| Thottea grandiflora |
| This
is perhaps the next best substitute to seeing Rafflesia for the botany
students! : ) Photo below: You are looking upwards into the throat of the bell-shaped flower of Thottea grandiflora back-lit by sunlight streaming through the forest canopy above. Noticed the hynoptic lines converging towards the united androecium and stylar column ? The region around it is where solar illumination is strongest. It is the perfect strategem for luring pollinating flies or other insects to the column by baiting it with light and redness. For want of a name, I would venture to call this strategem by a classical name --'Red Chamber Dream' ! But how about 'Red Light District' ? Fellow botany students... your choice is as good as mine ! : ) |
