Coral Reef Photos » Flowers

Mount Christoffel, Things to do in Curacao, Vines

barry — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 23:02:44 +0000

Good evening friends, I had a very busy day taking photos of all kinds of new creatures from rare Slit-Shells to a new Nudibranch we found today but I still need to get them identified before sending them to you. It was a beautiful day here in Curacao today minus the high wind which I am not a big fan of especially because I ride the bike back and forth to work. Aimee was off all day, she tended to our new homeless puppy Lola and cleaned the house. When I got home Lola was and is still here, I guess she is spending the night tonight because she wants to take all the dogs early in the morning for a hike along the North coast. We are about a week away now from our friend Emily coming to visit and we both can hardly wait! This is Emily’s third trip to Curacao and since we last saw her she traveled the World and is now a certified veterinarian.

Your photo tonight is just a simple green vine we found at Christoffel Park, simple but fun!

Have to run, sorry so short, Barry

Bromeliads, Tillandsias, Airplants, Air Plants, Curacao

barry — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 10:03:53 +0000

Good morning friends, I have a big beautiful Tillandsia Air-Plant for you all this morning which was just one of millions that we saw on our hike last Sunday at Mount Christoffel. A Tillandsia is a Bromeliad but not all Bromeliads are Tillandsias. Bromeliad is the Family name, Tillandsia is the genus. Airplants are the common name for Tillandsias (sometimes called “Air Plants”). Not all Bromeliads are Airplants. Airplants grow without soil while most types of Bromeliads do best in soil. Tillandsias grow naturally in South and Central America and southern parts of the United States. They are in the Bromeliad family, and are sometimes referred to as “air plants.” Hundreds of different varieties grow on trees, rocks, cliffs, and various types of cacti. Thin-leaf varieties grow in areas with more rain, and thick-leaf varieties in areas more subject to drought. No soil is needed to grow these unique plants. All water and nutrients are taken through the leaves. Their roots are used as wire-like anchors. Bromeliads or Tillandsias have a growth cycle starting with one plant growing to maturity and then blooming! One to two months after the bloom has finished, new plants form around the base of the “mother” plant. They will then eventually mature and complete their blooming cycle in one to several years, depending upon the variety and growing conditions.

I did three dives yesterday. The first was with two models shooting some photos for Scuba Diver Magazine again the other two were with Mark from the World famous “Dive Bus” and a friend of his up the coast. All this week we are involved in a project of moving corals from one place to another due to up-coming construction project and if they don’t get moved they won’t have a chance. So today starting at 11:00 we will again be doing 2-3 more dives and moving corals and taking them to their new homes a short ways down the reef.

So much to do, have a wonderful day, Barry

Passiflora foetida, Passion Flower, Purple Flowers

barry — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 23:07:41 +0000

Hi friends, here’s one of the prettiest flowers on the island called a Passion flower or Passiflora foetida. It is also known as Love-in-a-Mist, Foetid Passionflower, Running Pop, Scarletfruit Passionflower, Stinking Passionflower, Tagua Passionflower, Wild Passion Fruit and Wild Water Lemon. The name foetida (Latin for foetid) came about because the damaged leaves emit an unpleasant odor. This species is quite varied: the flowers can be white, pink, purple or blue and the fruits are orange and the size of a kumquat. The leaves are trilobed or pentalobed, hairy and sticky and the stems are very thin, also covered with sticky hair. These sticky hairs can catch insects which are digested by enzymes contained in the sticky liquid. It is not clear if the plant retrieves part of its diet from this, it is more likely that it is a protection against possible damage caused by these insects. Many Passiflora have very complex flowers, some are scented, some are used in commercial perfumes. In the early 1600′s Catholic priests in Peru saw a religious symbolism to this plant. The name “Passion Flower” is said to derive from the vines flower resembling the crown of thorns placed on Christ’s head. Others say that the parts of the plant symbolize features of the Crucifixion, known as, “the Passion of Christ”. The ten sepals and petals are the ten apostles (minus Judas and Peter), the darker circle the crown of thorns, the five stamens the wounds, the three styles the nails, and the leaves the hands of the persecutors.

For those of you asking, the little mamma hummingbird is doing great and still sitting on her eggs, we just got home from watching her.

It was another busy day, I dove and Aimee worked with dolphins, yeah I know tough life!!

Dinner is calling, Barry

PS; I want to thank everyone again for you continued support and all the GREAT comments I receive each and every day! In fact I get so many comments (around 1500 a week) that it is no longer possible for me to answer them but know that I really do appreciate you taking the time to post a comment!! Cheers!!

Cotton Plant, Gossypium hirsutum, Cotton Flowers

barry — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 10:28:14 +0000

Good morning friends, here’s another flower from the same cotton plant, Gossypium hirsutum that I sent you a few weeks ago, except this one is light yellow. These are growing wild and out of control behind the Curacao Sea Aquarium. Gossypium hirsutum is a soft, fluffy, staple fiber that grows in a form known as a boll around the seeds of the cotton plant, a shrub native to tropical and subtropical regions around the world, including the Americas, India and Africa. The fiber most often is spun into yarn or thread and used to make a soft, breathable textile, that is a most widely used natural-fiber in clothing today. Through genetic assistance and breeding, today’s cottons have evolved from these “wild” sources and are more processing friendly. Currently, there are five prominent types of cotton being grown commercially around the world: Egyptian, Sea Island, American Pima, Asiatic and Upland. In addition to the textile industry, cotton is in fishnets, coffee filters, tents, gunpowder (see Nitrocellulose), cotton paper, and in bookbinding. The cottonseed which remains after the cotton is ginned is used to produce cottonseed oil, which, after refining, can be consumed by humans like any other vegetable oil. The cottonseed meal that is left generally is fed to ruminant livestock. Cottonseed hulls can be added to dairy cattle rations for roughage. The top leading producers of cotton are China, India, US, Pakistan and Egypt. The five leading exporters of cotton are (1) the United States, (2) India, (3) Uzbekistan, (4) Brazil, and (5) Australia. The cotton plant is grown from seed and usually bears fruit or bolls in about 100 days after planting. Around 45 days after, the cotton boll will begin to naturally split open along the bolls segments or carpels and dry out, exposing the underlying cotton segments called locks. An average boll will contain nearly 500,000 fibers of cotton and each plant may bear up to 100 bolls.

Since it rained almost all day yesterday I took the day off and completed a ton of little jobs that really had to get finished. I first photographed a new snail I found in the driveway and again in doing so got stung not once but twice in the arm by hornets that were nesting in nearby bush. My arm was super swollen all day yesterday and is still a bit puffy this morning. I then spent at least two hours trying to finish my new driftwood creation that will be a gift for a friends new house, boy is it heavy, I bet it weighs close to 200 pounds! At 6:00 I had a meeting at Carmabi, that’s our local “coral research”/ “coral protection” agency here in Curacao and they really do a pretty good job. I went there asking for help and advise in moving some corals that must be moved soon in front of a new development and they were very helpful.

That’s it for me today, not a whole lot going on, hope all is well out there! Be back soon, Barry

Coral Vines or Bride’s Tears, Antigonon leptopus

barry — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 10:49:59 +0000

Good morning from sickville AGAIN!! Now I am sick with another stupid cold and Aimee is still fighting hers. We currently have a record amount of people sick at work which means those who aren’t sick soon will be. I even ran into an old friend out walking his dogs and he was so sick with the flu he could hardly walk, I didn’t even shake his hand, I just yelled “Happy New Year” and ran past him at full speed!

Our island still looks like a Brazilian rainforest even though the rains have stopped considerably. Most of the island is currently covered in this carpet of pink flowers called Coral Vines or Bride’s Tears, Antigonon leptopus and it’s more or less killing everything underneath. In this photo there is supposed to be a big beautiful tree on the right but with all the rain this plant completely covered it! The Coral vine is very difficult to remove as it possesses small tubers which can grow quite deep into the ground. After the rains these tubers will rapidly sprout new vines and within a short time everything will again be covered by this plant! The leaves are oblong heart-shaped and make a knobby impression. The flowers hang down in large fiery rose-red branches. There also exists a variety with white flowers and to see a large area of this color variation is truly a sight to behold, it’s like a blanket of snow covering everything.

Hope all is well out there, miss you guys!! Barry

Gossypium hirsutum, Cotton Plant, Caribbean Flowers

barry — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 10:23:19 +0000

Good morning friends, here’s something cool, this the flower from a cotton plant,Gossypium hirsutum that I found growing behind the Curacao Sea Aquarium. Gossypium hirsutum is a soft, fluffy, staple fiber that grows in a form known as a boll around the seeds of the cotton plant, a shrub native to tropical and subtropical regions around the world, including the Americas, India and Africa. The fiber most often is spun into yarn or thread and used to make a soft, breathable textile, that is a most widely used natural-fiber in clothing today. Through genetic assistance and breeding, today’s cottons have evolved from these “wild” sources and are more processing friendly. Currently, there are five prominent types of cotton being grown commercially around the world: Egyptian, Sea Island, American Pima, Asiatic and Upland. In addition to the textile industry, cotton is in fishnets, coffee filters, tents, gunpowder (see Nitrocellulose), cotton paper, and in bookbinding. The cottonseed which remains after the cotton is ginned is used to produce cottonseed oil, which, after refining, can be consumed by humans like any other vegetable oil. The cottonseed meal that is left generally is fed to ruminant livestock. Cottonseed hulls can be added to dairy cattle rations for roughage. The top leading producers of cotton are China, India, US, Pakistan and Egypt. The five leading exporters of cotton are (1) the United States, (2) India, (3) Uzbekistan, (4) Brazil, and (5) Australia. The cotton plant is grown from seed and usually bears fruit or bolls in about 100 days after planting. Around 45 days after, the cotton boll will begin to naturally split open along the bolls segments or carpels and dry out, exposing the underlying cotton segments called locks. An average boll will contain nearly 500,000 fibers of cotton and each plant may bear up to 100 bolls.

Not much going on at the moment things seem to be fairly quiet here. Stijn and I went for a fast ride last night but I ended up having some bike problems due to a new swing-arm I put on yesterday, will have to take it in to the shop today.

Aimee and I are taking the dogs to the North coast early this morning, I need to pick up some wood that I left there a few days ago. Have a great day,

Barry

Royal Poinciana, Fabaceae, Delonix regia, Curacao Trees

barry — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 10:23:12 +0000

Howdy gang, here’s a new one for my flower lovers out there, this is called Royal Poinciana, or Delonix regia and it’s by far the most beautiful tree on the island! When we lived in Cancun, Mexico years ago the locals told us this tree was called “the flame of the forest” or “flame tree” and in Spanish it’s Arbol de Fuefo. This tree is constantly voted among the top five most beautiful flowering tree in the World, you really have to see it to believe it! When you see one of these from a distance it looks like the whole thing is on fire, hence the name, “flame tree”. The Royal Poinciana is native to Madagascar and related to the Tamarind and Mimosa trees. The astonishing reddish orange flowers bloom in dense clusters which create a solid picture of color and the older the tree the more intensely it will bloom.

I just got home from a fast ride thru the wilds of Curacao with my buddy Stiyn who just keeps getting faster and faster with every ride! All this rain has made the trails very difficult and dangerous to ride, the plants are growing so fast and there are loose rocks everywhere! Not much else to report, all is quiet, hope you all are doing well. Sorry so short, be back tomorrow, Barry

French Cotton, Giant Milkweed, Calotropis Procera

barry — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 00:34:06 +0000

Good day everyone, it’s weekend time! I have so much stuff to do tomorrow and Sunday that it will be tough to get half of it finished. Today I did three more dives in very rough seas. All day the waves kept getting bigger and bigger and underwater it was a total mess of churned up sand, dirt and plankton making picture taking a big challenge. Today was “bring on the pain day” for me, I was freakishly getting hurt all day, and don’t say it’s old age! I first walked right into solid steel hook on the end of a crane and fell on the ground, nice bump on the head and cut my knee. Then while walking with the bag of ice on my head I kicked the edge of the Photoshop counter with my toe, more blood, then slipped on the moving platform putting my dive gear on, cut my finger, more blood, then later kicked the same spot in the Photoshop again, more blood and last stepped on a long thorn that went thru my flip-flop into my foot, yep, more blood! Man what a day, I feel like I wrecked on my mountain bike!

Here’s a flower we call French Cotton or Giant Milkweed (Calotropis procera) and has the coolest most beautiful clusters of lavender and purple flowers. The locals call this plant the Katuna di Seda, Katunbom and in Dutch it’s called Zijkatoen, say that ten times real fast!! This plant is originally from Africa and can be found here in Curacao anywhere that the locals have removed the natural vegetation, meaning it’s everywhere and easy to find. The plant contains a milky sap which sticks to the skin but does not have any harmful effects and the stem and the undersides of the leaves are covered with small hairs. It’s rather small flowers are white and purple and grow in the axils of the leaves. The seedpods are greatly inflated and contain seeds with silk-like fluff (the cotton) which bursts open and disperse the seeds by the wind.

Very tired, have some car horror stories for you later, we found the worst place on the island to take a vehicle for body repair. Have a wonderful weekend, I need to go find a new Band-Aid! Bye, Barry

Flower Face, Daisy, Gloriosa Daisy, Wyoming

barry — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 13:24:24 +0000

Good morning everyone, surprise: Aimee here! Yes, Barry and I finally went on vacation together! It is so wonderful! Yesterday was the best day ever! The weather could not have been more perfect with a slight breeze blowing over the golden prairie just enough to cool us down, the brilliant blue sky with hardly a cloud in it and this little oasis of flowers and animals right in the center of it all! To begin with, it seems like a holiday around here and we have eaten more food in one day than in most weeks! This involves about 10 people, huge tables, ham and potatoes and all the fixings. We keep laughing about all the eating that is going on. After the birthday of the night before there many people here and soon after breakfast Karin took me on a great horseback ride around their place. This was quite a ride (for over an hour in just one, single pasture) on one of their working horses and I really enjoyed learning how to guide and cue the horse to open gates from up on top of her. Out on our ride we got to see so much of their local wildlife from deer, to coyotes, to quite a large herd of antelope making a dust storm moving across the prairie; it’s life a wildlife park out here! Barry took this time to go with one of the kids to check out a new fossil area and see what it had. The afternoon was spent with people relaxing in the front yard, watching the turkeys and sage hens, kids playing and women getting lunch made. It was a wonderful picnic in the yard with hamburgers and beer and cake. Wow. Barry spent his afternoon taking photos of a 50 caliber sniper rifle in the barn, where he fixed up an entire studio area. Some of the kids helped him as assistants and that gave me time to help in the kitchen and then to set out to video and photo some of the turkeys in the yard. There is one mamma and about 10 of her young; wow, so much fun. I learned if I sat down and started reading and ignored them, they got quite curious and came within about 10 feet of me, clucking and talking all the way. Soon after it was once again time to eat, as others headed out to their respective homes for the beginning of the week. Wow. What a great day. I could just get lost here for sure.

I love this photo, it’s a “Flower Face” that we found in the garden, I guess you need to use your imagination.

We are off for a full day of hiking and then at 5:00 Barry is photographing some cowboys. See you tomorrow, Aimee

Rudbeckia, Gloriosa Daisy, Wyoming Flowers

barry — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 14:39:47 +0000

Good morning from Wyoming again. Aimee and I had a super fun Saturday out here on the ranch yesterday. We went with our friend Karine (who was just in Curacao with us) on four-wheelers in search of new fossil locations on their land. Aimee and I shared a vehicle and she drove, it was pretty much non-stop fun from the beginning till the end. We ended up finding some great new areas that I will go back to today while Aimee and Karine go horse back ridding. Last night we sat in on a fantastic home made country dinner and after celebrated two birthdays, again it was a really fun evening. Still fighting my cold/throat infection junk, what a drag, I am blaming my boss Dutch and his son for this as they were both super sick when I left, I knew I would get it!

Here is another fast snap-shot of the garden they have here. These are Gloriosa Daisys or Rudbeckia that are still busting with color and were screaming at me to come take their photo.

Off to play, talk to you again soon, Barry