KANGA

Kangaroo greetings from the land Downunder!

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme,
and also part of the Camera Critters meme.

DAISY SKY

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

SPRING STAR

Ipheion uniflorum is a species of flowering plant, related to the onions, so is placed in the allium subfamily (Allioideae) of the Amaryllidaceae. It is known by the common name spring star, or spring starflower. Along with all the species of the genus Ipheion, some sources place it in the genus Tristagma, but research published in 2010 suggested that this is not correct. It is native to Argentina and Uruguay, but is widely cultivated as an ornamental and reportedly naturalised in Great Britain, France, Australia, and New Zealand.

This is a small herbaceous perennial growing from a bulb and producing flat, shiny, green, hairless, grasslike leaves up to 30 cm long. The foliage has an onion-like scent when crushed. The stem grows up to 20 cm tall and bears a solitary showy flower in spring (hence the Latin name uniflorum - "single flower"). Each honey-scented, star-shaped flower has six pointed lobes up to 3 cm long in shades of very pale to deep purple-blue.

Ipheion uniflorum has been grown in the UK since 1820, when bulbs collected from near Buenos Aires arrived in the country. It is recommended for growing in a well-drained position outside or as a long-flowering pot plant in an unheated greenhouse. Various named forms are in cultivation, some of which may be hybrids. 'Wisley Blue' is a clear lilac blue; 'Froyle Mill' is a deeper violet blue; 'Album' is white. The cultivar 'Alberto Castillo', also white, has larger flowers and was collected in the 1980s by Alberto Castillo, the owner of Ezeiza Botanical Garden, from an abandoned Buenos Aires garden. In the USA, the species is stated to be hardy to USDA Zone 5, and is recommended for massing in borders, alpine gardens and other areas, or it can be naturalised in lawns.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

HEMLOCK

Conium maculatum (hemlock or poison hemlock) is a highly poisonous biennial herbaceous flowering plant in the carrot family Apiaceae, native to Europe and North Africa. It is a herbaceous biennial plant that grows to 1.5–2.5 m, with a smooth, green, hollow stem, usually spotted or streaked with red or purple on the lower half of the stem. All parts of the plant are hairless (glabrous).

The leaves are two- to four-pinnate, finely divided and lacy, overall triangular in shape, up to 50 cm long and 40 cm broad. The flowers are small, white, clustered in umbels up to 10–15 cm across. When crushed, the leaves and root emit a rank, unpleasant odour often compared to that of parsnips. It produces a large number of seeds that allow the plant to form thick stands in modified soils. The toxicity of the plant has inspired many of its common names: In addition to the English poison hemlock, the Australian Carrot Fern, and the Irish devil's bread or devil's porridge, poison parsley, spotted corobane, and spotted hemlock are used.

Eight piperidinic alkaloids have been identified in C. maculatum. Two of them, gamma-coniceine and coniine, are generally the most abundant, and they account for most of the plant's acute and chronic toxicity. Due to high potency, the ingestion of seemingly small doses can easily result in respiratory collapse and death. Coniine causes death by blocking the neuromuscular junction in a manner similar to curare; this results in an ascending muscular paralysis with eventual paralysis of the respiratory muscles which results in death due to lack of oxygen to the heart and brain. Death can be prevented by artificial ventilation until the effects have worn off 48–72 hours later. For an adult, the ingestion of more than 100 mg (0.1 gram) of coniine (about six to eight fresh leaves, or a smaller dose of the seeds or root) may be fatal.

In ancient Greece, hemlock was used to poison condemned prisoners. The most famous victim of hemlock poisoning is the philosopher Socrates. After being condemned to death for impiety and corrupting the young men of Athens, in 399 BC, Socrates was given a potent infusion of the hemlock plant. Plato described Socrates' death in 'Phaedo'.

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,

and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme,

and also part of the Nature Notes meme.

The Death of Socrates (French: La Mort de Socrate) is an oil on canvas painted by French painter Jacques-Louis David in 1787. The painting focuses on a classical subject like many of his works from that decade, in this case the story of the execution of Socrates as told by Plato in his Phaedo. In this episode, Socrates has been convicted of corrupting the youth of Athens and introducing strange gods, and has been sentenced to die by drinking poison hemlock. Socrates uses his death as a final lesson for his pupils rather than fleeing when the opportunity arises, and faces it calmly

UDAIPUR, INDIA

Udaipur is a major city, municipal corporation and the administrative headquarters of the Udaipur district in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is the historic capital of the kingdom of Mewar in the former Rajputana Agency. Maharana Udai Singh of the Sisodia clan of Rajputs founded the city in 1559 AD and shifted his capital from the city of Chittorgarh to Udaipur. It remained as the capital city till 1818 when it became a British princely state, and thereafter the Mewar province became a part of Rajasthan when India gained independence in 1947.

Udaipur is a very popular tourist destination. Known for its history, culture, scenic locations and the Rajput-era palaces, Udaipur was also voted as the best city in the world in 2009 by the Travel + Leisure magazine. A large number of palaces, temples, public buildings and other cultural, artistic and historic places to visit will be found in the city and close to it.

Illustrated above is Saheliyon-ki-Bari (Courtyard of the Maidens), which is a major garden and a popular tourist space in Udaipur. It lies in northern part of the city and has fountains and kiosks, a lotus pool and marble elephants. It was built by Rana Sangram Singh. There is also a small museum here. Sahelion-ki-Bari was created between 1710-1734 for a group of forty-eight young women attendants who accompanied a princess to Udaipur as part of her dowry.

The gardens are set below the embankment of the Fateh Sagar Lake and have beautiful lotus pools, marble pavilions and elephant-shaped fountains. These fountains are fed by the water of the lake gushing through ducts made for the purpose. Each water channel has its distinct sound and the mingling of these sounds complement the ambience of the place.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,

and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme,

and also part of the Travel Tuesday meme,

and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

FRUITFUL

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,
and also part of the Macro Monday meme,
and also part of the Seasons meme.

DOOR

Detail of door at St Paul's Cathedral in Melbourne, Australia.

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme.

SUNRISE

The sun rising over the Yarra River in Melbourne's Southbank makes for a splendid sight. The dark silhouettes of the skyscrapers against the striking sky and the susurration of the flowing water are stunning!

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

BLUE ANGEL

Salvia patens 'Blue Angel' is a striking garden plant with delightful blue flowers. Since the 1838 discovery of this herbaceous species from Central Mexico, Salvia patens has been a mainstay of the perennial garden. Blue Angel is one of the smallest of the full-sized varieties of the so-called 'gentian sages'. Well branched and compact, this variety has 6 cm flowers that are a deep, royal blue and bloom from Summer into Autumn.

It is a reliable perennial, returning year after year in Zones 8 to 11. However, it is so lovely that it is worth growing as a summer bedding plant in colder zones. Blue Angel likes regular watering and rich, well-drained soil. It grows in full sun or partial shade and can handle moist corners of the garden. Use it as a path edging, border, ground-cover or container plant. British horticulturist Graham Stuart Thomas called Salvia patens 'the best plant in cultivation.'

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

GALAXY

Galaxy | ˈɡaləksi | noun (plural galaxies)

A system of millions or billions of stars, together with gas and dust, held together by gravitational attraction.

• (the Galaxy) the galaxy of which the solar system is a part; the "Milky Way" as is seen in the dark night sky.

• a large group of impressive people or things: The four musicians have played with a galaxy of stars.

The Galaxy in which the earth is located is a disc-shaped spiral galaxy with approximately 100,000 million stars. The sun is located about two thirds of the way out from the centre.

ORIGIN

Late Middle English (originally referring to the Milky Way): Via Old French from medieval Latin galaxia, from Greek galaxias (kuklos) ‘milky (vault)’, from gala, galakt- ‘milk’.

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,

and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme.