Detailed reply from Max ji (I thank him for precious feedback): "This time the photos are genuine, but the add-on of the face of Jesus is not. Someone saw him in an iron just the other day. Whenever I get an email exhorting me to pass something on and get good luck, I go out of my way to delete it. Please do not take the fact that I have replied to this as buying into this stupidity. One thing at least they left out...if you do not send it, something terrible will happen to you.
Here is what 'Hoax-slayer' has to say about the pics... According to the text of a widely circulated email, attached photographs depict a very rare flower that grows in the shape of a parrot. The message claims that the "Parrot Flower" grows in Thailand and is a protected species. The photographs have generated a great deal of controversy since they first began circulating several years ago. Many commentators have suggested that the Parrot Flower is no more than a hoax and that the images have been digitally manipulated. However, although they are indeed quite rare, Parrot Flowers do exist and the photographs are genuine. According to information on ExoticRainforest.com, the plants grow in Thailand, Myanmar (formerly Burma) and portions of east India and are rare members of the genus Impatiens, "Impatiens psittacina". The word "psittacina" translates as "parrot like". Steve Lucas of ExoticRainforest.com has published comprehensive information about the species and the history of the above email forward and photographs. The site notes that the information about the plant was first published in 1901 in the Curtis Botanical Journal Magazine by the botanist Joseph Dalton Hooker. And the now famous photographs included above were taken by a Thai grower of the plant in 2001. Scans of Hooker's original description of the plant along with additional photographs of Parrot Flowers are also available on the website. Moreover, information about Impatiens psittacina in an article by plant expert Ray Morgan notes: Recently there has been some controversy on the internet regarding an Impatiens picture published on certain websites, bearing a certain resemblance to a parrot in flight. Many people have suggested that the plant did not exist and the picture was a fake, computer-generated from parts of other pictures. It has been referred to as the parrot plant. The plant, however, does indeed exist, and is Impatiens psittacina, which can be found growing in northern Thailand, northern India and Myanmar (formerly Burma). It was described by JD Hooker in 1901 and the specific epithet means parrot-like. The flowers, which do resemble a parrot in flight, are shades of pale lilac, reddish purple and white. It is not closely related to the parrot-billed species, but deserves a place in this story. The claims in the email that the plant is protected in Thailand and cannot be exported also appear to be true. During his research, Steve Lucas was told that "Thai law made it illegal to own, collect, or export plants or seeds". The rarity and limited geographic range of the species along with the difficulty of obtaining seeds or specimens for plant collections have probably contributed to speculation that the photographs are not genuine. Also, some versions of the email include incorrectly spelled versions of the plant's scientific name (Impatiens psittacina), which may have also made it difficult for recipients to track down reliable information about the species. It has apparently become fashionable for at least a few self-proclaimed image manipulation experts to declare virtually any strange or unusual image that crosses their email inbox or browser as "photoshopped". Of course, many images that circulate via the Internet are indeed composite images or outright fakes. But in this case at least, the images are genuine. References: Rare Thailand Parrot Flower Impatiens psittacina photos of Rare Thailand Parrot Flower Parrot-billed Impatiens Impatiens psittacina Novels by Max and/or Ariana Overton http://www.maxoverton.com The Lion of Scythia Trilogy (Lion of Scythia, The Golden King, Funeral in Babylon) - EPPIE winners 2005 and 2006; The Glass House Trilogy (Glass House, A Glass Darkly, Looking Glass) - Eppie finalists; A Cry of Shadows, The Devil is in the Details, Trapdoor, Tapestry, Scarab - Akhenaten (Book 1 of the Amarnan Kings), Scarab - Smenkhkare (Book 2 of the Amarnan Kings), Scarab - Tutankhamen (Book 3 of the Amarnan Kings), Scarab - Ay (Book 4 of the Amarnan Kings), Rakshasa, Glass Continuum, Ascension Works in Progress: Djinn, Scarab - Horemheb (Book 5 of the Amarnan Kings), Sequestered Also check out http://julesphotographiccreations.blogspot.com/ 2009/11/29 Gurcharan Singh <[email protected]> > Dear Max > I hope this one is genuine > > > Dr. Gurcharan Singh > Associate Professor > SGTB Khalsa College > University of Delhi, Delhi > India > http://people.du.ac.in/~singhg45 > ----- Original Message ----- > *From:* JS CHILANA <[email protected]> > *To:* jaswant arneja <[email protected]> ; Parveen > Bhatia<[email protected]>; shubhkaran > chilana <[email protected]> ; ARVINDER CHILANA<[email protected]>; > Dr. > Ashok K. Grover <[email protected]> ; vishal > grover<[email protected]>; arvinder > gujral <[email protected]> ; rajeev gupta<[email protected]>; > rakesh > joshi <[email protected]> ; Naresh Khurana <[email protected]> ; manoj > mahajan <[email protected]> ; vivek pal <[email protected]> ; neeru > singh <[email protected]> ; ajit iqbal singh <[email protected]> ; > gurcharan > Singhsinghg <[email protected]> ; SHEENA <[email protected]> ; > [email protected] ; [email protected] > *Sent:* Sunday, November 29, 2009 8:29 PM > *Subject:* Fw: FW: THE VERY RARE PARROT FLOWER > > > > --- On *Thu, 12/11/09, rajeshwar kaushik <[email protected]>* wrote: > > > From: rajeshwar kaushik <[email protected]> > Subject: Fw: FW: THE VERY RARE PARROT FLOWER > To: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], > [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] > Date: Thursday, 12 November, 2009, 10:27 PM > > Note: Forwarded message attached > > -- Original Message -- > > From: Hari anand [email protected] > To: Ashok Arora [email protected], BS Bhasin [email protected], > Asutosh Padhi [email protected], Das Badal [email protected], > Dharminder Kathpalia [email protected], > [email protected], girish anand [email protected], > [email protected], Jai Nirwan [email protected], Jyotsna Anand > [email protected], MKS Subramanian [email protected], " > [email protected]" [email protected], Ramesh Kumar > [email protected], Rita Anand [email protected], sadagopan v.p > [email protected], Shelte [email protected], sushil ahuja > [email protected], VG Kannan [email protected], Vinod Karwal > [email protected] > Subject: FW: THE VERY RARE PARROT FLOWER > > > ------------------------------ > The INTERNET now has a personality. YOURS! See your Yahoo! > Homepage<http://in.rd.yahoo.com/tagline_yyi_1/*http://in.yahoo.com/> > . > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "indiantreepix" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]<indiantreepix%[email protected]> > . > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/indiantreepix?hl=en. > -- With regards, J.M.Garg ([email protected]) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Jmgarg1 'Creating awareness of Indian Flora & Fauna' Image Resource of more than a thousand species of Birds, Butterflies, Plants etc. (arranged alphabetically & place-wise): http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:J.M.Garg For learning about Indian Flora, visit/ join Google e-group- Indiantreepix: http://groups.google.co.in/group/indiantreepix?hl=en -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "indiantreepix" group. 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