A Feast of Orchids

Hello and welcome to my blog. Orchids are incredibly diverse and exotic flowers. In the Botanical gardens in Singapore there is a lovely Orchid garden where I took these photos.

The national flower of Singapore is the Vanda Miss Joaquim.

For those who are technically oriented I used my Nikon D80 with an AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED.

This first photo shows the beautifully
patterned lip of the flower

Enjoy the photos!

Alan

Though we tend to think of
orchids as tropical, they grow
on all continents except
Antartica

I was attracted by the light shining through
this orchid
















There is nothing shy about orchids.
Petals akimbo and lip sticking out!



















Heaven, I see heaven...

















Each orchid is pollenated by a specific insect
or bird. To protect orchids the whole
ecosystem needs to be conserved
















They are masters at seducing their pollenator.
A particularly active orchid shoots sticky
pollen balls at bees

















Orchid flowers have their male and female
parts (anther and stigma) fused into a single
structure called the "column". The column is
unique in the plant kingdom

















Three cheeky chappies!
Orchids come in every colour of the rainbow,
but there is no black orchid

















And their shape is very diverse too. it is
estimated that there are 15,000 to
25,000 different species growing in the
wild. And if that wasn't enough there are
no less than 35,000 hybrids!

















Some orchids make me think of natural

Japanese Ikebana. Beautiful shapes and
simplicity

One stands out in the crowd

Kew gardens has an orchid plant that is 100
years old. An individual flower will last several
weeks unless it is pollenated, in which case it
wilts and dies






















Dripping beauty. Pure white and
seductive violet. Superb contrast
















The first plants of each new species brought
back to England fetched high prices.
The largest amount ever recorded was in
1890 when £1,500 was paid for one orchid,
that is equivalent to around £96,500 today!

















“You can get off alcohol, drugs,women, food
and cars, but once you're hooked on orchids
you're finished.”
Joe Kunisch




















My, what a big and inviting lip you have!

Pretty as a picture
















Simply gorgeous
















A final splash of colour

Thanks so much for coming. Hope to see you
soon. Next time some other flowers, plants
and birds. Hope to see you then

Alan

Singapore Zoo - last visit

UPDATE 5 February 2009

Just to let my viewers know I have gone to the UK as my Dad is not well.

I will upload the next edition of my blog as soon as I can after I have returned to Singapore.

Alan




Hello and welcome.

This is the concluding post of my trip to the Singapore Zoo. Some animals, a couple of birds and a few orchids. I hope you enjoy the photos.

Next time I will post shots from my latest experiment with macro-photography.

This first shot is of a South African antelope. Do you know what the difference is between an antelope and a deer?
Answer

In this issue you have some homework to do!

Alan
















Male giraffes can grow to almost 6 metres
The average lifespan in the wild is about 10 years,
but in captivity they can live up to 28 years
















Tell me, what is special about their tongue?
Answer















Now, how did anything get called a warthog?
Can you tell me why the warts are useful?
Answer
















It was all a bit snoozy by the time I got to
the lions. The lionesses usually do the hunting
through co-operative teamwork
















And then they sleep! Not that these lions had
to exert themselves much to get lunch!
















Cushions are a bit hard....
















Male lions rather offend principles of equality.
They get the women to do the dangerous work,
the top guy gets all the ladies
and when the women have killed their prey
the bloke takes the lion's share!






















"Oi! have a look at me tonsils!
I think they're inflammed."
The most energy I saw with
this lot was a yawn






















The King of the Jungle finally decided he
ought to do something. I have searched
everywhere on the Internet but can't
find anything on why he's sniffing leaves!

Question: when an adult lion roars,
how far away can the roar be heard?
Answer is here






















Orchids are the national flower
of Singapore


















There are many orchid gardens in Singapore.
There are many species of orchid
















Which species of orchid is the Singapore Orchid
and why was it chosen?
Answer






















This is a male Electus Parrot.
What a beautiful beak! It can
only be found in one part of the
world. Your question is, where?
Answer






















And believe it or not this is his wife!
This is the female of the species.




















There are 17 species of penguins.
Which species is this one?
Answer
















Why is the White Rhino called "White"?
Check you answer:
Answer
















Zebras live in some parts of Africa and can
run for a long time at about 40 km per hour






















They feed mostly on rough grass
















Question for you. In what way are their
stripes useful?
Answer