© irene waters 2017
I am a reasonably observant person and was stunned the other day when I saw some flowers I’d never seen before. I posted these in Floral Friday asking if anybody knew what they were. No-one did and Sharon suggested that perhaps I was playing a joke. It got me thinking – perhaps someone had attached them as Christmas decoration to the tree and the laugh was on me. I returned to check it out. Along the way I saw some other flowers I’d not seen before with this seed pod being one.
© irene waters 2017
that had started life
© irene waters 2017
with small yellow flowers before the long seed pod formed.
© irene waters 2017
Then I saw these little fellows. Were these how my flower had started and what appropriate colouring for a flower at Christmas time. I looked to see if I could find what they morphed into.
© irene waters 2017
© irene waters 2017
© irene waters 2017
and found on a different tree what could certainly have been the end of the plant I was looking for.
© irene waters 2017
And found some conclusive evidence. The dried dead remains along with a couple that were still in their live glorious state.
© irene waters 2017
The bush went high and it was obvious their time was almost done as those higher up were of the dead dried variety.
© irene waters 2017
Spiders found them attractive.
© irene waters 2017
I compared the leaf and concluded that my two flowers had no relationship to each other apart from their habitat at the waters edge.
© irene waters 2017
Another flower
© irene waters 2017
and the same variety dried and near the end.
© irene waters 2017
Then I came across my tree from the other day. There were no old flowers on this one and the flowers climbed high on spindly lichen covered branches.
© irene waters 2017
© irene waters 2017
A close up of the attachment shows it was nature not man that put it here.
© irene waters 2017
© irene waters 2017
So were they real. Most definitely they are and now I have two trees I would like to identify not just the one with the waxy red hat covering an olive like ball.
Reflections and Nightmares- Irene A Waters (writer and memoirist) 
I have to find out what this is!
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Me too but I can’t find it on google – yet
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I looked again too with no luck. It is going to bother me if we don’t find out! 🙂
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I am emailing the pictures to the Botanical Gardens. I may have found a new plant (but I doubt it).
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I hope they can help. Can’t wait to see what they say.
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It is finally identified although I will check that the leaves smell like peanut butter. It is
Clerodendrum trichotomum
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Thank goodness! It looks like it must be it! Yay! 🙂
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Beautiful trees and flowers, Irene 🙂
Have you tried to google these trees with a photo?
You can also try to search public plants for this area.
Happy New Year.
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Irene, I have googled but I haven’t put a picture of the flower into google. I didn’t know that was possible. I will check it out.
I hope you have a very Happy New Year Irene and one that sees your health continuing to improve.
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Thank you Irene. I have uploaded photos of plants into Google to find out, what kind it was and sometimes I got help. Good luck to you too.
Happy New Year to you.
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I’ve tried putting the image in but unsuccessfully. I will do further invesigation
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If you on to google.com and search for photos, then you can click at the camera in the search line. Then you can search for a specific photo or upload your own. Good luck, Irene
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Thank you for teaching me this Irene. This will open up a whole new world to me but unfortunately this flower remains unidentified. I have put it on facebook hoping someone locally might know what it is but no responses yet. Thanks again.
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You are so welcome, Irene.
I have often used to google, when I need to find out of something and found out about this some years ago, which I find great, when it works.
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It has been identified. Someone from Facebook recognised it. It is a Clerodendrum trichotomum
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Super!!! Thank you for sharing this.
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You’re welcome Irene.
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So now we know it’s Mother Nature playing a joke on all of us – what a beautiful flower, I’m stunned no one knows its name. I googled “red waxy flower with blue center” but nothing like your flowers showed up. The mystery endures.
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I’ve now put it on facebook. Lets hope someone local will know what it is.
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Identified via Facebook. It is Clerodendrum trichotomum. An ornamental fruit but the leaves when rubbed smell like peanut butter. I will check that out later.
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I’m thinking they might be native fruits … best to ask someone from the Gubbi Gubbi tribe?
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Good idea or the university or botanic gardens would do identifications. Now you’ve got me thinking.
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Finally identified. Clerodendrum trichotomum Not even a native Australian plant but one from Asia.
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lol so very exotic … is it edible?
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No ornamental from what I can gather.
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You spiked my curiosity when I saw the red buds growing off this leaves. Really cool that you got to see what it was and bloomed into. Happy New Year!
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I still don’t know what it is but at least I know what it bloomed into. I will ask the Botanical Gardens.
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Well, you have quite a conundrum. Is there someone in Sydney you can ask ? – I see you were thinking of the Botanical Gardens. Perhaps they can identify it from your photos!
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It has been identified thanks to someone north of Cairns via Facebook. It is a Clerodendrum trichotomum which is known as a peanut butter tree because the leaves when crushed smell like peanut butter as opposed to the other tree (different generic name) also known as the peanut butter tree because it has edible fruit which tasted like peanuts. This particular tree comes from Asia and is an ornamental. The fruit is not edible.
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Well, dang. You could have a source of peanut butter for free! Interesting – I have to store this one away.
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There is another plant with a common name peanut butter tree (Bunchosia argentea) that has yellow flowers followed by a red fruit. These fruits are edible and taste like peanut butter. It is a South American native that I imagine you could get in the States
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I wonder if it would grow in Chapel Hill. I can look in a store that carries all sorts of exotic fruit I discovered not too far away…
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Let me know how you go.
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