Tayabak with Critters

Tina Bone

Chosen for the Finals of the BBC Wildlife Artist of the Year Awards 2012.
Jade Vine (Strongylodon macrobotrys), Philippine pygmy fruit bat (Haplonycteris fischeri), Handsome sunbirds (Aethopyga bella), Green Barred Swallowtail Butterfly (Papilio palinurus). Tayabak' is the colloquial name for the beautiful Jade vine, which is now rare in the wild in its indigenous home in the Philippines. But increasingly botanical institutions are successfully growing this plant and it is now available for sale in garden centres! Bats, which live amongst the 1m long racemes, and sunbirds help to pollinate the flowers.Thank you to Cambridge University Botanic Gardens for allowing me access to their beautiful flowering vine, which greatly helped in the design of this work. Completed February 2012.

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