Plants

Why beetles? You'll need to read to beelieve it.

Love the light there in the evening.

Southern Finland. I've found these and some more bluish ones. They are fairly small (the flower itself is about 4-6cm) and have these long, pretty thick leaves. It isn't visible in the photos, but the petals have this glittery look on them. Here's one of the blue ones, in a vase: I've mostly seen them near yards or gardens, so I think they aren't native.

I have to admire the survival skills of this Prickly Pear. How did it get there. How is it still alive ?

Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens

The plant is frost-hardy, but all parts of the plant above ground die in winter.

From the Singapore Cloud Forest

From the Singapore Cloud Forest

Singapore Cloud Forest. Not sure what plant it is, but I guess from the Araliaceae.

Singapore Botanic Garden

Singapore Botanic Garden

I think the plant is from the Zingiberales, but I don't dare to identify it more than that.

This is in the Singapore Botanic Gardens

I see these all over the Midwest. Learn about how Monotropa uses the fungal connection between tree roots to siphon nutrients on this old webpage recommended by the US Forest Service.