Purples and pinks

During our daily afternoon walks, we can’t but notice the hundreds of types of flowers just within our campus. Some have been specifically planted and are lovingly nurtured, but there are many that don’t need any special attention. Just the rain and sun.

The basic construct of a flower is pretty standard, but flowers are found in a variety of sizes, shapes, scents and shades. The range of colours is quite amazing, and this, along with the fragrance, is what attracts birds and insects (and humans as well) to flowers. While the green in flowers comes from chlorophyll, the other colours come from two classes of pigments – anthocyanins and carotenoids. The purples and pinks are a result of anthocyanins.

Here are some of the purples and pinks in varying shades in our campus.

Bengal Clock Vine (Thunbergia grandiflora)

Larkdaisy (Centratherum punctatum)

Golden Duranta

Tulsi

Common Spider Flower (Cleome rutidosperma)

Torenia (Torenia asiatica)

Butterfly Pea/Bean (Clitoria ternatea)

Butterfly Pea/Bean turning blue (Clitoria ternatea)

Goat weed (Ageratum conyzoides)

? weed – pink / purple

Periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus)

Balsam (Impatiens balsamina)

Rain Lily (Zephyranthes rosea)

Jungle Geranium (Ixora) mini pink

Egyptian Starcluster pink (Pentas lanceolata) with stamens

Egyptian Starcluster pink (Pentas lanceolata) with stigma

Great Eggfly female butterfly on Pentas flowers

Four O’clock flowers (Mirabilis jalapa) waiting for four o’clock

Bougainvillea

Moss Rose (Portulaca grandiflora)

Oleander (Nerium oleander)

Frangipani (Plumeria)

Dona Queen Sirikit (Mussaenda philippica)

Hibiscus

Pictures taken at Whispering Palms, Kandivali East, Mumbai
Monsoon 2021

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