Another Curious Flower

Aug 06, 2020

This month I wanted to share another new flower that I discovered on a recent garden visit.  What caught my eye was not the blossom itself, but the strange little lantern like pod that was growing alongside the flower.  The flower itself is known as the flower-of-an-hour because, you guessed it, the flowers last for a very short time.  When the flower fades, the plant produces that lantern like pod which is actually its seed pod.  The little brown twist at the top is the spent blossom. 

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By the way, this flower is actually a member of the hibiscus family with the botanical name hibiscus trionum.  You may hear it commonly referred to as bladder hibiscus, modesty, or shoofly which I think are some interesting alternative names.   

The flowers are tiny, typically around an inch in diameter, and they bloom in the summer and autumn months.

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