Blooming Marvelous

After so many consecutive days of rain, the weather has now been really co-operating. The sun has emerged and the days have been dry and sunny with not so high temperatures - making the meadows and the woodlands are glowing in the sun's light. This also means that garden plants and wild flowers are blooming away and many more shrubs and flowers are about to explode.

Often found in undisturbed areas and roadside verges, this striking wild flower - Barbados Lily (Hippeastrum puniceum) deserves some attention. Native to tropical regions of South America, it is a bulbous perennial that requires full sunlight. During 'summer' or hot season, the vivid orange-red flowers are borne in an umbel on a stem and each blooming lasts just five to seven days.

These flowers I discovered recently were growing wild in the midst of an undisturbed lawn, not too far from my home.

Fascinating Fungus

Because it has been so moist with rainfall, there have been many interesting displays of bracket fungi almost everywhere, from woodlands to garden lawns. Mushrooms and fungi do not have chlorophyll, so they cannot make their own food (like plants do) nor can they ingest it (like animals), except through absorption from their surrounding environment.

Fungi are important decomposers of dead animal and plant matter and thrive in damp and wet areas. They play important role in the forest ecosystem, where they decompose dead matter around roots of the plant and leave behind nutrients that the plants need. Fungi also digest rock particles and other organic materials in soil, in a way of cleaning it for new plants to grow.

Some fungi, like mushrooms, are edible and considered a delicacy in some parts of the world. However, some are poisonous and known to cause death if consumed.