Hint of carnation

I had a lovely session at the Literature fesival this afternoon with my friend Annie, a talk on three naturalists who went into the Amazon for decades in the mid-19th Century. Wallace, Bates and Spruce left school at 13 or 14, were mainly self taught and decided to make a living sending back specimens to the botanists and naturalists back in Britain. They each made phenomenal contributions to natural history and it was fascinating hearing John Hemming (explorer and previous Director of the Royal Geographic Society)  talk about his new book "Naturalists in Paradise".

Thanks to Biker Bear for hosting Flower Friday, it seems appropriate to post a flower on a day I have been hearing all about the flora and fauna of the Amazon. (Soft effect achieved through a 1s exposure and camera movement).