study botany

I have been reading and getting information about local classes. There is a new class starting at the beginning of next year, and although it’s not specifically botany, it does cover it, and it’s for beginners, so it seems to suit me perfectly! It’ll be a great start. All I need to do now is apply.

The Yangmingshan 2007 Flower Festival in Taipei kicks off today and according to Taiwan Headlines, hundreds of thousands of tourists are expected to visit Taiwan’s famous northern National Park from today until the 26th of March to watch and admire as the mountain side bursts into a riot of color this spring.

We thought we’d beat the crowds and go a day early to avoid traffic jams and hundreds of thousands of tourists. Ha! I should have known better. There are two things that are always a certainty with the people of Taiwan. The Taiwanese love nature and they love their pets. That meant that we had a huge combination of all three yesterday when we arrived at Yangmingshan National Park yesterday afternoon.

Despite the crowds, we immensely enjoyed wandering around the park. The park has been landscaped beautifully to look like a traditional Chinese garden. There are pavilions, kiosks, fish ponds, streams, fountains, ponds and of course, flowering shrubs, trees and plants everywhere the eye can see. I can only imagine how tranquil and imperturbable this place when it’s quiet. It must be utter paradise. No wonder everyone comes here to escape the city life. Now I understand why people also call Yangming Park “Forest in the City” and “Imperial Garden of Taipei”.

Despite the hoards of people, we enjoyed our day in the park. We limited ourselves to Yangming Park, which is roughly 107 hectares in size. We barely had a chance to explore, as the fabulous and well-kept grounds provided oodles of breathtaking flowers of an amazing variety.

I had no idea that there are so many different varieties of frangipani. Frangipani comes in a rainbow of gorgeous shades – from palest white and yellow to vivid hues of orange and pink. This gorgeous and hardy deciduous flowering tree or shrub never fails to brighten my day.

Frangipani is indigenous to Mexico, Central America and Venezuela. From Mexico and South America, it has spread to tropical places all over the world. Frangipani is extremely common in Hawaii, but I think most people will be surprised to learn that it’s not an indigenous species.

Mexicans refer to frangipani as ‘crow flower’ and they use it for its medicinal purpose in salves and ointments and is especially useful in dressing traumatic wounds. Frangipani is also related to the oleander which is interesting, as oleander is extremely poisonous. So is the milky sap of the frangipani tree.

Frangipani has several common names. It is often refered to as Plumeria (its genus) and is called ‘Champa’ in India and Loas, ‘Kembang Kamboja’ in Indonesia, ‘Araliya’ in Sri Lanka, ‘Melia’ in Hawaii and ‘Dead Man’s Fingers’ in Australia. No wonder I didn’t know there were so many varieties of this intoxicating flower! I thought the above mentioned were all different flowers.

Plumeria flowers are most fragrant at night in order to lure sphinx moths to pollinate them. The scent of the Plumeria is linked with the vampire in old Malay folklore. In Hawaii, they are used for making leis and are widely used in Balinese hotels, massage and spa centers. Buddhists use this flower in temple offerings and they have been found in Hindu temples as well.

And the good news for all you budding horticulturalists out there? It’s easy to grow!

I just spent a lovely afternoon cataloguing all of our flower pictures taken this year in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Taiwan this year. I’ve been able to identify almost all my pictures and then I though this would be a perfect way to add entries to my goal for studying botony. So, I’m going to start with this beautiful picture of frangipani that I took outside our bungalow on Haadrin Beach, KoPhanghan, Thailand. Frangipani grows everywhere and it never fails to make me stop in my tracks for a longer look. This flower makes my heart sing with joy and happiness.

I’m not able to go back to school to study botany and just want to learn more about the plant kingdom in my own time. So, I thought I’d list some of my favorite flowers and plants and what I’ve learned about them. I hope that those of you who have more knowledge than I will share too.

The lotus is one of my favorite flowers and it also happens to be one that I see often in this part of the world. It is widely recogized and is depicted in numerous works of art. It goes by several different names: Indian Lotus, Red Lotus, Sacred Water-lily, Bean of India and Sacred Lotus. It is an aquatic perennial and can be found throughout India, Australia and southern Asia.

Various parts of the Sacred Lotus are used in herbal medicine. Its flowers, young leaves, seeds, and rhizomes are all edible. The dried heads are often used for decorative purposes and in dried flower arrangements.

The lotus also has religious symbolism. The lotus is a divine symbol in Hinduism and is associated with creation mythology. In Buddhist symbolism, the lotus represents purity of body, speech and mind. Buddha is often shown sitting on a giant lotus lead or blossom.

Scientific Classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Proteales
Family: Nelumbonaceae
Genus: Nelumbo
Species: N. nucifera

Binomial name
Nelumbo nucifera

“One who performs his duty without attachment, surrendering the results unto the Supreme Lord, is unaffected by sinful action, as the lotus leaf is untouched by water.” Bhagavad Gita 5.10

...and now i have a degree to show for it :)

in 35 days i’ll graduate and be a ‘botanist’ of sorts. odd.

after june i’ll be a botanist. weird, i feel like i don’t know that much about plants…