How Did the Passion Flower Get Its Name?

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You may recall an earlier entry we posted about the Passionflower. It is an incredibly beautiful flower. But then I got a little curious. Where did that name come from? To what passion does the name refer? Romantic passion?

Well, no. The story goes like this: The flower was named by Roman Catholic priests about 500 years ago when they discovered it growing in what is now called Latin America. Apparently some parts of the flower reminded them of the passion, or suffering, and death of Jesus Christ. Check out the photo

Flowers – A Photo Essay

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Tarija, Bolivia, is known as “La ciudad florida” which means ‘the city of flowers’ or ‘the flowered city’. And it lives up to its name. Not only are all the public plazas bursting with colorful flowers, but many families also plant flowers around their homes. The assault on the senses, with such a variety of colors and aromas, is truly a delight.

Plaza Luis de Fuentes - Tarija, Bolivia

Up till now, we have dealt with only one particular plant or animal in each blog entry. However, while preparing a post on a certain flower, it occurred to me that there is a

The Smiling Cactus

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Recently we enjoyed a rare treat. We watched the sunrise from Fish Island, in the great Bolivian Salt Flats of Uyuni. There is no water around for miles, but it is surrounded by a ‘sea’ of salt. The ‘Salar de Uyuni’ is the world’s largest salt flat covering over 10,000 sq. km. (4,000 square miles). And what is the predominant thing to be seen on Fish Island? I’m not actually sure why it is even called Fish Island because the answer is not fish. The answer is about this month’s mystery macro.

Below is the entire photo from which the mystery macro was cropped (by the way, as with any photo in this blog, if you click on it it grows to full size):

Still not clear? This next pictures gives some perspective on the actual size:

Warning: Do Not Climb This Tree!

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I don’t know what it is about boys, but they love to climb trees. I have fond childhood memories of trying to get to the very top of trees in our neighborhood and local parks. But listen up boys! ... Do NOT try to climb this tree!

Here is the answer to this month’s Mystery Macro. There were some nice tries at guessing, but... It isn’t a lizard or a toad, or an animal of any kind. The guesses of ‘chocolate chip mountains’ and ‘little mountains of sand’ were certainly clever, but also incorrect. The guess of ‘beet, carrot or squash’ at least landed in the correct category: flora. However the closest guess would have to be “I think it is a prehistoric rose vine.” But since that is also not correct, no one wins the prize dinner. Sorry folks. Maybe next time.
 
Here is the full size picture from which the Mysterey Macro was taken:

Still need some explaining? Well you probably picked up on the clue: “Don’t climb

The Canary Bird Vine

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We found this beautiful flower growing up the trunk of a large tree.
This is the Canary Bird Vine.

It is grown as an ornamental plant in various parts of the world, but it is believed to

The Passion Flower

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If you were hoping to see exotic, this is it! (Well, sort of. More on that later...) Allow us to introduce you to the Passionflower. We found this plant growing in a passage way which led to the first place we stayed in Tarija.

Passiflora incarnata

Its principal characteristic is the strange form of its flowers. As you can see, they

Compact Beauty- An inhabitant

When I looked more closely at one of the pictures I took of  'Compact Beauty', I saw an incredibly small insect. Check this out:

Bug?!

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Compact Beauty- additional angles

Here are some more photos of the flower in an earlier post that I called Compact Beauty:

This third photo below is of a cluster even smaller than the flowers. It appears to be

Compact Beauty

The photo below is the Lantana camara, from the family Verbenaceae. There is an incredible variety in the Lantana genus. I am amazed at the intricate details of such tiny flowers. (And in case you didn't notice, those are the tips of my fingers on the left side of the photo.)

It is grown in many parts of the world, although it is believed to be indigenous to the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas in the United States. Some common names are: Spanish Flag and West Indian Lantana. It is also known as the Red Sage, Yellow Sage or Wild Sage. However it is not even in the same family as the Sage or the Sagebrush.
 
Update: To see additional photos of this tiny bouquet of flowers, please read "Compact Beauty- additional angles".

 (Léase en español / Read in Spanish)