Backlight shot of a hummingbird near a tuterutu. The photo was taken in Bonaire. The tuterutu or peacock flower is an up to 3 m tall shrub or rarely an up to 6 m tall tree with a loose crown. The twigs bear sparse thorns. The alternate, up to 30 cm long leaves are double-spined. They bear three to nine pairs of first-order partial leaves, these in turn bear six to 12 pairs of second-order, 1-3 cm-long partial leaves. The leaves are poisonous, but also have fever-reducing and laxative properties. The flowers grow in long-stalked, erect, up to 40 cm long clusters. The flowers are usually bright red, but sometimes with a yellow edge or even entirely yellow in colour. The upper of the five petals is longitudinally coiled and sometimes different in colour. The style and ten stamens protrude up to 10 cm from the flower and are curved upwards. The fruits are flattened, up to 12 cm long and 2 cm wide pods, which ripen brown-black and open in two parts. The peacock flower is a common plant in tropical gardens and is also planted in botanical gardens worldwide. The species has been introduced to the tropics worldwide and is also often feral. The origin is uncertain, possibly the plant comes from the Antilles
Pieter Smit was born in Arnhem and has lived on Bonaire since 2010. In his spare time, he enjoys taking photos, mainly of the Caribbean island's colourful birds... Read more…