Catharanthus (Madagascar Periwinkle) and The Clearwing Hummingbird Moth

One day I saw the baby plant growing beside the bougainvillea. by the front gate.  I can recognize the leaves as they are rather distinct looking. Now the  Periwinkle  has  spread to other locations as well. They propagate through seeds, dispersed by the wind.  I have not disturbed them in view of the recent interests on this plant  for medicinal use.   Quote : "The plant has been used for centuries to treat diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma, constipation and menstrual problems. More recently, extracts from Madagascar periwinkle have been shown to be effective in the treatment of various kinds of leukemia, skin cancer, lymph cancer, breast cancer and Hodgkin's disease. Indeed, Madagascar periwinkle is a modern day success story in the search for naturally occurring anticancer drugs" - http://www.floridata.com/ref/c/cath_ros.cfm . Surfing the internet, one can read many articles on the plant used as traditional medicine in areas where this plant grows naturally.  I  found  the following articles interesting.

1) -  http://www.uihealthcare.com/depts/medmuseum/galleryexhibits/naturespharmacy/periwinkleplant/periwinkle.html

2) http://faculty.ucc.edu/biology-ombrello/pow/Madagascar_periwinkle.htm

3) http://www.ecosensorium.org/2009/09/traditional-ethnoherbological-and.html

4) http://www.herbs2000.com/herbs/herbs_periwinkle.htm

The Madagascar Periwinkle  is a remarkable plant indeed. It may be a  common plant,  but  research has proven its  medicinal value  to mankind. It is a nice plant and blooms really well.  The pink color is  very sweet looking. I have seen other colors as well - white, red and a deeper red. I rather liked the  deep red ones, however those are not very common. Since it grows so well by itself,  I did not have to pay attention to it.   There was  this  once I spied caterpillars all over this plant.   These caterpillars were rather verocious eaters and there were so many of them !  My daughter did some searching around in the internet and told me they were the caterpillars of the Clearwing Hummingbird Moth.

 Below are  pictures of the caterpillar and the Clearwing Hummingbird Moth.  My daughter  captured one of these caterpillars and  was successful in 'caring for it until it transformed into a cocoon and finally emerged  as the moth.   Nowadays I don't kill these caterpillars anymore as this moth is such a beauty!    The first time I saw one of these moths I  really thought it was a Hummingbird from the way it moved !  

Face Front  --- coming, coming, coming..Cute!

This is the tail end ... with a tail !

What a Beauty !

So these days I do not simply destroy caterpillars when they attack my  plants - I sent them for verification  first ...... lol!!    So if you happen to visit me one day and see all those big clear glass jars  with some soil, plant material  covered with a netting  -  these are the caterpillars sanctuaries.....

Asplenium Nidus Fern (Birdnest Fern)

When we were young we love to seek 'adventures' in the rubber plantation behind our house.  Those days we did not have much entertainment,  not even a  TV  set just a small radio so exploring nature was a  favorite activity.  We often see the Bird Nest Fern growing wild on the ground or on the rotting trees trunks - even up on the trees. Perhaps that is why I find it  amusing  that people are so fascinated by this plant and  love to have this plant as a feature in their gardens.  Yes,  I totally agree this plant is fabulous in its grandeur and  as a  garden plant , it has  many  merits.  This fern  is  not only  beautiful  to behold  but  really fuss free.  It just  fits in comfortably with the other plants with its evergreen leaves.  This  fern gives a dramatic and exotic tropical feel to gardens  that cultivate this plant.  I often see people grow  the fern  as hanging plants, thus  giving their gardens a wild tropical look!  Yet it can stand all by itself  in a corner somewhere and still draw attention.   The green leaves are  smooth and  almost leathery to the touch.  They stretch out,  like arms seeking a friendship touch.  I think most people can't resist  touching them  in admiration.   The long leaves can grow up to a maximum of 3 feet apparently.   To care for it,  just ensure  it does not dry out and keep it growing in a location that is  humid, with filtered sunlight and  some space to grow. 

The nursery owner gave this plant to us free of charge since we bought so many plants and garden soil from her the first time.  My husband liked the plant very much.   Initially I planted it in a container,  then I  decided to transfer it to the ground.   That was over a year ago, and it has been growing  happily beside the electric pole, almost covered by the fast growing bougainvillea (post dated : 27th August 2010)   and garden croton (post dated :  23rd October 2010).  

I doubt this plant will ever flower.  Being a  typical fern, spores for propagation can be found on the underside of the leaves. It is a good thing this plant is not invasive as I have not seen baby plants sprouting anywhere in the vicinity !  Apparently the plant can grow taller as it aged.  Well it will be interesting to see that happens as now it looks  almost flat. New leaves grow from the center of the rosette,  old leaves at the bottom will dry and turn brown. Ferns have no stems.  

Bolivian Sunset (Gloxina Sylvatica)

I caught sight of this plant with the rather strange looking flowers in the nursery, hidden away behind some other bigger plants in the shade.  It  was  in a rather neglected state,  I think the owner  was happy to let me  have it.  So I took  this pathetic looking plant with the  bright orange-red tubular  flowers, and deep green leaves home.  It looked like a rather robust plant that will grow easily,  and  I was  delighted to have it.  Even those days I tend to select robust  looking plants as I did not have much confidence in caring for plants.  Another reason was I did not want to be tied down to caring for the plants all the time.   

The thing I like most about this plant is the really elegant  looking  deep green leaves, aside from the  unusual shape and color of the flowers.  This plant is also known as  the Goldfish plant..... even though  I do not see any similarity between this plant and  the goldfish , maybe  for the  unusual color of the flowers!  As gathered from its neglected state at the nursery, this plant is  rather maintenance free... I have not seen it being attacked by pests, and it multiplies fast  from rhizomes to form  a  rather good  ground cover. Initially I planted it in a container,  then I  decided to introduce it to the ground  as ground cover.  I  noticed how well it grows on the ground. This plant also propagates easily though the cuttings.  New plants grow rapidly, but for the plant to bloom is a different matter. The blooms are not as prolific as those I see on the photos put up at this link- http://toptropicals.com/catalog/uid/GLOXINIA_SYLVATICA.htm.

I understand that this plant blooms even without much  sunlight, so perhaps  I have exposed these  plants  to too much sunlight.  I noticed that they grow better in the shade, although under direct sunlight they are more stunted.  Spreading by rhizomes, these plants grow in clusters.  During the hot weather these plants  may disappeared only to appear when it was not as hot. I noticed that too much sun causes the leaves to dry up and the stem to eventually wither away. If the soil is left undisturbed, the baby plants will appear again pretty soon. The first time it happened (during Chinese New Year, it was so hot),  and I thought I lost this clump of plants which were  growing directly under the hot sun. So I was pleasantly surprised to see  new plants  appearing shortly after when the rains came. When it was so hot, I did not do much gardening, just watering.

 

Recently  I went on a holiday  trip to Cameron Highlands and I spied this plant growing all over the place,  like a weed!   Why am I not surprised?

Ah yes, before I go off, I just want to share a couple  of   shots  of my lovely dessert rose  (see post  dated  15th October 2010) ...... they looked real stunning this morning! Touch wood, I think this plant is doing okay.  I placed it on the porch when the weather was forecast to have heavy rains for some days,   to avoid it  getting  too much rainwater.  It certainly looks contented in this new location. being sunny yet out of the rain .......!