Z for "Zephyranthes (Rain Lily)"

Common Name: Rain LilyScientific Name: ZephyranthesRain Lily is one of my favourite flowers. Most of the year, their bulbs would lie dormant. And once the rain  touches them, they would spring back to life in a myriad of colours. I remember rain lilies blooming in my childhood home, in the monsoon in three colours, pink, …

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Y for "Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow"

Common Name: Yesterday-today-and-tomorrow, Morning-noon-and-night, Kiss Me Quick, Brazil raintreeScientific Name: Brunfelsia paucifloraAssamese Name: Bou-PaagolYesterday-today-and-tomorrow is a flowering shrub and has pretty fragrant flowers. The flower blooms purple with a white throat, then turns lavender and then white, hence the common names. Many years ago, there was a bulky bush of this plant at my grandparents' …

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X for "Xerochrysum bracteatum (Paper Daisy)"

Common Name: Paper Daisy, Strawflower Scientific Name: Xerochrysum bracteatumAssamese Name: Kaagoz phoolI saw the Paper Daisy for the first time in my grandmother's garden. As a kid, I was fascinated and I still am. The flower doesn't look like a real flower at all. The petals are crispy and papery. Nature has so many wonders, …

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W for "Weeping Bottlebrush"

Weeping Bottlebrush back home. Check out the pretty bird perched on it.Common Name: Weeping Bottlebrush, Drooping Bottlebrush, Red Bottlebrush, Red CascadeScientific Name:Callistemon viminalis/Melaleuca viminalisAs a kid, I found the Weeping Bottlebrush flower very interesting because of its look. Yes, it looks like a bottle-brush and hence the name.Back home, Deta planted this tree on the …

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S for "Spreading Sunset"

  Common Name: Spreading Sunset, Lantana, Spanish FlagScientific Name: Lantana camaraAssamese Name: Goo phool Spreading Sunset is a common flowering shrub in Assam, and it usually grows in the wild. The flower has a unpleasant smell and hence the Assamese name Goo (meaning shit) phool (meaning flower). For the same reason, people usually don't have it in …

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O for "Oncidium flexuosum (Dancing Lady Orchid)"

Few years back at homeCommon name: Dancing Doll Orchid, Dancing Lady Orchid, Golden ShowerScientific Name: Oncidium flexuosumOrchids are the pride of my father's (Deta) garden. Basically orchids are of two types, the epiphytic orchids and the terrestrial or ground orchids. Epiphytic orchids are commonly grown in pieces of bricks, charcoal, Styrofoam pellets, fern roots; whereas …

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M for "Mirabilis jalapa (Four O’Clock Plant)"

From our home garden Common Name: Four O' Clock Plant, The Marvel of PeruScientific Name: Mirabilis jalapaAssames Name: Godhuli GopalThis is another flower which has  a place in our garden since many years. The flowers of this plant blooms at around 4 O' clock in the evening and hence the name. During the day, the flowers …

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