Botany Photo of the Day

There is a story behind today's photographs. Rosa, aka contemplar@Flickr sent a photograph of this plant for identification to Julie Ardery, the writer behind the Human Flower Project weblog. Julie didn't know the plant, so she posted it to the Human Flower Project: Name That Bloom, where a few of us identified it for Rosa. However, I did not realize that the Rosa who had submitted the photograph was the same as contemplar@Flickr, who you may remember has shared a few photographs with BPotD in the past. Rosa kindly submitted a few photographs (original image 1 | original image 2 | Flickr BPotD Group Pool) to BPotD so I could share the story. Thank you!

Had any of us identifying the plant been a philatelist interested in Australian stamps, it certainly would have been identified lickety-split – Hakea laurina is featured on a 2006 Australian stamp (via the ANBG). The Australian National Botanic Gardens also has an article on growing Hakea laurina.

Denis Wilson, who blogs about the Nature of Robertson in New South Wales, Australia, wrote an entry on Hakea laurina that is worth investigating. Also, do look at Heather Simkin's illustration of Hakea laurina (click on the thumbnail to enlarge) – exquisite!

Lastly, a reminder for locals: you're invited to my presentation on “Plants, Gardens and Landscapes of the Southwest USA” at noon on Tuesday in the garden's reception centre (it's free).