Rubiaceae

Family Rubiaceae which is also referred to as the coffee family, madder family and bedstraw family.

Hamelia patens

Firebush, Hamelia patens - Location: Alafua, Samoa

Firebush, Hamelia patens - Location: Alafua, Samoa

Binomial Name: Hamelia patens

Taxonomy: Phylum: Angiosperms– Class: Eudicots –  Unranked: Asterids–  Order: Gentianales – Family: Rubiaceae  – Genus: hamelia  – Species: H. Spatens

Common names: Firebush, Hummingbird Bush, Scarlet Bush, Redhead (English)

Pentas lanceolata

Egyptian Starcluster, Pentas lanceolata - Location: Alafua, Samoa

Egyptian Starcluster, Pentas lanceolata - Location: Alafua, Samoa

Binomial Name: Pentas lanceolata

Taxonomy: Phylum: Angiosperms– Class: Eudicots –  Unranked: Asterids–  Order: Gentianales – Family: Rubiaceae  – Genus: Pentas – Species: P. lanceolata  

Common names: Egyptian Starcluster (English); Millepertuis à grandes fleurs (French); Großkelchige Johanniskraut (German)

Gardenia

Gardenia - Location Orator Hotel, Ululoloa, Samoa

Binomial Name: Gardenia ???

Taxonomy: Phylum: Angiosperms– Class: Eudicots –  Unranked: Asterids–  Order: Gentianales – Family: Rubiaceae – Subfamily: Ixoroideae – Tribe: Gardenieae – Genus: Gardenia – Species: G. (unknown species)

Common names: Common Jasmine, Cape Jasmine, Cape Jasmine (English); name  (French); name (Spanish); name (Italian) TKaapse jasmin (Dutch); Gardenie , Knopflochblume, Blumen-Gardenie (German)

Morinda citrifolia

Flowers of Indian Mulberry, Morinda citrifolia -- Location: Malifa, Samoa



Wattled Honeyeater feeding on nectar in flowers of Indian Mulberry, Morinda citrifolia - Location: Alafua, Samoa



 Cardinal Myzomela on Indian Mulberry, Morinda citrifolia - Location: Alafua, Samoa

Samoan Starling on Indian Mulberry, Morinda citrifolia - Location: Alafua, Samoa

Binomial Name: Morinda citrifolia

Taxonomy: Phylum: Angiosperms– Class: Eudicots –  Unranked: Asterids–  Order: Gentianales – Family: Rubiaceae – Subfamily: Rubioideae – Tribe: Morindeae – Genus: Morinda– Species: M. citrifolia

Common names: Indian Mulberry, Great morinda, Noni, Beach Mulberry, Cheese fruit (English); nonu, Pomme-chien (French); noni, gunábana cimarrona, fruta del diablo o mora de la India (Spanish); Nonu (Samoan); Ayushka, Achuka (Sanskrit), Pongeephal, Ach (Hindi), Achu (Urdu), Mengkudu (Malaysia); Apatot (Philipines)

Ixora coccinea

Ixora coccinea - Location: Alafua, Samoa



Ixora coccinea - Location: Alafua, Samoa

Ixora coccinea - Location: Alafua, Samoa

Binomial Name: Ixora coccinea Taxonomy: Phylum: Angiosperms– Class: Eudicots –  Unranked: Asterids–  Order: Gentianales – Family: Rubiaceae – Subfamily: Ixoroideae – Tribe: Ixoreae –  – Genus: Ixora – Species: I. coccinea Common names: Ixora, West Indian Jasmine, Jungle Flame, Jungle geranium (English); ixora (French); Ixora, cruz de malta, coralillo o Santa Rita (Spanish);  Sugi (Samoan)

Flora and Fauna - Plants and Critters Blog by Vincent Albert Vermeulen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Based on a work at http://plantsandcritters.blogspot.be/.

Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://plantsandcritters.blogspot.be/.

My other blogs

· Flora and Fauna - Plants and Critters (on plants, animals as well as gardening, conservation and environmental matters): http://plantsandcritters.blogspot.com/

· The Blood of Souls (language, translation and etymology) : http://thebloodofsouls.blogspot.com/

· Whiskers on Kittens (Life with Kittens and Cats in general) : http://whiskersonkittens-vincent.blogspot.com

Some Birds of Samoa

White tern (Gygis alba)

Binomial Name: Gygis alba

Common names: White tern, Common White Tern, (English) Tava’esina (Samoan) Gygis blanche (French); Feenseeschwalbe (German); Charrán Blanco (Spanish)
Taxonomy: Kingdom: Animalia - Phylum: Chordata – Class: Aves – Order: Charadriiformes – Family: Sternidae– Genus: Gygis– Species: G. alba

Photographed at Vailima on the Road of Loving Hearts on the way up to Robert Louis Stevenson's tomb.

 

Purple Swamphen (Porphyrio porphyrio)

Binomial Name: Porphyrio porphyrio

Common names: Purple Swamphen (English) Manualii (Samoan); Taléve sultane (French); Purpurhuhn (German); Calamón Común (Spanish); Pūkeko (Māori)
Taxonomy: Kingdom: Animalia - Phylum: Chordata – Class: Aves – Order: Gruiformes – Family: Rallidae– Genus: Porphyrio– Species: P. porphyrio

Photographed past Aleisa on the road going up to the Power Station

Wattled Honeyeater (Foulehaio carunculatus)

 

Binomial Name: Foulehaio carunculatus

Common names: Wattled honeyeater, Carunculated Wattled Honeyeater, Samoan Wattled Honeyeater, Viti levu Honeyeater (English) I’ao (Samoan) Schuppenkopf-Honigfresser (German); Mielero Foulehaio (Spanish); Méliphage foulehaio (French0
Taxonomy: Kingdom: Animalia - Phylum: Chordata – Class: Aves – Order: Passeriformes – Family: Meliphagidae– Genus: Fouehaio – Species: F. carunculatus

Photographed in Mango tree at Alafua

 

Cardinal Myzomela (Myzomela cardinalis)

Binomial Name: Myzomela cardinalis

Common names: Myzomela cardinalis, Cardinal Honeyeater, Black-bellied Honeysucker, Samoan Cardinal Myzomela (English) Segaseagamau’u (Samoan); Myzoméle cardinal (French); Kardinalhonigfresser (German); Mielero Cardenal (Spanish)

Taxonomy: Kingdom: Animalia - Phylum: Chordata – Class: Aves – Order: Passeriformes – Family: Meliphagidae– Genus: Myzomela – Species: M. cardinalis

Photographed after Cyclone Evan on fallen Nuno tree at Alafua.

 

A Many Coloured Fruit Dove (Ptilinopus perousii)

Binomial Name: Ptilinopus perousii

Common names: Many coloured fruit dove (English) Manuma (Samoan) v
Taxonomy: Kingdom: Animalia - Phylum: Chordata – Class: Aves – Order: Columbiformes – Family: Columbidae– Genus: Ptilinopus– Species: P. perousii

Photographed on a tree in the Vailima Botanical Garden right near the entrance to the garden. 

On-line References and Links:

Please note: I will adding book references when I am able to access some suitable ones.

Gygis alba

The Guardian, “Mystery bird: white tern, Gygis alba” LINK

Birdlife International Entry for Common White Tern Gygis alba LINK

Internet Bird Collection: LINK

IUCU Red List of Threatened Species, Entry for Gygis alba LINK

Wikipedia Entry for White Tern LINK

Porphyrio porphyrio

Birdlife International Entry for (Porphyrio porphyrio) LINK

Internet Bird Collection entry for Purple Swamphen (Porphyrio porphyrio) LINK

IUCU Red List of Threatened Species, Entry for Porphyrio porphyria LINK

Wikipedia Entry for Purple Swamphen LINK

 

Foulehaio carunculatus

Birdlife International entry for Wattled Honeyeater Foulehaio carunculatus LINK

Internet Bird Collection entry for Wattled Honeyeater (Foulehaio carunculatus) LINK

IUCU Red List of Threatened Species, Entry for Foulehaio carunculatus LINK

Wikipedia Entry for Wattled Honeyeater LINK

Myzomela cardinalis

Birdlife International entry for LINK

Internet Bird Collection entry for Myzomela cardinalis (Cardinal Myzomela) LINK

IUCU Red List of Threatened Species, Entry for Myzomela cardinalis (Cardinal Myzomela) LINK

Wikipedia entry for cardinal Myzomela LINK

Ptilinopus perosii

Birdlife International Entry for Many-Coloured fruit-dove Ptilinopus perousii LINK
Internet Bird Collection: LINK
IUCU Red List of Threatened Species, Entry for Ptilinopus perosii (Has not yet been assessed for the IUCN Red List)
Wikipedia Entry for Many-coloured Fruit-dove LINK

IMPORTANT
Flora and Fauna - Plants and Critters Blog by Vincent Albert Vermeulen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Based on a work at http://plantsandcritters.blogspot.be/.

Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://plantsandcritters.blogspot.be/.

My current blogs:

· Flora and Fauna - Plants and Critters (on plants, animals as well as gardening, conservation and environmental matters): http://plantsandcritters.blogspot.com/

· The Blood of Souls (language, translation and etymology) : http://thebloodofsouls.blogspot.com/

· Whiskers on Kittens (Life with Kittens and Cats in general) : http://whiskersonkittens-vincent.blogspot.com/

Wattled Honey Eater in Mango Tree versus Kitten in Breadfruit tree

One of the Wattled Honeyeaters  (Foulehaio carunculatus) was doing its usual noisy chattering in the mango tree and Pebble climbed up the Breadfruit tree (Artocarpus altilis)... which luckily did not give any access to where the Wattled Honeyeater was.

After spending several minutes looking around with this puzzled expression Pebble decided to turn the failed bird hunt into a modelling exercise and proceeded to pose for the camera.

 He did not quite manage the Cheshire Cat look because he refused to grin but he did manage the "Forlorn Kitty up a tree look" and the "Kitten Melting on and branch" look.

In the end he came down on his own. After all he is a kitten from the Ninja Cat Clan ... although technically he is probably getting a bit too old and big to be still referred to as a kitten.

Meanwhile the Wattled Honeyeater was happily whistling away almost as if he were teasing Pebble. At least he consented to sit still long enough for me to use the zoom to photograph him although it was not that easy seeing how he blends in with the leaves and branches of the Mango tree as he was quite high up.

Additional Information:

Binomial Name: Phylum: Chordata – Class: Aves – Order: Passerformes – Familt: Meliphagidae – Genus: Foulehaio – Species: F. carunculatus

Common names: Wattled Honeyeater (English) I’ao (Samoan)

Binomial Name: Artocarpus atilis

Common names: Breadfruit (English) Ulu (Samoan), Ulu (Hawaiian), Uto (Fijian), Lemai (Guam and Northern Marianas), Sa Ke( Thailand, Vietnam) Buah Sukun (Malay), Arbre à pain (French- Guadaloupe) bois pain (French-Saint Lucia), Kamansi (Philippines –Tagalog & Kapampangan), Sukrun (Indonesian)

Binomial Name: Mangifera indica

Common names: Mango (English) Mago (Samoan)

  

Taxonomy

• Order: Rosales – Family: Moraceae – Tribe: Artocarpeae – Genus: Artocarpus – Species: A altilis

• Order: Sapindales – Family: Anacardiaceae – Genus: Mangifera – Species: M. indica

• Phylum: Chordata – Class: Aves – Order: Passeriformes – Family: Meliphagidae – Genus: Foulehaio – Species F. carunculatus

Random photos of Flowers, Bees, Kittens and Birds

Random photos of Flowers, Kittens and Birds

 Since I just published a long technical post here is some eye candy for those in need of some just for the sake of it photos of beautiful flowers, interesting insects, crazy kittens and a friendly bird. Enjoy

I was taking some photos of Mimosa pudica (Senstive plant) and Mimosa invisa (Giant senstive plant) at Malifa for a post I have been working on. I already have photos but needed some macros for illustration purposes.

As usual while taking the photos I started taking photos of other interesting plants and critters that happened to be there. In this case I was actually taking some photos of this plant because I wanted to identify it when I saw this bee busily ignoring my intrusion into her activities.

I have no idea what the plant is although I am sure everyone will say it is a weed ignoring the fact that a weed is simply a plant growing where a human does not want it to grow. In this case it was growing along the riverbank out of everyones way.

 It has interesting miniscule flowers and berries that were black-purple when ripe and green when unripe.

Here is another "Mystery Plant" I have growing at Alafua. I got it when I bought some plants a few months ago and it was a stray that was growing together with the plant I bought. It had stunningly pure white flowers and miniscule seeds that I have been trying unsuccessfully (so far) to germinate.

I have been trying to get a photo of the Hedychium gardnerianum (Kalihi Ginger) on the boundry behind the bedrooms at the house at Alafua in full bloom. I planted these in 2011 and they have bloomed en mass several times but either I have no batteries or it is raining or as was in this case the sun was in the wrong place and the yellows are a bit washed out in the panoramic shots.

Here is a close up and I could smell them from a few feet away. If you really want a whiff of these go up to Tiavi in the late evening. There are stands of them along the road that you can smell as you drive past. There is also a swathe of  Hedychium coronrarium White Hedychium around Tanumalala on the Cross Island Road to Lefaga. It appears that cool air has some effect on the potency of the scent because I have noticed that they smell much stronger during the night, evenings or early moring or during the day only up high in the mountains where it is cool.
In fact the most stunning visual and olfactory experience I had with Hedychiums was up at the place where you go to view Waimea Canyon on Kawaii. That was absolutely sublime.

I cannot recall what this is called but it is the flower of a plant that grows on trees. All I can say for sure is that it is belongs to the family Araceae is

It is growing on the Indian Mulberry that fell over during Cyclone Evan but has yet to be chopped up and removed mainly because it is still alive, flowering and bearing fruit which several species of birds visit regularly.

Pebble "accidentaly" getting in the photo AGAIN

Invariably when I am in the garden taking pictures of plants, birds and other critters ... this guy turns up looking for camera opportunities. His two brothers (Stoney and Rocky)  sometimes turn up also and wander around pretending not to follow me, but he does it the most. Don't believe anything he says about "I just happened to be climing the tree or walking there and did not realise ..." I am sure he does it deliberately. Just as he deliberately moves when you actualy do want to take a picture.

You only have to look into those crazy green eyes to realise the depths of his deviousness.

This Wattled Honeyeater (Foulehaio carunculatus) is one of two that have claimed the area around the house as their territory. This includes the huge mango tree, all the Indian Mulberries and the Pink Orchid tree. I occassionally assist them in their turf wars with the Red Vented Bulbuls.

They have become so used to me doing stuff in the garden and especially under the mango tree that they will actually fly close by and perch on branches only a few feet away from me. They also let me approach them much more than before which means that now I can take much better pictures of them as it is much easier to take decent photos from 3-4 feet away than trying to zoom in from 15-20 feet away.
They still flit about from flower to flower and branch to branch but they tend to stay for a decent interval chirpping away happily (or bossily) looking me over and doing their thing.


Flora and Fauna - Plants and Critters Blog by Vincent Albert Vermeulen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Based on a work at http://plantsandcritters.blogspot.be/.

Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://plantsandcritters.blogspot.be/.