Tag Archives: Warszewiczia coccinea

What’s Blooming Now in the Butterfly Center?

Published by on in Plants & Insects
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Lois’ flower has died back, but the Cockrell Butterfly Center still has many amazing flowers blooming right now!

Although not all as rare as the corpse flower, the rainforest in the butterfly center is made up of hundreds of hard-to-find tropical plant species, most of which (but not all) come from Central and South America. We have many different varieties of orchids and bromeliads that bloom at different times of the year, so there is always something new to see at the Cockrell Butterfly Center!

What’s Blooming Now?

Bromeliad – Billbergia nutans
Bromeliads are a very diverse family of plants. We currently have nine different genera, and many different species, of bromeliads growing in the butterfly center. Most of them are epiphytes but we do have a few terrestrial genera including, everyone’s favorite, Ananus comosum, aka pineapple.

Bromeliad - Billbergia nutans [Cockrell Butterfly Center]
Billbergia nutans

Orchids
The Orchid family is the second largest family of flowering plants, consisting of around 25,000 species. Different orchids bloom at different time through out the year, so no matter what season you are sure to see at least a couple species of orchids in bloom at the Cockrell Butterfly Center. Also, keep an eye out for our vanilla orchid, not in bloom right now, but still a fascinating vine.

Cattleya [Cockrell Butterfly Center]
Cattleya
Cymbidium [Cockrell Butterfly Center]
Cymbidium
Oncidium [Cockrell Butterfly Center]
Oncidium
Phalaenopsis [Cockrell Butterfly Center]
Phalaenopsis

Ginger
The butterfly center has many different species of ginger, most of which stay in bloom all year round. However, the Torch Ginger, Etlingera elatior, only occasionally flowers, and right now it is putting up three flower spikes, the tallest is over SIX FEET tall.

Torch Ginger Flower [Cockrell Butterfly Center]
Etlingera elatior

Other Amazing Flowers

Medinilla
Medinilla is an epiphyte, meaning it attaches itself to trees or branches in the wild. From afar the flowers look like clusters of tiny pink grapes.

Medinilla [Cockrell Butterfly Center]
Medinilla
Medinilla [Cockrell Butterfly Center]
Medinilla

Nepenthes
Although not a flower, Nepenthes or Pitcher Plants are definitely a sight to behold. We currently have four species of pitcher plants, each with a slightly different color, size, and shape.

Nepenthes are carnivorous plants that eat mostly small insects such as ants and flies. For more information about pitcher plants refer to my previous blog: Beautiful, but Dangerous: the Fascinating Pitcher Plant.

Nepenthes [Cockrell Butterfly Center]
Nepenthes

Warszewiczia coccinea
And we can’t forget about the butterflies favorite tree, Warszewiczia coccinea or Pride of Trinidad. This tree remains in bloom almost all year at the butterfly center, but it is putting on a fresh set of flowers right now, meaning the color is at its most vibrant. This tree is the butterflies’ favorite because each inflorescence actually contains hundreds of small yellow flower, each containing nectar for them.

Warszewiczia coccinea [Cockrell Butterfly Center]
Warszewiczia coccinea

And the list goes on! These are just a few of the amazing plants we have blooming in the Cockrell Butterfly Center right now. So come on down to HMNS and get a taste of a South American rainforest here in your own back yard.

Interested in learning more about plants? Read more of Zac’s posts and make sure to check out our live webcam feed tomorrow as Zac replants Lois, the famous corpse flower.

Flame on!

Published by on in Science
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People come to the Cockrell Butterfly Center to see butterflies, but are often equally entranced by the lush plants that provide the setting.  The plant life has multiple functions.  One, since most of the butterflies we display in the center are from tropical rainforests, we try to duplicate their native environment and conditions to make them feel at home (and hopefully to maximize their short lifespans). 

Warszewiczia coccinea

Warszewiczia coccinea growing
in the Cockrell Butterfly Center

Second, some of the flowering plants provide food (nectar) for the butterflies.  And third, we try to find plants that are interesting and attractive to our human visitors.  We keep all these things in mind when selecting a plant for the exhibit. 

One plant in particular that fills all our criteria is the Rainforest Flame Tree, or Warszewiczia coccinea, as it is known botanically. 

This member of the coffee family is native to Central and South America and the West Indies.  It is the national tree of Trinidad (another common name for this tree is “Pride of Trinidad.”) It usually grows to around 25 feet tall, but can reach greater heights in different growing conditions.  In Costa Rica, this tree is considered a canopy tree and can reach 50 feet. 

The leaves of the tree are somewhat corrugated and are located oppositely on the stem.  But the best thing about it are the showy flowering branches.  They are located on the end of a branch and are placed at the nodes. 

Each flower cluster is accented by a red bract, sort of like a poinsettia flower would have.  In fact, another one of the common names for this plant is poinsettia tree.  The flower cluster, which is orange, is very appealing to butterflies because it is loaded with nectar.  In any given moment, several species of butterflies can be seen visiting the flowers. 

Although Warszewiczia warrants more use in tropical gardens, it is rarely seen outside botanical gardens.  One reason for this is that it is difficult to propagate.  Usually, plants in the coffee family can be propagated by seeds or by cuttings. Warszewiczia, on the other hand, shows little success with either method.  After several years of trying in the greenhouses of the Butterfly Center, just one cutting has ever proven successful.  

Due to its rarity, Warszewiczia is highly sought after by plant collectors.  If a collector was lucky enough to acquire one of these plants he would want to live in a warm environment such as Houston.  Any environment colder than Houston would require a greenhouse to overwinter the plant.