"Who are you?" You look so funny. ”
"It's like an alien holding a rice bowl and begging for food."
"Lord, you are wrong!"
"I'm not here to beg for food, I'm here to make love."
"It's funny, is there a difference between begging for food and making a fortune?"
"Of course there's a difference, you think you can send me away for 1 buck?"
"At least 10 bucks!"
。。。。。。
Where it came from
I am Calceolaria uniflora, also known as the Lotus Flower, a plant of the genus Lotus in the family Genshinaceae.
To ask where my home is, there is a song that expresses it well:
"My home is in the northeast, on the Songhua River."
Ah, wrong, yes:
"My home is in South America, on Tierra del Fuego."
I come from the southernmost tip of South America, not far from Antarctica, along the rugged mountains of the Andes from Chile to Argentina to Patagonia.
I grew up on the slopes of the mountains at higher altitudes and cooler temperatures, and was an alpine plant, the plant was very low, only 10 cm tall, and my appearance was close to that of relatives such as foxglove and bitter moss, and the leaves were basal and tongue-shaped.
To say that when I don't flower, it is really mediocre, but as soon as it blossoms, the strange flowers attract the attention of countless people, so there are some strange nicknames, what "happy aliens", "little beggars", "box lunches"...
My English name is Darwin's Slipper Flower, which is said to commemorate the famous naturalist Charlie Darwin who went to South America for an expedition, and it was he who first discovered me, and together with my "shoe-shaped" flowers, I got the name of Darwin slippers. In fact, I am also thankful for myself, fortunately my flowers are "shoe" shape instead of "panties" shape...
I flower in the summer, the flowers are about 5 cm in size, consisting of yellow, white, brown and red, hanging on the slender leaf. At the opening of the flower, there is a white transverse ribbon, like a tray for rice or a porcelain bowl for begging.
Whether it's a tray or a porcelain bowl, it's vital to my survival because it's the secret to my ability to pollinate and multiply. As mentioned earlier, I like to live in the mountains at higher altitudes and cooler temperatures, and these areas are not suitable for pollinators such as bees, so I met another survival partner, the seed sandpiper.
They are local birds and especially like to peck at the white part of my flowers, although it is harmful to my flowers, but this is a good thing for me, because when the birds eat flowers, the bird's head will touch my flower pillar, and when it carries pollen and then eats on another flower, it can help me pollinate the flowers.
I was eaten, and the memes were changed.
Now there are many people who like me because of my peculiar appearance, but you have to be good at waiting, I like to be cold, grow at a temperature between -1 ° C and 23 ° C, do not like warmth, do not like standing water, like sunny but hate exposure. If you take good care of it, I can also consider going down the mountain.
That down the hill...
Where to go
Descend the mountain to the edge
However, it is said that it is also a difficult thing to do.
Fortunately, I also learned a trick:
Say, do you give money or not?
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Editor of this issue: Empty Phoenix Immortal
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