Following Sonya’s post on her garden in transition I came across the definition of a pupa, which is the life stage of some insects (like butterflies) undergoing transformation. In keeping with the metaphor, here is another indigenous plant to introduce to our gardens, complete with butterfly-wing leaves. I’m not sure what it is called but it produces long seed pods – I have some seedlings on the go and can distribute if anyone is keen. And to push the metaphor to completion, from the same garden (my friend’s mom’s), is a butterfly, the type your new indigenous garden will attract. I think it is called a Golden Piper.
6 replies on “That’s a metaphor!”
cool plant, chicken nugget. I’ll take a seedling or two 🙂
mol-d, does this plant have yellow flowers? if so we’ve got one that hangs over next-door’s wall by our pool. my ma says it’s a type of acacia, but i thought all acacias had those skinny leaves. either way, it’s a pain because it’s totally rampant and takes over, which is why i’ve always assumed it was an alien invader.
not sure of the flowers or that it has any but according to someone in the know, the plant is bauhinia tomentosa..
and indigenous..
B.tomentosa got yellow flowers and B.galpinii got orange flowers both indigenous
Bauhinia tomentosa is a wonderful asset to any garden. It is covered with flowers for months, and attracts insects and insect-eating birds, like Whie-eyes and Barbets. The Grey Lourie eats the flowers, and the Gold Bordered Prince moth larva feeds on it. It can easily be pruned to keep it from growing all over the place.