Saturday, May 7, 2011

The Letter X

Todays blog is brought to you by the Letter X

X is for Xeranthemum, Xanthorrhoea and Xylobium

Ok, I am officially stumped so here is the only topic I can come up with the letter X

Flowers that start with the Letter X

Xeranthemum

commonly known as Immortelle
a flower of the genus Xeranthemum native to Southern Europe. It has silvery flower heads with purplish tubular flowers. It is a symbol of eternity and immortality.




Xanthorrhoea

The best known common name for the Xanthorrhoea - Blackboy.
This name refers to the purported similarity in appearance of the trunked species to an Aboriginal boy holding an upright spear. Some people now consider this name to be offensive, or at least belonging to the past, preferring instead grasstree. In the South West, the Noongar name balga is used for X. preissii. In South Australia, Xanthorrhoea is commonly known as yakka, also spelled yacca and yacka, a name probably from a South Australian Aboriginal language,[2] mostly likely Kaurna.


Xylobium


Common Name - The Elongate Xylobium
Xylobium elongatum orchids are a small (30 species )genus and are much desired germs of orchid collections . Flowers of the species xylobium elongatum resemble those of Lycaste orchids in morphology and shape ,but they are no match for them in color and size. The species Xylobium elongatum is a little exception to this - its greenish and relatively large flowers sport a showy red-dotted tongue -shaped lip. A sparse ,short ,overhanging flower raceme grows (as with all the other Xylobium orchids) from the base of the 2-3.2 in/5-8 cm long pseudobulbs that are foliaged at the top.

I know it's a boring topic, but at least it was edumacational :)

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