I initially thought it would tough to find *anything* to post from today, but then it was tough to decide!
I went through lots of images online and finally thought my several shots of clusters of these flowers might be “Strobilanthes dyerianus,” so I left several images for my botanist/plant biology-expert to ID with my “Strobilanthes dyerianus” conjecture. For a change, I was correct.
Once I learned that my ID was correct and I looked at the photos again, I realized the central flower in one image was close-up worthy, so this post is a *severe* cropping of one photo. ("Severe" in this case is about 1700×1275 from the original 5184×3456, so about one-ninth — one-third times one-third — of the pixels from the original!) Here is the original image, http://phytoimages.siu.edu/imgs/paraman1/r/Acanthaceae_Strobilanthes_dyerianus_94126.html
I also photographed an unusual succulent in the genus “Cissus” over which I was confused. Couldn't decide if it were “Cissus phymatocarpa” (as it was labeled in the greenhouse) or “Cissus quadrangularis”. Well, it was neither; it's “Cissus cactiformis.” The reason it caught my attention: it has an almost cactus-like stem, but then has a flat leaf that is very un-like most cactus and unsucculent leaves; see “Cissus cactiformis” — http://phytoimages.siu.edu/imgs/paraman1/r/Vitaceae_Cissus_cactiformis_94110.html
Retired economics professor (“dismal scientist”). Married 40+ years to the love of my life; we have two grown daughters, both married, two granddaughters and a...