Flora

I took the main picture of the day at the garden section of a home improvement store. I don't know what its name is, but it's so cute!!! The flowers remind me of cherry blossoms, which I also love! <3 Seeing cute flowers always makes me feel so happy :)

[June 13, 2015: I found the name of the plant! It is called Lanai Candy Cane Verbena.]

Extra Photos (all taken in my backyard)


WARNING: SCIENCE AHEAD (for photo #2)


1. I love the pale blue colour, and it's cool to see "veins" running along the petals.

2. The orange flower is a kind of poppy. The petals are smooth to the touch, like silk! Amazingly, the flower closes up when the sun goes down. After doing some research online, I found that the phenomenon is called "nyctinasty". This behaviour follows a circadian rhythm, just like how sleeping in animals follows a circadian rhythm. Apparently, it is due to differential growth rates of flower petals in response to cooler temperatures and lack of light. According to my limited research, the exact evolutionary benefit is unknown, but there are several possibilities, including protection from cold temperatures, energy conservation, and protection of pollen. There is even an idea that flowers close up to allow nighttime predators to see the ground more clearly, so that they could prey on whatever preys on the flowers! I actually tried to think of a benefit by myself before researching the real reason, and I thought of a possibility that was a cross between energy conservation and protection of pollen. Hehehe :) My idea was that pollinators are probably more active during the daytime. Therefore, there would be no need for pollen to be exposed during the night. Aha! I didn't take the evolutionary biology course for nothing :)

3. It is a picture of 2 trees (I presume, from the 2 "peaks") in my neighbour's backyard. I call it the Totoro Tree :)