Thanks for all your wonderful comments on my upload from yesterday. (You can view yesterday's image: HERE). As much as I would like to visit each and every one of your galleries every day, I barely have time to post and image these days. I will when I can, so don't think that I am blowing you off. :o) I hope you are not getting sick of my hibiscus macros yet. This one is a biggie--I didn't want to compromise any detail on this image. Just call me SNAKEY. ;o) Yesterday's photo had the strong green background while today's is permeated with reds. Yesterday we had a side view of the central stalk and today we look down at it from the top as it disappears into the center of the blossom. I named it Emergence because it reminds me of a coral polyp emerging at night to feed on the passing nutrients. This is a cropped portion of the original photo, presented at full resolution. Olympus C5050 with postwork in PhotoshopCS. Thanks for viewing! ---- HISTORY The tropical hibiscus belongs to the Malvaceae or mallow family. Other relatives are the rose-of-Sharon (shrubby althea), the hardy hibiscus grown in the North, okra, cotton, the Confederate Rose, hollyhock and quite a few others. Some types hibiscus have been used to make dyes and others have been used as food. Originating in Asia and the Pacific Islands, Hibiscus rosa-sinensis is the national flower of Malaysia. It is closely associated with Hawaii, however the state flower for Hawaii is a native species of hibiscus, H. brackenridgei. Thousands of colors and combinations of colors (no true blue or black), some varieties have blossoms 2" in diameter and others, 10-12". Some with bushes that will only grow a foot in several years while others may grow to 15 feet if left undisturbed in the ground. Singles, doubles, some blooming almost every day, the variation in the tropical hibiscus family is astounding! Real interest in Hawaii developed around the turn of the century. Some plants probably came from China and were crossed with native Hawaiian species. Interest spread to the U.S. mainland and Florida became a center for this interest -- the Reasoner family being early pioneers. The American Hibiscus Society was formed in 1950 with Norman Reasoner as its first president. Another strong area of organized interest in hibiscus is Australia. It is thought that they were introduced there in the early 1800s, but real interest was sparked later when 30 plants were imported from India for use in the landscaping of Brisbane by its city council. The northern parts of New Zealand also became involved in hibiscus culture.