This is the 4th post in the Series of Picture Poster-Flowers.
The following illustrations have been resized from their originals to expedite quicker uploading for internet purposes. As such, there will be some drop in the picture quality or text. I hope that the posters will inspire or arouse the observer to reflect over matters that concern life and living.
​
​The Picture Poster blog series have been separated into pictures with flowers, bees, birds, insects and others. Each blog post will contain about six to eight pictures in each series; and there will be more than a blog post for each section. 

Another picture taken this morning at Singapore Botanic Gardens. Spotted this ginger flower growing in the shade.
Common Names : Pineapple Ginger, Giant Spiral Ginger, Indonesian Wax Ginger.
Botanical Name: Tapeinochilos ananassae.Growth Form: It is a herbaceous plant with underground rhizomes and grows to about 2 – 4 m tall.
Foliage: Leaves are dark green, arranged spirally around the stems, measuring about 35 cm long and 15 cm wide.
Stems: Herbaceous, bamboo-like stems and has underground rhizome.
Flowers: Has the appearance of and upside down pineapple; dark red and has cone-shaped bracts enclosing the yellow flowers.
Fruits: Cone-like, red bracts which will slowly turn to brown.
Celosia argentea. Common Names : Red Fox, Feather Cockscomb, Red Spinach, Plumed Cockscomb, Feathery Amaranth, Woolflower, Wild Cockscomb. Leaves are elliptic to lanceolate with a smooth to wavy leaf margin.
Flowers: The feathery, reddish purple inflorescence is composed of many, tiny flowers.
Ethnobotanical Uses :
Edible Plant Parts (Edible Leaves; Edible Flowers)
Food (Fruit & Vegetable: The edible flowers and leaves are consumed in some parts of Africa and Southeast Asia.’)
Medicinal (In Chinese medicine, the plant is used to treat discharge of blood, as in dysentery, coughing and spitting of blood, excessive discharge of blood or absence o blood during menstruation.The dried ripe seeds are used together with other plants for “blurred eyes”, inflammation of the eyes, abnormal sensitives to light and headache. The leaf stalks are used in poultice to treat boils, sores, swellings and wounds.), Cut / Dried Flower (The attractive, colourful flowers may be used either fresh or dry.)
Picture taken at Singapore Botanic Gardens. September 13th 2018.
This picture was taken on September 25th 2018, at the Singapore Botanic Gardens. I noticed that while the rest of the plant leaves were a nice rich deep green, the end of this branch, where there were some whitish powder-like substance at the leaf bases caused the leaves to change colour and wither. But the colour changes were so strikingly beautiful!
A pathogen is an organism that causes a disease. There are four main types of pathogen: virus, bacteria, fungi, protists.
All types of pathogen have a simple life cycle. They infect a host, reproduce (or replicate themselves if a virus), spread from their host and then infect other organisms.
Plant pathogens kill or reduce the growth of many plants, which in turn can reduce biodiversity. In some cases, it infects the chloroplasts of plant leaves and changes their colour from green to yellow or white in a mosaic pattern. It can also make leaves crinkled or curled up. This reduces the plant’s ability to photosynthesise and grow properly, which can reduce farmers’ crop yields. Leaf colouration is also affected by the mineral content of the soils, eg. magnesium and by essential vitamins eg. nitrates.
Pandanus is a genus of monocots with some 750 accepted species. They are palm-like, dioecious trees and shrubs native to the Old World tropics and subtropics. Common names include pandan(/ˈpændən/), screw palm, and screw pine. Pandanus leaves are used for handicrafts. Artisans collect the leaves from plants in the wild, cutting only mature leaves so that the plant will naturally regenerate. The leaves are sliced into fine strips and sorted for further processing. Weavers produce basic pandan mats of standard size or roll the leaves into pandan ropes for other designs. This is followed by a coloring process, in which pandan mats are placed in drums with water-based colors. After drying, the colored mats are shaped into final products, such as placemats or jewelry boxes. Final color touch-ups may be applied. Pandan leaves from Pandanus amaryllifolius are used widely in Southeast Asian and South Asian cuisines to add a distinct aroma to various dishes and to complement flavors like chocolate. Because of their similarity in usage, pandan leaves are sometimes referred to as the “vanilla of Asia.
Species with large and medium fruit are edible, notably the many cultivated forms of P. tectorius (P. pulposus) and P. utilis. The fruit is eaten raw or cooked. Small-fruited pandanus may be bitter and astringent.
Epidendrum secundum.-one of the crucifix orchids. The plant is rather cool-growing and can tolerate a light frost. E. secundum has the distinction of bearing the longest seeds known in the Orchidaceae, 6.0 mm long. — at Singapore Botanic Gardens.
Nelumbo nucifera, also known as Indian lotus, sacred lotus, bean of India, Egyptian bean or simply lotus, has a very wide native distribution, a very long history (c. 3,000 years) of being cultivated for its edible seeds, and it is commonly cultivated in water gardens. It is the national flower of India and Vietnam. All parts of Nelumbo nucifera are edible, with the rhizome and seeds being the main consumption parts. Traditionally rhizomes, leaves, and seeds have been used as folk medicines, Ayurveda, Chinese traditional medicine, and oriental medicine. While leaves are used for hematemesis, epistaxis, and hematuria, the flowers are used for diarrhea, cholera, fever, and hyperdipsia. Rhizomes are promoted have purported diuretic, antidiabetic, and anti-inflammatory properties. In Chinese medicine, seeds are still used. Nelumbo nucifera is the species of lotus sacred to both Hindus and Buddhists.
Arundina graminifolia. ( Bamboo Orchid, Bird Orchid, Kinta Weed, Phanyar.) It is a perennial clumping herb consisting of leafy, erect stems joined at the base, up to 2.5 m tall.
Foliage: Its alternate leaves are grass-like.
Flowers: Its large, 5 by 5 cm flowers develop in shoots at the tips of the stems. Its three sepals and two lateral petals are white to pink. The third petal is modified to a bright rosy purple lip with a central yellow patch.
Fruits: Its fruit is a cigar-shaped capsule that splits to release the tiny, wind-dispersed seeds when ripe.
The bamboo orchid is found occurring naturally in lowland secondary forests, right up to higher altitudes in the tropical montane forests. Its natural habitats include open areas, grassland, mountains and rock places by streams. Unlike many epiphytic orchids, which are found growing on trees, this orchid is a terrestrial species.
Ethnobotanical Uses :
Edible Plant Parts (Edible Flowers)
Food (Fruit & Vegetable: A highland variety of the bamboo orchid are used by locals in East Malaysia as a vegetable. Its flowers are first stir-fried, and said to have a bitter taste, like bittergourd, and are useful in controlling high blood pressure.)
Occasionally cultivated as an ornamental plant for its flowers, the plants are free-flowering throughout the year once established in optimal conditions.
Uraria crinita. A woody shrub with erect stems and long bushy inflorescence. Common Names : Cat’s Tail Plant, Asian Foxtail, Pokok Ekor, Kuching. Singapore Botanic Gardens. September 13th 2018.
Foliage: Leaves are pinnately compound with about 2 – 3 pairs of lateral leaflets and 1 slightly larger terminal leaflet. Leaflets are oblong to narrowly ovate (6 – 15 cm long, 3 – 8 cm wide). The petioles are often long (5.5 – 15 cm). Stem covered in soft, short, grey hairs.
Flowers: Flowers have one large ovate petal that hangs over 3 smaller petals. (0.6 – 0.9 cm wide). Flowers are arranged on an inflorescence known as a raceme (an inflorescence with stalked flowers carried along 1 main axis). The inflorescence is light purple and shaped like a cone (15 – 30 cm long). This species flowers from April to September.
Fruits: Fruit is an elliptic pod lightly covered in soft, short hairs. This species is used in Chinese folk medicine to treat swellings and ulcers. Yen et al. (2001) found that the roots contain antioxidants. An extract prepared from the shoots has potential as a supplementary treatment for diabetes based on results from an animal model study (Liu et al. 2010).