A fire that ignites passion and lights up the hope in your heart

About the author: One Hand Brush One Hand Flower: Landscape architecture major, has deeply loved plants and nature since childhood, hopes to keep working in plant-related fields all her life, in this world only beautiful flowers and good food are not to be let down, Weibo @One Hand Brush One Hand Flower

"You are just like that fire, the blazing flames lit me up."

When I see the Brazilian red-cloak, with its torches flaring one after another, this song circles in my head. The difference is that now it is not just a fire in winter, but a fiery red blaze that starts burning in summer.

Brazilian red-cloak (Megaskepasma erythrochlamys), of the genus Megaskepasma in the family Acanthaceae, is native to Nicaragua, Panama and other countries, and is cultivated in Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan and other places in China. It has quite a few lovely aliases: Brazilian feather, Brazilian red-cloaks, Acanthus rouge... all of them tell of its gorgeous, captivating beauty.

The Brazilian red-cloak is suited to growing in the tropics and southern subtropics. It loves high temperatures and cannot tolerate cold. The hotter the place, the more you see its passion; it is the sun that roasts it red and sets it burning.

The Brazilian red-cloak can grow to two or three meters. Its large leaves are opposite, with clear veins, and the inflorescence is terminal, holding its torch high and firmly catching your gaze. Red bract, red bract, what you admire is its crimson bracts, and the bracts also grow symmetrically, layered one upon another.

When newly formed, they carry a greenish-yellow tone; as time passes, under the sunbath, red makeup gradually dyes them, and the brilliant sunlight makes the bracts shine and sparkle. Different cultivars have different colors, some leaning pink, some leaning purple, but the red tone remains their main melody.

When the bracts have grown into proper shape, the flowers begin to poke their heads out sparsely, one here and there. Look at those white flowers extending in pairs, like the ears of a little white rabbit. Look closely at the fine fuzz on those flowers, and it really is exactly like the little fuzz on a rabbit's ears. The little white flowers bloom scatteredly, a few popping out at once, then a few more blooming, never making much of a show, and they wither fairly quickly too. But it does not matter, because the bracts can still stay for a long time, and admiring them for another two months or so is no problem. They can also be used as cut flowers; with the bracts holding up the looks, the little white flowers are just passing visitors.

The white ones are the true flowers

The Brazilian red-cloak has a long flowering period. I have seen this fiery red figure in different seasons; whether the fire is big or small, it is always gorgeous and eye-catching. This fire is now blazing in summer; if it still has not burned out by this winter, then I can come before it again and truly offer up this song, "A Fire in Winter."

Author: One Hand Brush One Hand Flower

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