A friend forwarded an article about “The Exotic Rainforest” collection with photographs of the rare parrot flower (impatiens psittacina). The author, in a matter-of-fact tone, described lengthily the research he did to prove that the rare plant is not a hoax, that it is real, and that it is not an orchid species.
The plant thrives in the rainforest of Thailand, Myanmar (formerly Burma), and portions of East India. It is known to the people of Thailand as “Dok Nok Khaew” (dok = flower, nok = bird, and khaew = green or the word for parrot). So the translation would be Flower Bird Parrot. It is not an orchid, it is one of the rarest members of the genus impatiens. The Thai law made it illegal to own, collect, or export the plants or seeds. A botanist described the species as resembling a “cockatoo suspended by a string from its shoulders”.
Like many flower species, this plant has a limited blooming season, only in the months of October and November. The plant grows tall and apparently will not survive without moist, humid, tropical, rainforest conditions. It is variable; it comes in blue, pink and yellow.
6 comments:
Very nice photos, very informative, too. Keep it up, Bay.
The flower itself is a real wonder, magnificent and exciting!
Tito Bay,
Fantastic flower! Do we have this in the Philippines?
Always,
JM
JM,
We may never know. May be, we have, too, but in the southern part of the Philippines. Most flowers in Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, and other Asian countries, also thrive in the Philippines. We have many bandas in the South. What makes this flower unique is that it really looks like a parrot.
If I know, you want to add this plant sa iyong garden sa Bulacan. It's indeed a very flower. It really looks like a parrot.
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