Red flower in the clouds

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It has been raining here north of Sydney for two days.
So today I took an umbrella and went walking in the rain.
This ridiculously tall flowering plant was my most exciting discovery.

Apparently it is called the Gymea Lily, the name derived from a local Eora aboriginal dialect.

Doryanthes excelsa is a flowering plant indigenous to the coastal areas of New South Wales near Sydney, Wikipedia says.
The plant has sword-like leaves more than a meter long.
 It flowers in spring and summer, sending up a flower spike up to 6 m high, which at its apex bears a large cluster of bright red flowers, each 10 cm across.

  (All photos are enlargeable with two separate clicks. )

Doryanthes excelsa:

Doryanthes – a composite of two Greek words, doratos, meaning spear, and anthos meaning flower;

excelsa – derived from the Latin, excelsus, meaning high or lofty.

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(Linking to OurWorld Tuesday.  And Gymea Lily is for ABC Wednesday.)

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