The brilliant blue, white, or pink of these flowers are actually 5 to 25 colored sepals rather than petals. They appear to float upon a mist of thread-like bracts above feathery, pinnately divided leaves.
This native of the Mediterranean region has long been cultivated both for its beauty and unique foliage, as well as for its shiny black seeds, which are used in small amounts as a seasoning said to resemble nutmeg or oregano. The seeds have also been used medicinally.
This black-white-and-grey bird points its slender bill downwards - or tilts it comically upwards - as it spirals face-first down tree trunks and round ...
