Flower of the Week - Lily - Arum lily by Georgie

Image copyright 2013 Georgie Brown 

This weeks flower will be the Lily, starting with the Arum lily (Zantedeschia aethiopica) photographed in Perth, Western Australia by Georgie.

Arum lilies, originally from Southern Africa are popular garden plants, and commonly used in floristry. Unfortunately these plants are toxic to humans and animals if ingested, and have been declared an environmental weed in many parts of Australia.

Keep cats away from all lilies, as cats are particularly susceptible to lily poisoning - even ingesting tiny amounts of pollen can be fatal. 

Patersonia by Ann

Image copyright Ann Condon 2013

Patersonia sericea is a pretty wildflower with a distinctive mauve/blue colour, found only on the East coast of Australia.

It flowers in spring and summer, but each flower only lasts for a single day.  However, each plant will produce new flowers for an extended period.

Unusual flowers - Moonflower (Ipomoea alba) by Michelle

Image copyright 2013 Michelle Mabbott

Moonflower is a pretty climber with heart shaped leaves and white trumpet shaped flowers that open at night.  In the same plant group as "Morning Glory", it grows quickly, spreads and easily and often becomes invasive.

Unusual flowers - Shrimp (Prawn) plant by Frances

Image copyright 2013 Frances Brown

Shrimp plant (Drejerella) is of Mexican origin. It has red/green bracts (modified leaves) which are segmented, something like the body of a prawn or shrimp. The actual flower is the white and red part in the centre.

Unusual flowers - Tree begonia

Image copyright 2013 Frances Brown

Tree begonias, originally from Brazil, will flower for most of the year.  Both the foliage and the flowers are hairy!

Unusual flowers - Gymea Lily by Frances

Image copyright 2013 Frances Brown

Gymea Lily (Doryanthes excelsa) is a special Australian wildflower that only occurs naturally in the coastal region near Sydney. 

It has huge flower clusters.  This cluster was over half a metre in length.  Usually the clusters are on stems 3 - 5 metres high (and difficult to photograph) however, this one was leaning over due to the weight of the flowers, so I could get up close.  Each individual flower is about 10cm across when it opens. The excellent flowering is probably due to all the rain we had in Sydney a month or two ago.

Unusual Flowers - Bird of Paradise by Janet

Image copyright 2013 Janet Denne

Bird of Paradise (Strelitzia) is unusual because the majority of flowers types have radial symmetry (e.g. daisies), but this flower is proudly asymmetric!  These flowers are also quite large - about 15-18 cm in length.

Orchids are another group that vary from the norm in their symmetry - most are bilaterally symmetric.

Unusual flowers - Clematis by Liz

Image copyright 2013 Liz Orr

Although Clematis is not especially unusual, this variety grows as a vine, and has unusual feathery seed heads. The  bright yellow lantern shaped flowers are pretty, too

Unusual flowers - Flamingo Astilbe by Liz

Image copyright 2013 Liz Orr

Astilbe has striking long stemmed feathery plumes and flowers in Summer. The flowers may be pink, white, lavender or red. This vibrant pink Flamingo Astilbe was photographed in Duns, Scotland, by Liz

Unusual flowers - Liatris spicata by Liz

Image copyright 2013 Liz Orr

With its bright purple feathery flower clusters, Liatris is also called "Blazing Star" or "Gay feather". This plant is part of the Daisy family (Asteraceae) and is is native to North America, Mexico and the Bahamas. Photographed in Scotland by Liz.