Lovely whites and reds.

And I have a special gift among the reds, but first the whites.
078.jpg

We don't see the white Hibiscus flowers often, and this was a treat to see them.

There are many Hibiscus species across the world, and all that we know about the whites is that they are rare and beautiful. We were at a meeting and on our way out I saw the whites, and of course I just had to take shots of it. It's a habit for me to get unusual stuff to share and let me tell you that these whites are really lovely to see. So, on this day, I also got another hibiscus flower that you will see after the four shots of the white hibiscus flowers.
Let's see what Wikipedia has to say about the hibiscus flowers.

Hibiscus is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. The genus is quite large, comprising several hundred species that are native toare renowned for their large, showy flowers and those species are commonly known simply as "hibiscus", or less widely known as rose mallow. The genus includes both annual and perennial herbaceous plants, as well as woody shrubs and small trees. warm temperate, subtropical and tropical regions throughout the world. Member species

Source

Look carefully at the stigma and you will see that the seed grains are red.
081.JPG

And this one's grains are starting to turn yellow.
086.JPG

There is a closer look at the yellow grains, and they are ready to drop their seeds.
083.JPG

As I said above, now have a look at this beauty below.

This is a red Hibiscus, and its grains on the stigma are red.
001.JPG

Here was the gift, as the wind blew this Broad Scarlet Dragonfly (Crocothemis erythraea) down on our Pelargonium bush. Did you know that the Broad Scarlet is a widespread species as its range extends from the Southern Cape across Africa, Southern Europe, the Middle East, and Western Asia. They are found at rivers, streams, ponds, lakes, and wetlands.
109.JPG

Just a closer look at the red hibiscus flower.
004.JPG

And also, another look at the Broad Scarlet dragonfly.
111.JPG

Finally, I think that I told you that our Autumn season was knocking on the door and this picture below will show you some autumn colors in our Summer.
009.JPG

Oh yes, I was happy to get the flowers and the gift of the dragonfly. Don't you think that the dragonfly's red matches the red of the red hibiscus flower? I think so, and just a pity that I have never seen a white dragonfly that I could get on camera to match the white hibiscus flowers. What I mean, is that any color of dragonfly could have landed here, and maybe due to the reds matching it might be a message to me. Something like, nature loves my camera as she knows that I show her charms worldwide in my blog. We live in a beautiful country with abundant wildlife and in nature, and millions of tourists visit the country every year. They say that once South Africa is in your blood, you will never forget it.
Such is life.

I hope you enjoyed the pictures and the story.

Photos by Zac Smith. All-Rights-Reserved.

Camera: Canon PowershotSX70HS Bridge camera.

Thank you kindly for supporting this post.



0
0
0.000
12 comments
avatar

we keep the hibiscus here as houseplants , i do like them they flowers can be huge and the stammen and pollen are great for macro photography .


🎉🎉🥳 Congratulations 🥳🎊🎊


Your post has just been curated and upvoted by @Ecency , keep up the good work !

!PIMP

0
0
0.000
avatar

I am glad that you guys also have hibiscus flowers, and yes, they are great photography subjects :)

!PIZZA

0
0
0.000
avatar

Hibiscus flowers are some of my absolute favourite flowers. Nature unapologetically showing off its beauty! I also recall a very naughty nursery rhyme we used to recite while peeling off the layers of the queen's skirt, as we plucked petals from the flowers. Such naughty children!

0
0
0.000
avatar

I wonder who taught the children that nursery rhyme :)
Please let your man know that I left a message for him in Discord.

!PIZZA

0
0
0.000
avatar

The flowers in bloom look truly beautiful and graceful. And you've captured some incredibly clear and detailed shots.

0
0
0.000
avatar

Thank you, and yes, the flowers are very popular over here. Thank you also for the compliment :)

!PIZZA
!BEER

0
0
0.000
avatar

The white Hibiscus is absolutely stunning! I've never seen a red dragonfly, and it is so beautiful too and it matches the red flowers. Well done!

0
0
0.000
avatar

Not often seen milady, and you are right, as I wanted to show how the red of the dragonfly blends in with red of the hibiscus flower. In fact, I was hoping that the dragonfly would land on the red flower, but no such luck.
Thank you :)

!PIZZA and !LUV

0
0
0.000
avatar

What a gift to pause and enjpy the simpler beauties around us then pass that on to the world through a blog!

I am not sure i have seen many white hibiscus but know many of the flowerbeds in this tourist town are planted with the others in the summer. It seems i don’t see enough dragonflies up here in farm land and i have actually looked into ordering a box of little ones online to kickstart a population of mosquito feasting pollinators. Makes sense the red one would find camoflage among the red flowers.

Looks like you are enjoying the start of the fall colours. Does this mean spring will be pushing some early blooms up here soon?

0
0
0.000
avatar

You are so right my friend, and Hive offers us a great opportunity to show the world the beauty of nature in our blogs.
Sorry about your lack of the whites, but fortunately hibiscus flowers have a great variety of colors.
Just imagine that! You will become famous and respected as the man that eradicated the mosquito factor :)
That is such a beautiful tree in the photo, and the red dragonfly would get lost in there.

I have said elsewhere to a reply that summer has decided to greet us with a very hot heat wave. 38C tomorrow and it will last for a few weeks. Start looking to see if there are any new buds on the flowers and especially on the citrus trees. They are spring's announcers :)

!PIZZA

0
0
0.000
avatar

What beautiful flowers! I have some white Hibiscus in my yard, they are really pretty flowers. The red ones really are gorgeous and the red does match well with the dragon fly. Nice picture you managed to get there, those things are fast! I've never seen a red one before, what a pretty species. You have white one's there as well?

I hope fall doesn't come too quickly, this year is already flying by! We're halfway through March and it seems like it just began...

0
0
0.000