Bletilla striata is the most common form found in the nursery trade and is often labeled simply as ‘Hardy Orchid’ or ‘Chinese Ground Orchid’ and is quite inexpensive. This beautiful and hardy deciduous orchid has the distinction of being one of the first orchids in cultivation in England dating from around 1794. The very flat knob-like tuberous root system is typically sympodial, expansive and each shoot is of annual duration only. On established plants, almost every new growth shoot has a flower spike before leaves fully develop. Each shoot can have up to fourteen beautiful rose-mauve flowers with a ruffled lip about 30mm diameter, scentless and looking something like a miniature Cattleya orchid flower. An established clump can have literally dozens of flower spikes flowering in the late Spring and the clumps only increase in beauty with time. They rarely exceed two feet in height. (source: Wiki)
Koi is an ornamental variety of common carp, Cyprinus carpio. They have stout and elongated bodies, and their fins are short but full of colours. They have distinctive and colourful body patches those make Koi fish attractive. Usually, Koi fish are preferred in outdoor ponds or water gardens. They have a range of colours including white, black, red, yellow, blue, and cream. The special feature about Koi fish is that they do not have varying body shapes across their breeds, but coloration and scalation could be different among them. Koi fish has two small whisker-like sensory organs hanging in their mouth known as barbels. Japanese started to breed Koi as an ornamental fish in the early 19th century from a common carp. (source:ww.differencebetween.com)
The persimmon /pərˈsɪmən/ (sometimes spelled persimon) is the edible fruit of a number of species of trees in the genus Diospyros. The most widely cultivated species is the Oriental or Japanese persimmon. In color, the ripe fruit of the cultivated strains range from light yellow-orange to dark red-orange depending on the species and variety. They similarly vary in size from 1.5 to 9 cm (0.59 to 3.54 in) in diameter, and in shape the varieties may be spherical, acorn-, or pumpkin-shaped. The calyx generally remains attached to the fruit after harvesting, but becomes easy to remove once the fruit is ripe. The ripe fruit has a high glucose content. The protein content is low, but it has a balance protein profile. Persimmon fruits have been put to various medicinal and chemical uses.
Like the tomato, persimmons are not popularly considered to be berries. but in terms of botanical morphology, the fruit is in fact a berry. (source:wiki)
Rambutan is native to the Malay Archipelago, the name of this fruit is derived from the Malay word meaning “hairy,” and you can see why. But once the hairy exterior of the rambutan is peeled away, the tender, fleshy, delicious fruit is revealed. Its taste is described as sweet and sour, much like a grape. Though it has its origin in Southeast Asia, rambutan has been imported around the world, and now is commonly cultivated as close to home as Mexico and Hawaii.
Rambutans are generally eaten raw but are sometimes stewed with sugar and cloves and eaten as a dessert, reports Purdue University. (source: mnn.com)
brushes and papers
brushes and papers 