Firecracker Flowers

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I called them firecracker flowers. The tiny red flowers remind me of the firecrackers I played with, when I was young. Recently, I looked them up on Google and found that they are actually called Firecracker plants.

The scientific name for this plant is Russelia equisetiformis. They are commonly known as fountainbush, or fountain plant, or firecracker plant, amongst other names. They are a weeping subshrub in the family Plantaginaceae.

Russelia equisetiformis is a multi-branching plant with long arching branches about four to five feet in length. The overall graceful form of the subshrub is a fountainesque mound.

The stems and tiny oval leaves are bright green. It flowers profusely with small decumbent red flowers. It can bloom all year round in tropical and subtropical climates.

According to Wikipedia, Russelia equisetiformis is cultivated as an ornamental plant, for use planted in temperate climate gardens, and in window boxes, pots, and hanging planters. They grow well in deep shade to bright sun, and are popular nectar plants for hummingbirds and butterflies.

There are many beds of these firecracker plants along my walk route. They are a beautiful sight to behold when they are in bloom, which is quite often as they bloom all year round. It is lovely to see hummingbirds hovering, inserting their beaks into the tiny flowers.

There are also cultivars with ivory white or pink flowers.

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