PEDILANTHUS BRACTEATUS (LITTLE BIRD PLANT)

I bought a 'little sparrow' plant from the market yesterday morning as I find it pretty and interesting. The plant has flowers that take the shape of a 'little sparrow'. If you look closely, the flower does look like a 'little bird' perched among the bracts. The scientific name for the plant is Pedilanthus Bracteatus and its common name is Tall Slipper Flower. Here in Malaysia it is more popularly known as Xiao Niao Hua or Little Bird Flower.

Of course, I was aware that it is considered an auspicious plant and would bring lots of luck to the person who buys it. The plant that I am pictured with costs RM48.00. However, I only bought a small one with just two stems and one tiny bird growing on it for my mum. That costs RM12.00. I was told that the bigger plants can cost as much as RM90.00. Now with the Chinese New Year just around the corner, this plant appears to be selling like hotcakes because everyone is thinking of getting wealth luck for the coming year.

Source: http://www.shuangxingfu.blogspot.com/