December 2010: the bleeding heart vines

My first few weeks in Abuja, now almost seven months ago, I was a little bored, as one can be. Our UAF or luggage hadn't arrived yet, I knew basically nobody, husband in the office and I had so much time on my hands. Fortunately, I had brought the camera and I had a dog that needed walking. It didn’t take long for me to see what a beautiful garden of Eden we live in. Take a look at this stunning seed pod, for example.

I took the camera out, took loads of pictures and started googling for information. I am not a botanist of any kind. I just feel like Alice in wonderland. I will take you through some of the wonders of our gardens. When you’ve got a spare minute, have closer look and enjoy. You'll be surprised at what you find on your doorstep. The pictures are not perfect, I am still learning.

One of the most beautiful flowers I found is the bleeding heart vine. I have seen two varieties so far:  the red bleeding heart vine (Clerodendrum speciosum) and the white bleeding heart vine (Clerodendrum thomsoniae).  It is not difficult to see why their popular name is "bleeding heart". The white bleeding heart indeed looks like a bleeding heart. Clerodendra are native to tropical West Africa and there are about 400 different species. Some of them are shrubs, some lianas and some trees.

Ours are evergreen shrubs and lianas that can grow up to 4 m tall. The flowers consist of two colours: bright pink and red or white and red. Clerodendrum and its relatives have an unusual pollination syndrome which avoids self-pollination. According to Darwin, this was a mechanism to reduce inbreeding. They do not flower abundantly. But when they do, don’t miss it. It is beautiful!