When Senduduk blooms

still early in the morning

senduduk flower has not opened fully

half opened senduduk flower

senduduk with black ants

senduduk

senduduk

senduduk

side by side

We may not be aware about some flowers open daytime and close up when night falls. They do have reasons I suppose. The daytime flowers are meant for daytime insects.  I have grown petola before, and the flowers prefer nighttime to open up their petals.

Senduduk is a wild plant. The flowers has that wild beauty. They seem to be following their routine religiously,  open fully around 9 am, and close by about 5 pm. Their routine is almost like normal office hours. Worker of the month should go to senduduk no doubt, month after month on being extremely punctual!

I love that soft and yet wild shade of purple..

bangchik

treasuring privacy

It took me a while to realize that senduduk flowers always pull the petals and close up before sunset and open up the next day around 9am..... I suppose they enjoy sleeping at night, and don't wish to expose themselves to night pests........ They are choosy and treasure their privacy!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!

~bangchik

Putrajaya Malaysia

Why call it grasshopper?

 look at the eyes

 

 

the guy hiding

 

the remnant of senduduk leaves

 

 

 

 

It was quite late for my normal camera time. 6.30pm. But I noticed an interesting creature locally known as "belalang kunyit". Belalang is grasshopper. Kunyit is tumeric....... it is like saying a yellow grasshopper. I think belalang kunyit is the biggest among grasshoppers over here ....... about the size of  normal thumb and the length of normal middle finger.... sorry for not giving the dimension in metric. (haha)

I know, this little guy had been chewing the leaves of senduduk. Look at the remnants!!.... I never see this guy hopping around and definitely not on grass. But why call it grasshopper?....

~bangchik

Putrajaya, Malaysia

Senduduk blooms attracting tebuan.

Senduduk remains my favorite flower. Very ordinary but nonetheless very special. Flowering seems to be non stop. This cousin of bee or hornet, known locally as tebuan paid our garden a visit. Tebuan can really sting when disturbed. Also known as Vespa Affinis.

I always like to do post on plants. But insects are very much part of the gardening world, therefore they do deserve a space in this blog, however  mean they may be... haha.

senduduk flower

tebuan

tebuan

tebuan

credit: Redzlan blogspot

That's a typical tebuan's nest.

Yeop, our eldest son, was stung by a few of these while playing under a tree, on one late evening .  He was 4 years old then. He run and yelled!... We quickly took him to the nearest clinic and he was given a jab. He slept on the way home until the next morning....

I was lucky, never bitten by tebuan! 

and finally about BLOTANICAL AWARD 2009 [click here], how I wish to thank all blotanists. It is quite a surprise to see Bangchik and My Little Vegetable Garden appearing in 4 categories for the finals;

• Best Vegetable Gardening Blog
• Best Asian Blog
• Newcomer Blog of the year
• Blotanist of the year.

Have Fun everyone.

Cheers,

~bangchik and kakdah 
Putrajaya, Malaysia

Flowers side by side.

Not the usual bright colored and sweet scented
flowers.


senduduk

celosia

kale or kailan

sawi
buds not open yet

cousin of zinnia?

our priceless sunflower

chive flowers
with seeds maturing.

mulberry,
the new member in our garden.

Juicy berry of Senduduk

senduduk
melastoma


It's only by taking the ant's view, 

that we may at least begin to appreciate the beauty in their world.

the black berry of senduduk fully exposed,
and I just wonder
how the berry coat
manage to break clean that way.

I have never tasted the black juice. 

Is it going to be the sweetest thing for the insects?

it all begins with little purple bud

and the bloom with  yellow and red stigma and anther.
I wish to dissect senduduk flower to put meanings
to what teachers
have been teaching me and my peers
when we were kids
about very peculiar terms like
anther
filament
stamen
stigma
pistil
ovary
style
petal
sepal

pollen
ovule
receptacle
peduncle
calyx

Senduduk.
always my favourite flowering plant ever,
domesticated for almost two years
but remains wild
in our garden.

Bangchik and Kakdah

Putrajaya, MALAYSIA

Red leaf of senduduk

senduduk

melastoma

This particular senduduk's leaf caught my eye one morning. Full bright red leaf!!... Wait a minute or two, the leaf will drop and fall on the ground below where worms are waiting .... as most will, as any living things will as they are getting to the end of the tunnel.

But this is not autumn where trees voluntarily turn the leaves  yellow, red and brown. This red leaf is just a glimpse of alluring autumn we never had... hmm.

and of course, there are other leaves of similar color
but not as bright

 

even the weather is a little bit chilly now...

Serenade of Senduduk

Senduduk's flower has no scent as sweet as roses. Even the color is pale. But once it opens exposing the yellow stigma, it lives up to the occasion and manage to attract the prince charming!

The prince charming is in the form of a beetle.

These beetles like to bore holes into dead wood. The holes, large enough for each to squeeze in become their nest. They lay eggs there. When we were kids, these beetles appeared as a must item, as exciting as fighting fish, little spiders, climbing up trees etc, etc..

The other day, as we were fluffing the soil, Kakdah stumbled upon a big brown larva as big as kakdah's big toe an inch under the soil surface. It just wriggled. It may open up as one of these beetles too, I think. Kakdah just left the larva alone.

...
...
O noble pilot, tell me true,
Is that the sheen of golden hair?
Or is it but the tangled dew
That binds the passion-flowers there?
...
...

by Oscar Wilde Serenade

Senduduks are crazy with blooms

Senduduk remains as my favorite flower. Common to most, but special to me.

Little berries of senduduk

We call them buah senduduk. It will break at full ripening, exposing the black flesh! Very much edible but be ready for a tinted tongue...... Never heard anyone attempting at making senduduk jam yet.....

birds love these berries...
their droppings help
senduduk
to spread wide and far

My favourite flower is blooming

Senduduk is blooming madly.... To some, senduduk remains wild and ordinary, but to me senduduk flower is so gorgeous with a touch of light purple petals ... The flowers open so wide almost hanging in the air, staying horizontal and flat.., very ordinary, very special, daring and definitely enticing.....

Lili of Blossom had senduduk featured in depth with her 16th june 2009 post titled Senduduk - the Melastoma affine . She was potraying senduduk with a deeper blue color.

But senduduks in my plot are different.....

The other day, I saw a small senduduk plant close to the tall papaya. I scooped it out, let it settle for a while in small pot. Now the new senduduk is transplanted on the ground to continue the legacy of the mother plant....... I will write something about the little senduduk soon, a wild plant, tamed and domesticated to the second generation!!!