Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Rubiaceae

It's -17C (1F) with windchill of -24C (-11F) as I type this, this morning. So, something bright and "warm" was needed. Taken in the ENMAX Conservatory at the Calgary Zoo on 11 September 2011. Thanks, Art (LeapFrog!), for the ID - Egyptian Star Cluster.

We've had far too many days in a row of dull, gloomy days (plus some rain and snow), so I needed a shot of bright colour : ) I think these are Egyptian Stars, and were seen in the ENMAX Conservatory at the Calgary Zoo.

I was lucky to find one single Gardenia flower still in bloom in the new Enmax Conservatory at the Calgary Zoo. The scent from these flowers is just incredible and delightfully pleasant, not overpowering. "Gardenia is a genus of 142 species of flowering plants in the coffee family, Rubiaceae, native to the tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, southern Asia, Australasia and Oceania. The genus was named by Carl Linnaeus after Dr. Alexander Garden (1730-1791), a Scottish-born American naturalist. They are evergreen shrubs and small trees growing to 1–15 metres (3.3–49 ft) tall. The leaves are opposite or in whorls of three or four, 5–50 centimetres (2.0–20 in) long and 3–25 centimetres (1.2–9.8 in) broad, dark green and glossy with a leathery texture. The flowers are solitary or in small clusters, white, or pale yellow, with a tubular-based corolla with 5-12 lobes (petals) from 5–12 centimetres (2.0–4.7 in) diameter. Flowering is from about mid-spring to mid-summer and many species are strongly scented." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gardenia

This plant was introduced from Europe. I've only seen it in one place (possibly two) in this city. This was photographed at the Erlton/Roxborough Natural Area. For some strange reason, the Additional Information mistakenly states that this image was taken today. Actually, I think this is because there was no date set on my camera when I took the photo.