Strelitzia, commonly known as the bird-of-paradise flower due to its resemblance; also known as the crane flower in South Africa, its country of origin. Photos taken at the Butterfly Farm in Cameron Highlands, Malaysia, during my July trip…
A Japanese farmer has ‘found’ a 56-leaf clover on May 10. The discovery wasn’t mere luck though; Shigeo Obara from Hanamaki, Iwate, has been conducting research on clovers for over 50 years.
Obara will apply for a new Guinness World Record for the most leaves on a clover stem, currently held by none other than Obara himself since 2002. He also made headlines last year with a 21-leaf clover which he didn’t apply for a record.
Meanwhile, a pair of Yubari melons were auctioned for 500,000 yen (US$5,200) at Sapporo Central Wholesale Market… seems expensive, but it’s far below the record 2.5 million yen fetched in 2008 or the previous record of 2 million yen in 2007.
Yubari melons are popular summer gifts in Japan; buyers would flock to the market for the prestige of winning the very first melons of the year.
Yubari official Kaoru Hirano seems happy with the deflated price though, saying that the previous records were giving misconception that the Yubari melons were too expensive for average folks.
Rafflesia is the world’s largest flower, found naturally in South East Asia. There are 27 species of Rafflesia; the largest is Rafflesia arnoldii, which could grow over 100cm in diameter and 10kg in weigh [wiki]
Rafflesia is infamous for its rotten-meat like smell; but I’ve seen the flower twice on different occasions and never smelled anything that resembled the fact.
Sharing a few Rafflesia photos from Poring in Kinabalu National Park during my Sabah trip in March 2009; the bloomed Rafflesia I saw was about 60-70cm in diameter…
Will be having an adventurous holiday in the Sabah State in East Malaysia; leaving on Thursday (Mar 5), followed by a trip to Penang State to visit my sister and nieces.
The blog will not be updated for at least a week, probably two depending on internet availability; see you all again then. Meanwhile, sharing some Flickr photos of Mount Kinabalu, a 4000+ metre mountain that I am going to climb in Sabah…
Beijing has unveiled its official flower bouquet for the medals presenting ceremonies of the Beijing 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Games…
Seems a bit ordinary… but nobody really cares about the flowers, it’s the medal that counts ain’t so? That makes me wonder… why do they need to present flowers besides the medals?
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