Ploiarium alternifolium - Cicada tree

What a long and unattractive botanical name for flowers as beautiful as these. I did not know their name till now. It had not mattered to me (not knowing their name) because nature is to be enjoyed as it is, just as there was no hesitation in photographing these flowers at the stage of their brief lives where they make the transition from flower to fruit.



This shrub can grow into a tree and is common in Southeast Asia. Seeds are released when the capsules burst and are carried by the wind to start new lives elsewhere.