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theashcan:

Psuedobombax ellipticum

Planning this trip back on October is not of the biggest gifts I could have given myself – especially since January gave me such a hard run. Kauai is the best place to melt off any darkness, and any tension and built up apathy from winter – this place is truly gorgeous. We are here with purpose, spending most of our time taking a botanical illustration workshop at the National Tropical Botanical Gardens, which is, for all intensive purposes, just like Jurassic Park. Lots of good painting time, lots to take in. 10 more days to go.

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dansecoppelia:

Speaking of pretty flowers, may I present to you the “Eighteen Scholars”, the flower of my heart-a variation of Camellia japonica L. Its uniqueness lies in the layers and layers of petals-one flower can hold as much as 130 petals.

Named “Eighteen Scholars” in Chinese because at the most, one bush can have up to eighteen of these pretty darlings :3

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shezep:

raptorwing:

A leucistic (partially-albino) red-tailed hawk with its handler.  Taken from the Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley, MN.

Of all the raptors, the red-tailed hawk is the most prone to occasional leucism and albinism.  Fully albino individuals generally perish quickly, since the lack of pigment in the eyes robs the birds the ability to see effectively.

  Leucistic individuals have a chance of surviving in the wild, since they retain pigment in their eyes.  Thus, sightings of pale, mottled, or fully white (but dark-eyed) red-tailed hawks are rare but regular throughout the population.