Flowers of Rose cactus and Dwarf white bauhinia

There are two unusual plants i saw recently, both blooming in late summer here. Both were blooming profusely. It is a delight to see some new perennials flowering in the summer heat of lahore. Here they go.

Rose cactus with botanic name Pereskia grandifolia is basically a cactus but a tree flowering cactus. It can attain a height of more than 15 feet and an equal spread. The main attraction is its beautiful flowers. Apparently they look like camellia but they are not.


Another uncommon flower is this Bauhinia (Kachnar). Generally we have only one white bauhinia which is Bauhinia Alba and it does not bloom in summer here. This white bauhinia is dwarf and starts blooming at an early stage when only few feet high. The main advantage is, it blooms when no other bauhinia is blooming. This is dwarf white bauhinia possibly Bauhinia acuminata


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Flowers of Ivy Gourd, Desert petunia and Firecracker

There are many shrubs and plants which suit very well to the hot climates like lahore but very under rated. Perhaps they are common but the beauty of these common flowers is not given the appreciation which they deserve.

Take for example an Ivy ground flower. Although not famous as an ornamental plant for its flowers but just take a look at its flower which is as pretty as it goes.


Another plant having unusual blue color and blooming in the high summer heat is desert petunia. Not related to petunia but flower shape is similar to petunia and it is very heat tolerant as well. Botanic name is Ruellia brittoniana


Another plant and one of the few which flower in summer months of lahore is firecracker flower with botanic name Crossandra infundibuliformis. There are two more colors of this beautiful flower that i know of, yellow and purple.This one is orange and flowers very early of age.


This post is included in Macro monday hosted by Lisa's Chaos. Do visit here blog for other fabulous macro shots

Butterflies of Islamabad - Clouded yellow butterfly

Another butterfly which i captured during my visit to Rose and Jasmine garden Islamabad was clouded yellow butterfly Colias croceus. It was sitting on the rose bush not on the flowers. Because roses are not good pollinators hence not attracting much butterflies. Roses of this garden were very ornamental though. I did not see this butterfly in lahore but it can be found in lahore i guess. Here is my picture i took:



This post is part of Macro monday so do visit http://lisaschaos.com/ for more macro shots
This post is also included in Mellow yellow monday. 

Giant Crape-myrtle, peacock flower and katsagon

There are lots of flowers in bignonia family which are ideal to the climate of lahore. Some of them are heat loving and flower profusely in hottest months in summer. Some of them are still blooming in monsoon. Let us have a look.
Giant Crape-myrtle with botanic name Lagerstroemia speciosa It is elder brother of common Lagerstroemia indica shrub, but it is a tree not a shrub. It flowers when only few flowers are blooming due to intense summer heat.


Lahore is full of these trees and they add beauty and bright colors. Flower color changes with age.


Another common and heat loving flower is peacock flower with botanic name Caesalpinia pulcherrima. Flowers for lots of summer months with bright orange flowers.


This one is a bignonia family tree with large leaves and yellow flowers. Common name is katsagon while botanic name is Fernandoa adenophylla


This post is featured at Lisa's Chaos so visit her blog for more gorgeous macro shots.