Imaging Brazil 336: Blue Commelina Flower in Aquidauana, MS (2011)

A personal selection of photographs with their stories.

336: Blue commelina flower

When we walked around in Aquidauana on a hot day, I noticed this striking blue flower. A beautiful flower, with only two petals, that gives you an idea that you are dealing with a butterfly. A quick Google search made me end up with the name Commelina. The local name is trapoeraba or erva-de-santa-luzia. It was interesting for me to read that the name has its origins in its discoverer, the Dutch botanist Jan Commelin. The Asian day-flower, which can be seen on the photo, originates from East Asia, but is also common in Europe and in North America. Also in Brazil this beautiful blue flower is found, in many states, including Mato Grosso do Sul. The plant is used in the development of medicines, dyes, and is a potential candidate for the detoxification of contaminated soil around copper mines.

© Adriano Antoine Robbesom 2011, 2017

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Imaging Brazil 333: Maria-Boba Butterfly in Belo Horizonte, MG (2011)

A personal selection of photographs with their stories.

333: Butterfly and blue flowers

I found this butterfly in the butterfly garden of Parque Municipal in Belo Horizonte. Using Google, it was fairly easy to find out that this butterfly is called a maria-boba (‘Crazy Mary’). The scientific name is Heliconius ethilla narcaea, described by Godart in Rio de Janeiro in 1819. This butterfly species is quite common, from Panama to the extreme south of Brazil. It flies quite slowly, but it doesn’t need to be really afraid of hunters: they are poisonous for their predators. You will find this flutter mainly in the passionflower bushes, but other colorful (mainly red) flowers also attract its attention, including the blue flowers in the photo.

© Adriano Antoine Robbesom 2011, 2017