Upoffmebum

By Upoffmebum

Next, Alstromeria

These flowers don't really need anyone to extol their many virtues. They do a very good job of selling themselves by sheer looks alone.
More commonly known as the Peruvian Lily or the Lily of the Incas, Wiki assures me that they are native to South America, but have been "naturalized" (sic) in a few countries, including the US, Mexico, New Zealand and good ol' Straya.
They come in a huge range of colours and patterning, almost all of which are on the gaudy side of bright. It's really quite tricky trying to match your particular flower with one of the many images on an official Species chart, but I have a sneaking suspicion that these are of the Alstroemeria exserens species. Originally native to Chile and Argentina, they've obviously transitioned to growing quite successfully in parts of Australia. Only problem is, it's not officially designated as a naturalized species, so more research needed there.
Wiki reckons that some alstroemerias, such as Alstroemeria pulchella and Alstroemeria aurea, have "escaped cultivation" and become weeds - in Australia. Not sure how/why they would classify these two plants as weeds, but these flowers look every bit as stunning as the non-weed species, with intense red-and-green colouring on the former, and dazzling bright yellow on the latter.
So these eye-catching plants manage to migrate all the way over here from far away South America, and secure themselves what looks to be a promising future, only to suffer the indignity of being re-classified as weeds. Sounds like they could make a very good case for a full hearing in the International Court of Flower Justice.

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