Plant and A Close-up (This week's Photo Hunt themes)

One of the things I love about hiking in Hong Kong is its having given me a greater appreciation and knowledge of nature.  Granted that I'm still unable to name many of the flora and fauna that I encounter on my excursions into the Big Lychee's countryside but there are a few things I can tell you about some of them, including the plants whose close-up shots adorn the top of this week's entry for Sandi's and Gattina's Photo Hunts.

Starting right at the top: what at first glance may appear to be a red flower actually is an array of open pods with some black seeds still sticking onto their surface.  For months, I had only see the closed-up version of these pods.  Then one summer day, I saw the open -- burst? -- version and it really was a cool moment for me to put 2 and 2 together and realize that that was what in fact I was seeing!

The middle photo is of a close-up shot of the plant known as "splash-of-white" because of its white leaves that tend to catch the eye way before its pretty but tiny yellow flowers. I've seen this plant with the Latin name of Mussaenda pubescens sometimes referred to as "Buddha's lamp" and also have read that its Chinese name translates into "jade leafe and golden flower" -- either way, they are interesting names for what actually is a pretty common plant, at least in Hong Kong!

Compared to the two other photos, the plant in the final photo in this blog post looks pretty ordinary -- but the thing though is that it doesn't smell so ordinary!  Indeed, it was its smell which first caught my attention while out hiking on Lantau one afternoon.  Cutting to the chase for those who aren't aware what it is -- it's wild mint! :b