Sunday, August 31, 2014

Hairy Macro

This Hoya obscura is endemic to the Philippines, first found and collected inSorsogon. I have been trying to get a sharper photo of a single flower, but my time is up and the wind still doesn't allow me a good shot. That single globose individual flower is actually just 5.0mm in diameter. So it really is small, so an outdoor shot is very difficult especially when handheld. But that will not stop me from posting, so please bear with me.

 It has a few color forms, and i choose the yellow with purplish hue to post here.

 They all hang downward pointing to the ground, technically called positively geotropic. into a flat umbel such as this one. This however, was shot at the bottom looking up. When a few of them are open it is very fragrant around our garden, reaching the terrace nearby. Having coffee at the terrace in the afternoon is made very dramatic by the hoya perfume coming from the nearby garden. Some describe the scent as slightly spicy, i call it perfumy sweet. And if a lot of hoyas are in bloom, it is indiscribably fragrant near our house. Isn't it amazing to be taking some pastries and coffee, looking at the roaming butterflies, and the air is full of wonderful fragrance! Please visualize it, and you will agree with me!

 Most of the hoyas start opening in the late afternoon, to preempt the pollinators which are usually nocturnal insects. In the above photo, the flowers are just starting to open, those corolla will totally flex back in what they term as revolute, showing the inside portion lined with hairs.

These are still unopened flowers, with prominently darker colors and very attractive pedicels.

And because the insects roam around 24/7, day and night without rest, some fruits are developed more prominently in this species. I guess it could be because of the more detectable scent attractive to its pollinators.



29 comments:

  1. interesting how the insects seek the flower at night

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    1. Yes it is interesting, and i wonder which of the two was the first and which adjusted. It is like the chicken or egg evolutionary hierarchy!

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  2. Very pretty mini flowers!

    my blog is here:
    BLOGitse

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  3. really nice shots and great colour and depth to them.

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  4. That's a very pretty flower - I've never seen anything like it. It's definitely got a tropical look to it.

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  5. Beautiful colours and I love the rich textures.

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    1. thank you very much Michelle for dropping by, and for the kind words from a very good photographer.

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  6. Fabulous detail and colours

    Mollyxxx

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  7. Great macros! I especially liked the shot with the flower buds, plump and just on the edge of opening. :)

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    1. Thank you so much Beth for always following and commenting on my posts. Am sorry if sometimes i miss to drop by your posts. LOL

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  8. Wow! I'd never known this flower without blogging♡♡♡ Really beautiful and great macro!
    Sending Lots of Love and Hugs from Japan, xoxo Miyako*

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    1. Orchid Miyako, you should read the recently posted hoyas here, i assure you they are much better and more beautiful than these ones. Thank you for your visit.

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  9. Very tiny and lovely flowers. Nice color combination.

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  10. What fabulous shots!

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  11. well done with the macros. i love the shots.

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  12. The shots are wonderful just as they are!
    Please come share at http://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2014/09/shell-game-linky.html

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  13. Beautiful macros! Never seen this flower!

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  14. I am always amazed at all the little details that we may not see unless we get to see some wonderful macro photos like these.. Super photos and info Andrea... Thank you... (I started posting Nature Notes on Monday nights around 8 PM EST) as there were so many Wednesday memes and I know people still have it listed the old way as it has been 5 years now. I will try to notify them)...Michelle

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    1. Thank you Michelle, yes i agree that there's already a lot of memes for Wed. I am about to tell them to in that meme because i can't remember and just use it as a guide for links. Thanks also for the kind words and appreciation.

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  15. It is a beautiful one. I love Hoyas and have a few of them.

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    1. Oh am glad to hear you have hoyas. I wish you photograph them too. I share all my photos in FB though.

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  16. Lovely shots, great perspective.

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    1. I appreciate your kind comment Janice! thanks.

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  17. Remarkable shots!

    Cheers - Stewart M - Melbourne

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  18. Another amazing set of photos! These are gorgeous.

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  19. Amazing shots of an interesting plant. Tom The Backroads Traveller

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  20. What a beautiful and unusual flower! The way you describe the fragrance sounds so wonderful. Thank for your visit to my blog!

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  21. Wonderful shots!
    Thank you for taking part in Floral Friday Fotos.

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