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Gomphocarpus physocarpus, commonly known as hairy balls, balloonplant, balloon cotton-bush, bishop's balls, nailhead, or swan plant, [2] is a species of plant in the family Apocynaceae, related to the milkweeds. The plant is native to southeast Africa, but it has been widely naturalized as it is often used as an ornamental plant.
The Northern Hemisphere species of swan have pure white plumage, but the Southern Hemisphere species are mixed black and white. The Australian black swan ( Cygnus atratus ) is completely black except for the white flight feathers on its wings; the chicks of black swans are light grey.
The black swan was a literary or artistic image among Europeans even before their arrival in Australia. Cultural reference has been based on symbolic contrast and as a distinctive motif. The black swan's role in Australian heraldry and culture extends to the first founding of the colonies in the eighteenth century.
The black-necked swan is the only member of its genus that breeds in the neotropics and is the largest waterfowl native to South America. Adults are 102 to 124 cm (40 to 49 in) long with a wingspan of 135 to 177 cm (53 to 70 in).
The Roman satirist Juvenal wrote in AD 82 of rara avis in terris nigroque simillima cygno ("a rare bird in the lands, and very like a black swan"). [6] He meant something whose rarity would compare with that of a black swan, or in other words, as a black swan was not thought to exist, neither did the supposed characteristics of the "rare bird" with which it was being compared.
Language of flowers – cryptological communication through the use or arrangement of flowers; Hanakotoba, also known as 花言葉 – Japanese form of the language of flowers; List of national flowers – flowers that represent specific geographic areas
The flower of the strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo) is the national flower of Italy. The flower of the strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo) is the national flower of Italy. [50] The strawberry tree is also the national tree of Italy because of its green leaves, its white flowers and its red berries, colors that recall the Italian flag. [51]
The swan was "cemented in the imagination as a creature of romance for a whole generation of impressionable working class suburban kids". The anthropomorphic projection may not have been entirely random; [ 2 ] swans are believed to take a mate for life, and the graceful white birds might symbolize monogamous felicity.