A red Flamboyant tree (Royal Poinciana) was ablaze with firey red orange blossoms and made a showy foreground for this photo taken with Sapodilla beach in the background.
The Royal Poinciana tree is flowering right now. It has bright red showy flowers that make this tree stand out. Take a look in the Bight as there's quite a few of them there.
My gorgeous daughter posed patiently while I took many photos......thanks babes!
Marta
Turks Head Cactus has a seed pod that is just like a mini rosy red apple.
The recent rains have revived all the plants, bushes and everything is blooming like crazy including my Turks Head cacti.
This one is flowering and fruiting at the same time.
A close up of the pretty delicate looking flower of the Turks Head Cactus
The cap of the Turks Head cactus with budding flowers just starting to pop up.
Looks like one of the numerous lizards at Harbour Club has eated part of the seed pod.
This particular young Turks Head is producing flowers and seed pods like crazy.
This is my mature Turks Head cactus....I'm thinking it has to be at least 25 years old.
I love these cacti……….hope you enjoy the selection of photos.
Marta
Oh so pretty.....the bush is alive with a mass of purple flowers.
We’ve had so much rain this past week and the liquid sunshine has created an abundance of flowers in the bush surrounding us here at Harbour Club Villas. I took a guest out to show him some of my favourite spots for bonefishing and discovered the rain had revived the parched bush.
The flowering Prickle Bush was everywhere with it's long trailing branches more like a vine than a bush.
Heavy cloud cover and just a few rain drops but still that wondrous turquoise ocean
The bush was alive with all kinds of flowers and of course new growth everywhere.
The bright yellow flowers of the Wild Senna bush were a stand out from amongst the greenery.
Pinkish Sea Sage with a yellow eye at the centre is a favourite attracting butterflies and hummingbirds.
I caught a glimpse of something white and there it was, a beautiful passion flower.
You may have noticed a dried twig like low bush........what a transformation as the rains bring out a mass of delicate white flowers.
A heavenly scent as the Frangipani or plumeria flowers appear in clusters.
A pink hibiscus blooms in the gardens of Harbour Club Villas and Marina
A closeup showing the pistil and stamens of the hibiscus.
I hope you enjoy these beautiful hibiscus flowers!
Marta
The colourful wings of the Gulf Fritillary........wings are a brilliant orange and the undersides have large silvery spots.
I was wandering along the road side by Harbour Club Villas and spotted this pretty Gulf Fritillary Butterfly also called a Passion butterfly. It wasn’t the least bit concerned that I was there and seemed almost to pose for the camera. I had never before noticed that butterflies have a coiled proboscis by which they sip liquid food. This tube-like proboscis is a long, flexible “tongue.” It uncoils to sip food, and coils up again into a spiral when not in use. Gulf Fritillaries’ favourite nectar is provided by the passion flowers and the vine’s leaves are the caterpillar’s preferred food.
Here's a close up shot of the Gulf Fritillary's coiled proboscis.
This magnificent butterfly stayed still for quite a long time and I was able to get up very close without it flying away.
The Gulf Fritillary is the most common large butterfly in the Turks and Caicos Islands
The Turks and Caicos Islands have some 35 species of butterfly.
Marta
On our way back home from the gym, I spotted a brilliant flash of red in the bush. I told Barry to stop and back up. Sure enough it was my first sighting of the Wild Potato that starts blooming before Christmas.
Stunning red flowers on the Wild Potato also known as Ipomoea Microdactyla.
Also, the other day I spotted my first flowering wild orchid at Harbour Club Villas. Beautiful tall Encyclia Altissima with its yellowish brown petals and purple and white striped labellum. The labellum is the lip like part of the orchid which attracts those insects that pollinate the flower, and acts as a landing platform for those insects.
The tall, slender Encyclia Altissima orchid in bloom and such a heavenly scent too!
The Turks and Caicos Islands have so many different wild flowers that visitors can watch for as they enjoy their island holidays.
Marta
White starlike flowers of the Jacquemontia Havanensis growing all over some small shrubs and trees.
Chains of white stars covered the bush, bright yellow Necklace Pod with pea flowers hanging off the end of the branches, a lone Marsh Gentian in hues of purple and clusters of pink with yellow Sea Sage and orange coloured Black Sage also known as Lantana. There were so many different wild flowers in bloom!
The Necklace Pod had long sprays of brightly coloured yellow flowers and apparently flowers throughout the year here.
I think this is a Marsh Gentian....there was only the one and it had four petals in a beautiful lilac shade with dark purple centre.
Pretty pink with yellow clusters of the Sea Sage or Lantana. It was used as a tonic for chicken pox and skin irritations.
Black Sage or Lantana with its' bright orange flowers on a small bush was in full bloom. Often used as a sore throat remedy in bush medicine.
There were numerous other flowers but I’ll leave those for another time.
Our beautiful island bush is filled with all kinds of interesting and colourful plants and wild flowers. Have a look for yourself!
Marta
The Devil's Potato winds and twists its way up trees and utility poles and has showy pinwheel shaped white flowers
On the way back from the sports centre behind the Graceway IGA, I spotted a flash of white. I told Barry I was going to run down the road and grab a picture or two. Well an hour and a half later I had a whole bunch of photos of some of the wild flowers blooming along Turtle Tail Drive (Venetian Road) by our villas. I had neighbours stopping to see what I was photographing too. The beautiful island bush is alive right now with a wonderful selection of vines and flowers.
Another white flowering vine is the Cynanchum and there are at least three endemic species. These are so pretty with clusters of tiny white, star shaped flowers. You have to look closely but once you spot them, they are found all over.
Clusters of tiny stars..........the Cynanchum has a sweet fragrance.
Here's another Cynanchum and this one has furry flowers also star shaped.
The lavender blue pea flowers of the Butterfly Pea were blooming in profusion.
There’s more to come and I’ll leave them for my next post. Keep an eye out for these beautiful wild flowers and vines.
Beautiful pink fluff balls of the Black Bead....yes that's what it's called.
We’ve been going to the Sports Centre gym behind the IGA and for the past week or so I’ve noticed these bushes with pink flowers. I decided that I should do a post on all the flowering shrubs that are in the bush at this time of year and I wanted to include these pink shrubs. Today was the day and after a trip to the beach we swung down the road to the gym. The first bushes I stopped at had pink flowers too and this turned out to be the Bahama Mimosa also called Haul Back. The flowering seemed to be at the tail end and I took a few photos. A little ways further down, I saw it…….a breathtaking cluster of pink on a seven foot small tree. My book identified it as the Black Bead.
From January to April, and again from September to December, it becomes covered with clusters of puffy flowers, about an inch in diameter.
The flowers are reddish-pink puffballs with each filament tipped with yellow and with a lovely sweet fragrance. This of course is attractive to all pollinators such as bees and butterflies.
A close up of the Black Bead flower that looks much like fireworks!
Seed pods two to four inches long develop from the flowers and when they split, the black seeds are attached to a bright red arils. The birds enjoy the arils because they are sweet when ripe.
Beautiful wispy and delicate puff balls against a blue Provo sky.
The Black Bead got its name from the seeds which were used to make jewellery. Watch for these bushes or small trees as they are truly spectacular. I couldn’t pull myself away!
Marta
This has to be one of the most unique and strange looking flowers I've ever seen.
I’m not sure where I got a cutting for this cactus like plant and was amazed one day to see a spectacular flower appear. It is called Stapelia Gigantea or Starfish Flower.
The starfish-shaped flower of the Stapelia Gigantea is a subdued yellow covered by miniature purple hairs.
The flowers can be 10 to 16 inches across and are fleshy and shaped like five pointed stars. The interesting thing about this plant is the way pollination occurs.
The center of the flower is fleshy and exudes a horrid smell!!
The flowers are known for their foul smell which resembles the odour of rotting meat. The fine hairs, colouration and surface mimic decaying animal matter and attract mostly flies, which act as pollinators. Before I knew the name of this plant, I called it the “shit” plant but it is also known as Carrion or Toad plant.
Stapelia Gigantea blooming at Harbour Club Villas
This Starfish Flower grows well in direct sunlight and has an interesting bud shape which opens to show a beautiful star like flower with tapering ends.
Marta