The "Carrion" flower

"Carrion" means dead or rotting flesh!
Orbea variegata
O. variegata
 It originally comes from the winter rainfall area of the Western Cape mainly along the coastal belt. It grows actively during Winter and Spring.
O. ubomboensis
Orbea ubomboensis 
O.melanantha
 Orbea melanantha 
O. elegans
Orbea elegans Plowes is the most recently described species and it´s listed as Critically Endangered.
O. namaquensis
Orbea namaquensis. It´s restricted to Namaqualand in the northwestern corner of South Africa. 

WhY MoSquitOes Buzz in PEoPLe´s EaRs


NationaL Geographic Traveler: Southern Africa


RoaLd DahL´s Revolting Rhymes


How to light a burnt match: MaGiC TricK RevEaleD


S. African Endangered Species: SEi WhALe


South African EnDangered: GiAnT Golden MOLe
















It is a subterranean, hibernating, nocturnal animal which has got no external eyes, ears or tail!
Body length: 20.8 - 23.5 cm
Weight: 410-500 g
It has got robust claws in the front legs and 5 webbed digits for shovelling soil backwards while digging well connected burrows among the tree roots, up to 13 m long!

Oscar Pistorius: S. African Sprint RuNNer

Known as Blade Runner, "The Fastest Man on No Legs" or  "Oz" Pistorius celebrated his twenty-sixth birthday today December 20th. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

He is the first double amputee to run at the Olympics 2012 with his "Flex-Foot Cheetah Carbon Fibre Trastibial Prostheses".

A Young Magician´s Trick Unraveled


Kew Gardens (London): Marianne North Gallery

Strelitzia and Sugar Birds, South Africa
Bird of Paradise (flowers), Strelitzia reginae + SugarBirds (Promerops cafer)

Marianne North in Natal, S. Africa

Two Flowering Shrubs of Natal and a Trogon
Schotia speciosa Amherstia Gardenia, Gardenia Thunbergia + Trogon (Narina trogon)

Hibernation

How does it work? CLicK to find Out

The Cape sand frog (Tomopterna delalandii) uses its back legs to burrow into the sand, where it hibernates through the South African Winter.
Gallo Images-Martin Harvey/The Image Bank/Getty Images.

One, two, three, four, five...


What is GroundHog Day?

On February second 1887 Groundhog Day was celebrated at Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania (USA), starring for the first time a rodent meteorologist.

According to tradition, if Phil, Bill or Chuck the groundhog comes out of its hole on this day and sees its shadow, there will be six more weeks of Winter weather; no shadow means an early Spring.

Here´s a tongue twister inspired by its Algonquian name (a Native American language) wuchak. 
How much wood would a woodchuck chuck
if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
A woodchuck would chuck all the wood he could
if a woodchuck could chuck wood

Santa Claus´ Companions

In Austria, Eslovenia and Croatia, when a child gets a present from St. Nicolas he receives a golden branch that represents his good acts during the year. 
File:Nikolaus krampus.jpg
But, if the child has misbehaved, Krampus will take the presents for himself and leave only a silver branch to represent the child's bad acts. He carries chains to scare children and has got a hoof and a foot!

Children are scared into sleeping during the time St. Nicolas brings presents by being told that if they´re awake, Krampus will think they´ve been bad and will take them away in his sack!

Belsnickel  is part of the folklore of Newfoundland, some parts of Canada, USA (Pennsylvania´s Dutch communities) and in Germany.

The Belsnickel shows up at houses 1 to 2 weeks before Christmas and he carries a switch in his hand with which to beat bad children. 

The children escape unharmed, but they´re scared into being good so that Santa will bring them presents on Christmas.