Japanese Lantern Flower from Kolli Hills
Whenever I visit the hill stations of India, I nearly always end up sighting a unique or should I say interesting flower.
This time I was at the relatively untouched hill station of Kolli Hills situated in the Eastern Ghats of Tamil Nadu. And since it was the time of the rains, most of the flowers were in full bloom.
In this instance, I spotted this flower while walking through the winding ghat roads towards Semmedu. It was hanging upside down from the plant and its stigma, stamen and filament were separate from the petals and faced downwards.
And to top it all, it had vibrant colours. The petals were a bright red, the stigma a dull pink and the stamens a bright yellow. And these colours made it stand out against the total green surroundings.
P.S. Would appreciate if someone helped me identify this flower. Thanks!
Thanks to Revathy for identifying this flower as the Japanese Lantern!