Fragrant Flowers Part-III

Common name: Hyacinth, Dutch hyacinth, Roman hyacinth Botanical name: Hyacinthus orientalis    Family: Asparagaceae (Asparagus family) The hyacinth is a bulbous perennial herb in the lily family, grown for its showy and fragrant springtime flower display. Four to six shiny narrow straplike leaves and a central flower stalk emerge from the squat subterranean bulb in early to mid spring. The 12 in (30.5 cm) stalk is crowded with colorful flowers that, depending on cultivar, may be red, orange, pink, yellow, white, lavender or blue. The individual flowers are funnel shaped, single or double, and the six lobes may be strongly reflexed to merely spreading. Many have intensely sweet fragrances. There are more than 60 cultivars available. Those in the Multiflora Group have several flowering stalks. Roman hyacinth (H. orientalis var. albulus) is smaller than the typical form, and has blue or white flowers that aren't as crowded on the stalk. The hyacinth hails originally from the Mediterranean region, from North Africa, through Greece, to Asia Minor and Syria. According to Homer, the hyacinth first grew from where the blood of Hyakinthos, the youthful warrior accidentally killed by Apollo, was shed upon the ground.     Common name: Red Ginger Lily • Manipuri: তখেললৈ অঙাঙ্বা Takhellei angangba Botanical name: Hedychium marginatum    Family: Zingiberaceae (Ginger family) Red Ginger Lily is a very uncommon ginger with beautiful bright red flowers. In form, the flowers look similar to those of Butterfly Ginger Lily. Flowers appear in spikes. It is found in NE India, particularly Manipur. Medicinal uses: Decoction of rhizomes is given in bronchitis and stomach complaints.         Common name: Fragrant Panama rose, Sweet Smelling Rondeletia Botanical name: Rondeletia odorata    Family: Rubiaceae (coffee family) Originally from Panama and Cuba, Fragrant Panama rose is an evergreen shrub, commonly cultivated in gardens in India. It grows up to 6-10 feet tall, with opposite sessile, ovate to oblong leaves with wavy margins, 2 inches long. From summer to fall, it blooms with beautiful, fragrant reddish orange, tubular flowers with yellow throats. Flowers occur in many-flowered cymes at the end of branches, up to 5 inch across. The Fragrant Panama rose was first collected by Alexander von Humboldt and Aimé Bonpland in "Mexico: Guerrero: inter Alto del Peregrino et Río Papagallo", 'between loft of the wanderer (or peregrine's nest?) and the River Papagayo (parrot)'. The botanical name was published by Kunth in 1818 in the fourth edition of Nova Genera et Species Plantarum. The name honored Guillaume Rondelet, a natural historian, physician, and botany instructor at the university in Montpellier, France in the 16th century.     Common name: Confederate jasmine, Star jasmine Botanical name: Trachelospermum jasminoides    Family: Apocynaceae (oleander family) This beautiful and energetic evergreen vine creates a special scene all through the year as clambers 40 ft up tree trunks using its holdfast roots to pull itself almost to the top. During April and May the plant goes two-tone as it flushes light green with new growth. Shortly thereafter the scene transforms again when the delicate 1 in white pinwheel flowers delicately breathe enchanting fragrances into the spring air. Confederate jasmine grows as a neat tangle of slender wiry stems that exude white latex when cut. These are covered with thick glossy evergreen leaves that are 2 in long, oval shaped, and pointed at both ends. The stems will twine and clamber over supports and cling to walls and hard surfaces with great ease and abandon. It should be noted that Confederate jasmine is not a "true" jasmine. Confederate jasmine comes from China, but has been a popular garden plant in Europe and the U.S. for centuries.     Common name: Honeysuckle, Dutch Honeysuckle, Madhumati (Manipuri) Botanical name: Lonicera periclymenum 'Serotina'    Family: Caprifoliaceae (honeysuckle family) The gorgeous flowers of Dutch honeysuckle are extremely fragrant and well-loved by hummingbirds. The natural form has white flowers, but Serotina is white and dark red. As nice as the individual flower is though, it is the overall effect of the flowering vine with it's cascading layers of flowers that make it such a sight.