#sapphire tower

[weasm-z]

Cupid's siblings ref sheet

Million Bells is the oldest triplet, Spider is the middle triplet and Sapphire is the youngest triplet for clarity. TW for mention of stillbirth and child/animal(kitten) death below

From oldest to youngest:

First Litter:

Dahlia, 2 stillborn littermates, 1 littermate died shortly after birth

Second Litter:

Million Bells, Red Spider Lily, Sapphire Tower

Third Litter:

Cupid's Dart, 2 littermates died shortly after birth

Fourth Litter:

Dianthus Maxine, 2 stillborn littermates, 3 littermates died shortly after birth

[heavenly-garden]

Puya Alpestris aka The Sapphire Tower.

One of the most unique plants in the world.

[mothmiso]

Untitled (2) (3) by Rob O

[warningsine]

Rare 'Sapphire Tower' plant blooms for the first time in a decade

A plant so extraordinary it's been nicknamed the Sapphire Tower is blooming for the first time in a decade.

Get ready to witness an incredibly rare and spectacular sight. A plant so extraordinary it’s been nicknamed the Sapphire Tower is blooming for the first time in a decade at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens.

This “otherworldly” beauty from the Chilean Andes is a must-see, but you’ll have to hurry – these breathtaking blooms won’t last long.

What is the Sapphire Tower?

The Sapphire Tower, or Puya alpestris, is a fascinating and visually striking plant native to the Andean regions of Chile.

Part of the bromeliad family, which includes more familiar plants like pineapples and Spanish moss, Puya alpestris is particularly notable for its unique and vibrant characteristics.

Appearance and growth

The Sapphire Tower is characterized by its rosettes of silver-green leaves that are long, narrow, and edged with sharp spines.

The plant can grow quite large, typically reaching heights of up to a meter or more. It’s known for its dramatic flowering stalks, which can extend several meters high, far above the foliage.

The flowers themselves are what give the Sapphire Tower its name. They bloom in a striking metallic blue to turquoise color, and they are densely packed on the towering spikes.

These blooms are not only rare but also ephemeral, typically appearing only after many years of growth. The plant’s blooming cycle is particularly slow, often taking up to a decade to produce flowers.

Pollination and ecological role

In its native habitat in Chile, the Puya alpestris is adapted to being pollinated by birds, particularly hummingbirds.

The shape of the flowers and their arrangement on the tall spike are perfectly suited to facilitate bird pollination.

The coloration of the flowers is also believed to be an adaptation to attract these specific pollinators.

Sapphire Tower cultivation and care

Outside of its native range, cultivating Puya alpestris can be challenging. It requires well-draining soil, as it is adapted to the rocky soils of mountainous regions.

The plant prefers full sun and tolerates drought well. This is due to its ability to store water in its thick leaves, similar to other bromeliads.

In regions outside of Chile, the Puya alpestris is often grown in botanical gardens. It is also grown as an ornamental plant by enthusiasts who appreciate its dramatic appearance and rare blooming.

Pollinating the Sapphire Tower

In their natural habitat, Sapphire Towers rely on hummingbirds for pollination. But in a botanical garden, dedicated horticulturists like Alberto Trinco step in to give nature a helping hand.

“Each flower only lasts a few days, giving us a limited window of time to give nature a helping hand,” explains Trinco. “It is very slow-growing, so to witness its spectacular blooms is both exciting and rare.”

Their job is to carefully transfer pollen from one flower to another – a delicate process with a brief window for success.

Why pollination is important to Sapphire Tower plants

Pollination plays a vital role in the life cycle of plants such as the Sapphire Tower. This process is essential because it leads to the production of seeds, which are crucial for the propagation and survival of the species.

By transferring pollen from the male structures of one flower to the female structures of another, pollination initiates the development of seeds that will eventually grow into new plants.

For the Sapphire Tower, which blooms infrequently and only under specific conditions, successful pollination is particularly significant.

The seeds produced through this process ensure the continuation of the species, allowing it to thrive in its natural habitats.

These seeds carry the genetic blueprint of the plants, enhancing genetic diversity. This diversity is crucial for adapting to changing environmental conditions and resisting diseases and pests.

By preserving the species through natural reproductive processes like pollination, we ensure its survival. This allows future generations to enjoy and appreciate the extraordinary beauty of the Sapphire Tower.

The plant’s unique characteristics and striking appearance make it a valuable specimen for botanical gardens and plant enthusiasts.

Thus, effective pollination not only supports the ecological balance in the plant’s native environment but also enhances human appreciation and understanding of biodiversity.

Don’t miss this “exquisite” Sapphire Tower bloom

If you’re lucky enough to be near the Birmingham Botanical Gardens, you have a chance to witness this breathtaking sight for yourself. But don’t wait too long! You might only have between 10 days to two weeks to experience it.

The Sapphire Tower serves as an incredible reminder of our planet’s amazing biodiversity. Slow-growing marvels and fleeting, vibrant blooms fill the natural world with delicate and awe-inspiring wonders.

Interesting facts on Sapphire Towers

Here are some other fascinating facts about the Sapphire Tower to amaze your friends and family:

Distant relatives

Bromeliads are the same plant family as pineapples. It’s hard to imagine the spiky, alien-like Sapphire Tower is related to our favorite tropical fruit, but it is.

This family, known for their rosette shape and central “tank” formed by their tightly overlapping leaf bases, showcases a wide variety of forms and adaptations, highlighting the diversity of the bromeliad family.

High altitude home

Sapphire Towers thrive in the harsh, mountainous regions of Chile. These plants perfectly adapt to the rocky, nutrient-poor soils and the drastic temperature shifts between day and night in high altitudes. Their resilience in these tough environments showcases their hardy nature and survival strategies.

Living fossils

Some Puya species, including the Sapphire Tower, are incredibly old and have changed little for millions of years. These plants are living relics of ancient times, providing a glimpse into past ecosystems and the evolutionary history of flora.

Adaptation mastery

The Sapphire Tower’s ability to store water in its thick, waxy leaves enables it to survive the dry periods common in its native habitat. This water storage capability, along with their ability to absorb water directly from fog and mist, demonstrates their incredible adaptability to their environment.

Conservation significance

The unique characteristics and the rarity of the Sapphire Tower make it an important species for conservation efforts. Preserving such species helps maintain biodiversity and the health of ecosystems, which in turn supports overall environmental resilience and stability.

[farcivilian]

Istanbul by night If you are ever in Istanbul and want to do something off the beaten path, go check out the Sapphire Tower.  Going to the top will cost around $8 (As of this post) and you get the tallest view of the city!  On a clear day you can see the historic district, the Bosphorus Strait and the bridges.

Check me out on Instagram!

[newstfionline]

Turkish Skyline Foreshadows Emerging-Market Slowdown

By Landon Thomas Jr., NY Times, August 20, 2013

In a city where skyscrapers sprout like weeds, none grew as high as the Sapphire tower in Istanbul.

Today, it stands as a symbol of how far the mighty may fall.

Like the vast majority of new buildings that have blanketed the Istanbul hills in recent years, the Sapphire--at 856 feet it is the tallest in Turkey and among the loftiest in Europe--was built on the back of cheap loans, in dollars, that have flooded Turkey and other fast-growing markets like Brazil, India and South Korea. The money began to flow when the Federal Reserve and other major central banks cut interest rates to the bone in 2009 and cranked up the printing presses in a bid to spur recovery in United States and other advanced industrial nations.

But now, with expectations mounting that the Federal Reserve, led by its departing chairman Ben S. Bernanke, may soon begin to tighten its monetary spigot, Istanbul's skyline could well be a harbinger of an emerging-market bust brought on by unpaid loans, weakening currencies, and, eventually, the possible failure of developers and banks.

This week, stocks and currencies in several developing Asian markets, including India, Indonesia and Thailand, have been hit hard as global investors continue to withdraw funds from emerging markets in anticipation of the Fed's move to reduce its stimulus efforts in the United States. Indonesia's benchmark index, which fell 5 percent on Monday, dropped 3.2 percent more on Tuesday. India's stock market fell 0.3 percent after sliding 5.6 percent in the previous two trading sessions.

Other worldwide markets are also suffering. Stocks on Wall Street have fallen for four days in a row as borrowing rates climb. The Nikkei 225 index in Japan fell 2.6 percent on Tuesday, hitting its lowest closing level since June 27. South Korea and Hong Kong both fell as well.

Some analysts see it as the markets reacting to an end--real or perceived--of the Bernanke boom.

"What we are witnessing is a huge bubble, a Bernanke bubble if you will," said Tim Lee of Pi Economics, an independent consultancy based in Greenwich, Conn.

Not everybody is as alarmed as Mr. Lee. Still, 16 years after emerging markets in Asia imploded after local currencies collapsed, even optimists are starting to grow nervous over the rapid accumulation of dollar-denominated debt not just in Turkey but in other now-struggling economies like Brazil, India and South Korea.

As it turned out, some of the biggest beneficiaries of the Fed's largess were not so much in the developed world, but among the politically connected elite in emerging nations like Turkey, where vanity towers, glitzy shopping malls and even grander projects to come--a third bridge across the Bosporus and a vast new airport--have become representative of Turkey's new dynamism, economic as well as geopolitical.

What these elites have so far ignored, Mr. Lee warns, is that their obligations carry with them a significant and more pressing danger beyond the risk that the investments may turn sour. That is currency risk.

Unlike the risky loans made to subprime borrowers in the United States or Irish real estate developers in the euro zone, dollar debts taken on by companies erecting skyscrapers in Istanbul, manufacturing steel in India and prospecting for oil in Brazil, need to be largely paid back in dollars by entities that earn most of their revenues in their home currency.

When the Turkish lira or the rupee in India was strong--as these currencies were until recently--local companies had every incentive to borrow in dollars at comparatively lower interest rates.

But when local currencies start to weaken, in line with diminished economic prospects, then the effect is twofold: paying off dollar loans becomes more costly for the borrower and the lender becomes increasingly skittish about his exposure to a fragile currency and may move to reduce or even slash credit lines.

The worst prospect is a currency crash and a deep recession as foreign investors leave the country and locals rush to dump their liras, reals and rupees in favor of dollars.

While Brazil has the largest amount of dollar loans outstanding at $287 billion, few countries have relied on this source of money as much as Turkey, where dollar loans of around $172 billion represent 22 percent of the overall economy.

In recent months--especially after protests in Istanbul's main public square over an unpopular building sponsored by a developer with close political and cultural ties to Turkey's prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan--the Turkish lira has lost 4.5 percent of its value against the dollar.

Mainstream analysts are now expressing increasing doubts about the currency's prospects.

[photos91-blog]

Overlooking Istanbul From The Sapphire Building.

[anotherphotointhewall]