A bud so sweet,
Enticing treat.
It throws off heat,
Dance to its beat.
Its scent draws me near,
Still not feeling fear.
It soon becomes clear,
I shouldn’t be here.
The buzzing becomes loud,
Near my face big and round.
I quickly hit the ground,
Hoping I won’t be found.
The birds are chirping,
And I’m not hurting.
The sun is shining,
My bud is smiling.
A bud so sweet,
It throws off heat.
Its scent draws me near,
Still not feeling fear.
It soon becomes clear,
I shouldn’t be here.
The buzzing becomes loud.
The fuzzy face too round.
I quickly hit the ground,
Hoping I won’t be found.
The birds are chirping,
And I’m not hurting.
The sun is shining,
My bud is smiling.
Source: Leea coccinea ‘Rubra’ (West Indian Holly)
Leea coccinea ‘Rubra’ (West Indian Holly) Aka Red Leea, Leea guineense, and Hawaiian Holly, is an evergreen shrub that is native to Asia and tropical Africa, but has naturalized in Florida, Central and South America, as well as the Caribbean. It is an understory (planted underneath taller trees) species that grows in shady locations under the cover of taller trees. The genus was named by Linnaeus after James Lee, the Scottish nurseryman based in Hammersmith, London who introduced many new plant discoveries to England at the end of the 18th century. ‘Coccinea’ means ‘scarlet’.
Leea flowers are visited by a variety of potential insect pollinators, including flies, wasps, bees, butterflies, and beetles. Seeds and parts of plant are poisonous if ingested. Leea belongs to the Vitaceae family, the family of grapevines.
Outdoors it will grow to 6-20′ tall. Leaves 2- or 3-pinnate emerge light green but mature to a glossy dark green. Elliptic to lanceolate leaflets are 4-8″ long. Winter hardy to USDA Zones 10-11.
Tiny flowers (each to 1/8″ wide) appear in many-branched, domed cymes (to 8″ wide). Flowers are reddish-orange outside and a paler yellowish-orange inside. Flowers may bloom throughout the year in ideal growing conditions. Flowers are followed by rounded dark purple fruits (to 3/8″ diameter) which ripen to red.
Leea guineense G. Don [as Leea coccinea Planchon] Curtis’s Botanical Magazine, vol. 88 [ser. 3, vol. 18]: t. 5299 (1862) [W.H. Fitch]
Sources:
http://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/database/documents/pdf/shrub_fact_sheets/leecoca.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leea
https://toptropicals.com/catalog/uid/leea_coccinea_rubra.htm
Come and explore my daydream with me.
We are in a garden full of flowers.
The birds are chirping.
The leaves are rustling in the trees
as a soft wind blows.
A stone staircase looms before us.
If we follow this staircase,
where do you think it would take us?
To another garden or to a quaint house?
Let me close my eyes.
I see a secluded garden with peach trees.
Beneath the shade of the trees,
sits a lone bench surrounded by red roses.
I sit down on the bench to enjoy the view.
Achoo!
I forgot it’s allergy season and I’m allergic to roses.
If you don’t like this ending, you can imagine
any ending you would like.
That’s the beauty of your imagination.
SUSANNE LEIST 