I just got back from a trip to Guatemala where I took upwards of 1000 photos. As I sit here organizing and captioning them, I realize that I have absolutely no idea what any of these plants and flowers that I took pictures of are. I tried to find an online field guide to the flowers of Guatemala, but no such animal seems to exist.
What to do, what to do?
:smack: D’oh! My fellow Dopers are more than able to rise to the challenge.
So how about it? This first batch all was taken at Tikal in the low-land jungle.
Basically what he said. We really need more information, particularly a description of the general growth habit and leaves.
That second one is definitely Caesalpinaceae but what species or even genus is impossible to tell from those photos. Could be Caeslapinia, could be Delonix (if Delonix even still exists; that family gets reorganised every 12 months).
As to a more complete description of the first one…I dunno. It struck me as a very unusual and interesting plant, so I took a picture of it. I can say it was a tree (as opposed to a bush or shrub) of medium height (not strikingly tall or short). I wish I could give more details.
Just out of curiosity, does the Caesalpinia have a common name?
The fact that it wasn’t strikingly palm-like suggests that it wasn’t a palm anyway.
The most likely candidates for what you have there are usually called poincianas after an obsolete taxonomy. Also often called bird-of-paradise, but they share that name with at least half a dozen other plants.
The first picture looks like a bromeliad of some kind. A little research shows that there are bromeliads in Tikal, but I wasn’t able to narrow it down further.
Delonix (regia at least, which is what would be commonly grown if found in Tikal) has petals that are held “out” (where you can easily see the calyxes when looking at the flower from above), Caesalpinia has petals which show no such spacing. Delonix also has much shorter stamens than the flowers in the pictures. Caesalpinia pulcherrima has stamens of a similar length, as well as the yellow tipping you see in the flowers posted (of course, it could be a closely related species). I’m going to have to go with Caesalpinia and not Delonix.
Thanks again for the identification of Caesalpinia.
I’ve uploaded a few more photos of flowers. All of these were taken in Antigua which is in the volcanic highlands (elev. approx. 1 mile).
#1. This is actually a cluster of small flowers connected to a central stem. I have never seen flowerettes of two distinct colors like this before. Pic 1 Pic 2 Pic 3 Pic 4
#2. As you can see, this one has vary long slender petals.
1. I’d bet that it was Lantana camara. Definitely Verbenaceae. Almost certainly Lantana although possibly a Lippia. The common name is simply Lantana. A description of the plant size or where it was growing would help.
90% sure # 2 is the wild type of Canna indica. It’s commonly called Indian Shot in that form, but there are numerous showy domestic forms and hybrids with various names, often just called cannas. A description of the leaves, or better yet the fruit, would help no end.
#3 is Bouganvillea glabra, common name: Bouganvillea. You did well to spot that the colourful bits aren’t in fact petals. However they aren’t leaves either, they’re bracts.
#4, I get the feeling I should know it, but I don’t.
I’ll bow to superior knowledge if you think you have a handle on the latest taxonomy.
A quick Google seach shows that Delonix regia is a synonym for Caesalpinia regia. At this point I don’t even have any keys for separating the genera to hand and couldn’t even swear that the genus Delonix still exists. If you think you have a good handle on what separates Delonix from Caesalpinia in the latest taxonomy (or even that it exists) then I’ll go with it. This whole mimosaceae/legumiseae group seems to be reviewed and reorganised every three months.
I think the point was that the first impression is that it’s upside down. That was the impression I got anyway. That’s helped because the top of the inflorescence is maturing first, which is odd. Of course the pendulous form means that the top is really the proximal part, which matures first in most plants, but it all adds to the illusion.
I’m a scientist by training (chemist), but when I was on my trip I just thought, “Gee, what a neat looking flower.” Palmate or pinnate leaf structure was the furthest thing from my mind.
Bracts, huh? I learn something new every day. So, what is the difference between leaves and bracts?
I thought that looked like Bouganvillea, but I have only seen Bouganvillea as a bush, never as a tree.
Actually, they are leaves of a sort. Basically, they are modified leaves or leaf-like structures associated with flowers. Often they are small, but as other cases, as in Bougainvillea, they are large and showy and take the place of the flower petals.
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