flowers when it blooms. Already the variegated leaves variety is nice to look at, and this plant may be commonly found as hedges.


More photos to come!

Here is a photo of its flower which is rarely seen!




NameEuphorbia(Pedilanthus) Tithymaloides
Common nameLuhang-dalaga, bird cactus,Devil's backbone,
Jew bush, Redbird cactus, Slipper plant, Slipper spurge, Zigzag plant
Locationup BLiss
CameraSamsung WB150F
PhotographerDr. Ernesto P. Adorio
ReferenceStuartXchange; Wikipedia



Sunday, September 16, 2012

Plants: Yucca gigantea


There are yuccas in the UP Clarkfield campus and I am surprised I could not ID immediately the following trimmed landscape tree at Petron station along NLEX. This is where the van is sure to make a brief stopover after leaving the campus at 4 or 3 pm in the afternoon.


The tree is a yucca gigantea or yucca elephantipes, not some old dracaena plant.


PlantYucca gigantea
LocationPetron station, NLEX,Bulacan
Camera Samsung WB150F
PhotographerDr. Ernesto P. Adorio
AcknowledgmentSusan Estrope Dicker(common name Yucca)
ReferenceWikipedia



Saturday, September 15, 2012

Hylocerus Undatus, queen of the night, dragon fruit


This is a nice dragon fruit flower, also called queen of the night. It is the flower of the exotic dragon fruit whose texture is similar to Kiwi fruit! It is sweet smelling especially at night.




Plant Hylocerus Undatus
Common name queen of the night, pitaya, dragon fruit
Location Philippines
Camera Samsung ES-15
Photographer Al Claud

Image created and copyright by Al Claud, published with permission in this blog.


Flowers: peony


Here is a salmon colored single petaled peony flower, taken by Dinah Canada based in the USA. Many gardening companies sell various colorfula and beautiful peony cultivars that keeping track of the scientific names is beyond our current capacity.





Plant salmon colored single petaled peony
Location USA
Photographer Dinah Canada
Reference http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peony



Photo owned and copyright reserved by Dinah Canada. Published in this blog with permission.

Insects: A danaid eggfly


This butterfly species seems unafraid to flaunt its beauty. They are actually distasteful to birds!

Here is another photo.





Taken with a Samsung WB150F digital compact camera at UP Clarkfield.

Vines: Cissus Sicyoides, Curtain ivy , Princess Vine


This aerial roots of this vine makes nice dividers and a good screen to avoid butterflies from getting out of a butterfly dome. I found this one in Paradise Ranch, Pampanga inside a butterfly house, but I did NOT photograph the vine plant itself which was difficult to do since it was an overcast rainy day.


Here is what I believe a flower and leaves or the curtain vine.




Hopefully, next time I will be able to post more photos focusing on both vine and curtain roots.


Here is a "dramatic"
Plant, VineCissus Sicyoides
Common NamePrincess Vine, Bali Curtain,Curtain Ivy
LocationFirst photo(Paradise Ranch, Pampanga); second photo(University Avenue, Diliman, Q.C.)
CameraSamsung WB150F
PhotographerErnesto P. Adorio
Referencewikipedia


Plant: Zamia furfuracea, cardboard plant, mexican cycad


I saw this "primitive" looking plant used as for landscaping at the Petron station in NLEX(North Luzon EXpressway) where we make a brief stop before proceeding to Balintawak or Mindano Avenue. It cycad.The leaves and stems are stone hard. Here is a link to the photographer's FB photo


Here are more photos which hopefully are also zamias.






Plant/Cycadales/Zamiaceae/Zamia furfuracea
Common Name cardboard plant, Mexican cycad
LocationBulacan NLEX Petron Station(1st photo),
Quezon Memorial Circle(2nd photo)
CameraSamsung WB150F
PhotographerErnesto P. Adorio
AcknowledgementDr. Lorna Almocera(complete identification)
Referencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zamia_furfuracea;
arkive.org

Friday, September 14, 2012

Peanut flowers as ground cover: Arachis Glabrata


I saw yellow flowers growing low in Paradise Ranch, Jollibee Clarkfield, and at U.P. Diliman. A former student identified it as a peanut but a friend in my Handbook of Philippine Plants and Flowers said it is NOT a commercial peanut. I thought it was a weed, but it is actually used as a ground cover! and in soil conservation.


The real commercial peanut is Arachis hypogaea. The one in the photo is Arachis glabrata.

PlantFabales/Fabacae/Arachis Glabrata
Common namemani-mani, Groundcover peanut, Creeping forage peanut, Rhizoma peanut, Rhizoma perennial peanut, Perennial forage peanut,Golden Glory
LocationJollibee branch at Airforce City, Clarkfield, Pampanga
CameraOlympus VG-110
PhotographerDr. Ernesto P. Adorio
AcknowledgmentPhilip del Mundo(identification as peanut), Al Claud(mani-mani, noncommercial)
ReferenceUniv. of Florida:
Guide to Using Rhizomal Perennial Peanut in the Urban Landscape
, Wikipedia

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Flowers : Dietes iridioides, African iris, Cape iris,Fortnight lily, Morea iris, Wild iris


This iris variety blooms only for a day! Am glad my Australian green thumbed friend was able to catch the glowing delicate beauty of this Iris flower, commonly known in many guises as African iris, Cape iris, Fortnight lily, Morea iris and Wild iris[See wikipedia reference].

Flower/Asparagales/Iridaceae/Dietes iridioides
Common nameAfrican iris, Cape iris, Fortnight lily, Morea iris, Wild iris
LocationAustralia
CameraPanasonic Lumix S3 digital camera
PhotographerSusan Estrope Dicker
AcknowledgementDinah Canada(Identification)
ReferenceWikipedia


Image owned and copyrighted by Susan Dicker, published with permission in this blog.
Image is also publicly accessible in Facebook.