Rafflesia is the genus containing the world’s largest flowers. This one, Rafflesia panchoana, is among the smallest - spanning a stretched hand - and one of the most beautiful: its petals are showered in a constellation of stars that fall and fade over the edges like a red galaxy.

some interesting mosses in the Toolangi State Forest, Taungurung/Wurundjeri Country

Leucobryum javense (milk moss)
Dawsonia superba (giant moss)

#plantsky

Yellow- tailed black cockatoo feasting on a protea.
These birds have a huge and powerful beak that can be used for everything from sipping nectar (which is what this female is doing) to gouging insect grubs out of hard wood! 🪶🌿🌏🤩

Hey you! Use a piece of tinfoil to reflect some light under your mushrooms!

Same enoki, with and without using a tinfoil reflector

everyone’s favourite sexy prehistoric gymnosperm Ginkgo biloba at the Royal Botanic Gardens earlier this week

Dicksonia antarctica—Tasmanian tree ferns. These guys like damp, sheltered woodland slopes and moist gullies, and sometimes even can be found in cloud forests at high elevations—and Western Hills Garden, of course! 🍂🥀🌲🌳🌴🌱🌿

This is Hydrangea seemanni. Such beauty to be had in the blooming process. Keep #bloomscrolling and #treescrolling! 🍂🥀🌲🌳🌴🌱🌿

I found this beauty growing in a tree in the summer—Laetiporus sulphureus (I believe), also known as chicken of the woods! #fungi #fungifriends #nature #mushroom

This slime mold is doing its best egg impression. Sunny side up it is. 🥚🍳
Fuligo septica 💛

Splitgill mushroom

Snake bark maple, Acer davidii (China, Sapindaceae). Such a great creature! 🌲 🌳 🌱🌿

Fellow #plant, #tree, #garden and #horticulture nerds! Please share our posts and ask friends to follow us. We must grow, after all! And please visit if you're ever in Sonoma County. Info at westernhillsgarden.com