Musical Note Plant, Morning Kiss, Witches Tongue (Rotheca incisa)
Family: Verbenaceae
Genus: Rotheca
Species: incisa
When I first came across this plant at a garden nursery, the nursery lady told me she only knew it by the local Malay name of Bunga Taugeh. 'Taugeh' is Malay for beansprouts and 'bunga' means flower. The flower buds did look very much like beansprouts.
They also look like musical notes, hence their other popular name.
I have no inkling as to why they are also known as Morning Kiss, though. Do you?
When in full bloom, my oh my, they are the tropic's equivalent of snowdrops!!!
Snowdrops with whiskers.
They flower repeatedly all the year round, isn't that great? If I wanted to propagate them, I could take the semi-hardwood portion of this herbaceous plant. Will try doing that when the plants are more mature.
I just love my Morning Kiss to bits, even if they are more maliciously referred to as Witches Tongue. I think I'm literally stifling them with love. They are being coddled by the coleus plants all round them.I am trying not to trim the red coleus, though, as they would certainly be bushier after a trim and further overwhelm my pretty rotheca incisa.
So, it may not be spring here in the tropics, but I have my whiskered spring flowers to give me a feeling of springtime here.
Visit Today's Flowers for more pseudo spring flowers as well as the real deal spring flowers from all around the world.
