This is the 5th post in the Series of Picture Poster-Flowers.The following blog posts 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. ​

​The following illustrations have been resized from their originals to expedite quicker uploading for internet purposes. As such, there will be a drop in the picture or text quality. 

Gustavia is a genus of flowering plants of Lecythidaceae family described by Linnaeus in 1775. It is native to tropical Central America and South America. Many of the species are threatened; some are critically endangered. These pictures were taken at Singapore Botanic Gardens.

Etlingera fimbriobracteata (K.Schum.) R.M.Sm. Synonyms : Amomum fimbriobracteatum.
Growth Form: Large rhizomatous herb to 7m tall
Foliage: Leaves green , to 121 cm long and 18 cm wide. Upper surface glabrous, undersurface sometimes with short hairs.
Flowers: Inflorescence arising from rhizome , embedded in soil, with up to 90 flowers per head. Corolla yellow, anther crest yellow – orange
Fruits: Infructescence globular, to about 8 x 10cm with up to 65 fruits per head, borne at ground level. Fruits ripen reddish.
Ethnobotanical Uses :
Edible Plant Parts (Edible Fruits; Edible Stems)
Food (Fruit & Vegetable: Fruits and young shoots eaten by indigenous peoples in Borneo)
[Others]: Indigenous peoples in various parts of Sabah use the leaf sheaths for making mats; leaves are also used to wrap rice.

The Lily flower, in all its various forms, is commonly considered to mean: royalty and regal bearing; motherhood and fertility; purity and the beauty of youth; passion and drive; renewal and rebirth. There are hundreds of different true lilies, but they all fall under the same Lilium genus. Both the Greeks and Romans held the Lily in very high regard, including it in dozens of their religious myths and breeding the plants extensively. Alchemists considered it a lunar plant with feminine qualities, while the Lily is in high demand in China for weddings because its name sounds like the start of a phrase wishing the couple a happy union for a century. Chinese friends and family members also give the flower to people who have experienced a recent loss because it is believed to help relieve heartache. ​

Common Names : Orange Tulip Ginger, Dwarf Orange Ginger, Green Mountain Spiral Flag.
Growth Form: Spiral ginger up to 90cm tall which forms clumps. Leaves light green, hairy, to 12 (15cm) long by 5 (6cm) wide. It has an underground, horizontal stem known as a rhizome which produces aboveground stems at regular intervals.
Flowers: Inflorescence to 10cm tall, usually much shorter and only 5-8cm tall. Bracts bright orange red, pale whitish orange towards the base. Flowers tubular to 5cm in length, bright orange, lip red, lobed.
Fruits: The dry, dehiscent fruit is known as a capsule. It is woody and approximately round to egg-shaped.

Oncidium Goldiana ‘Golden Shower. Growth Form: Sympodial orchid created by crossing Oncidium flexuosum with Oncidium spacelatum. It was one of the first Oncidium hybrids created by Singapore Botanic Gardens in 1939.
Foliage: Green leaves are strap-like and leathery.
Flowers: The inflorescence grows up to 1 m long, consisting of 1 main axis with up to 10 sub-inflorescences (15 cm long ) branching off from it. Each inflorescence produces 60-80 dark yellow flowers with brownish stripes and spots (3 cm high, 2 cm wide). The 2 lateral petals and dorsal sepal are long and thin, while the 2 small sepals are located behind a large, fan-like yellow lip. The lateral sepals are connected to the lip at the top of the lip. Picture taken at the Golden Shower arches at the National Orchid Garden in Singapore Botanic Gardens.

I’ve prayed the Prayer for Generosity many times, thinking that Ignatius wrote it. Does it matter that he didn’t?Turns out that no one can find any reference to this prayer before 1897. The oldest publication of it dates from 1910, where it appeared as “The Scout’s Prayer” in a French Boy Scout manual. The author is unknown, but no one who has looked into the matter thinks that it was Ignatius.

The pink lotus flower is perhaps one of the most celebrated flowers that there is. It is considered sacred, and it is associated within the highest realms of Buddhism, with the Buddha himself, many kings, and the highest deity often depicted with this plant. The scientific name for the genus of lotus is Nelumbo, and the plant serves many uses, in addition to being associated with Hinduism and Buddhism, wrote is representative of creation, enlightenment, and purity; it is all a well-known source of food.Indeed, in ancient Greek mythology Homer in his book the Odyssey describes how Ulysses visits the land of the lotus eaters. The plant has many purposes, and can be used to make tea; its seeds can be eaten, as indeed can their tubers.

Costus malortieanus. Herbaceous plant to 1m tall
Foliage: Leaves obovate to elliptic, to 18cm wide. Upper surface of leaf with a dense layer of soft hairs, light green, with dark green bands running from the apex to base of the leaf. Flowers: Inflorescence to 9cm long, bracts green. Corolla yellow to yellowish white; lip yellow, lateral lobes heavily marked with reddish brown to brown stripes. Picture taken in Central Java at the MesaStila Resort and Spa.