Trip South - Flora

While waiting early Thursday morning to meet up with some people, we toured the town.  I took lots of photos of the flowers and plants.  I asked the name of every one of them, but, of course, I didn't write it down so I remember very few of them.  Nonetheless, they were truly gorgeous.

It seemed, sometimes, like such a clash to have garbage strewn, dilapidated areas abutted with such a rainbow of vibrant colors.   Of all the flowers below, the only one I recall is Tsigereda, the purple flower with fingers in the photo.  I think the other one with a hand showing is some kind of rose.

         

There were geraniums where the flower looked like the kind you find at any good ole American nursery. However, they were growing off huge geranium bushes that were about 8 feet tall.  The same was true for the poinsettia trees. 

This flowering bush was every where. I think it must taste awful because in the areas where the goats had mowed down the grass so far that it looked like a putting green, this bush was still in abundance.

We also went on a quest to find avocado trees.  We had a tough time since none of them had fruit and my botany knowledge sadly lacking.  We did find several that were NOT avocado trees, though.

The long tall plant in the background that looks like an anorexic corn stalk is the reed/grass used for a lot of the weaving of mats or walls.

Food crops include false banana behind some maize/corn (yup, that's a regular-sized person standing next to the plant), beans inside the pods, sugar cane, and coffee.  The rainy season hadn't yet started so a lot of the fruits were not apparent on many plants.

 

      

This plant was used as an herbal medicine to treat digestion problems in cattle.

This was another common plant.  I don't know what it is.