Call It How You See It

On my walks to the mall, I pass by this bush which has bright red flowers.  I didn't know what they were called.   I took these picture last month.  I figured I would be able to find someone who could identify these flowers for me.

When I asked the kids to ask their classmates, they replied that their classmates "don't care for those things" and "they wouldn't know."  In other words, "please spare us the embarrassment, Mom, and don't have us ask such lame questions."  

With that, I figured I would have to find the answer on my own.  

Not a problem, I thought, I can ask the people I meet as I walk.  Sadly, between then and now, every time I crossed paths with someone on the sidewalk, we were not beside the flower I needed identified.

Look at the flowers closely.  What do these flowers look like? 

Go ahead, take a guess because after this morning, I can now tell you what they are called.   (Hint : Call them as you see them.)

This morning, I saw a couple of elderly ladies walking ahead of me.  All of a sudden, one of them dashed across and made her way to the other side of the road about 150 metres from the corner where the pedestrian lane was.  The other lady paused, and watched as her companion stopped in the middle of the road then waited for the cars to pass so she could get to the other side.  When the elderly jaywalker got safely across, the law abiding lady resumed her walk.  As such, I was able catch up with her.

"I hope you're not trying to catch the bus,"  I said because I saw her daring companion (across the street) nearing the bus stop where the bus to the city was in the process of loading the passengers that were queued at the stop.  

"Oh, no.  That's my sister and we're just going to Castle Mall.  I don't know why she is in such a rush but I'm not going to risk my life just to cross the street." she replied as we continued our walk towards the corner.

I smiled and agreed that it was quite difficult to cross the road.  She said she'd been living in our area for 25 years and the road didn't used to be as busy. I relayed the news I had heard about a new pedestrian crosswalk being planned.  She said she'd heard that, too.   By this time, we were approaching my mystery flower.  

"Maybe you can help me."  I said pointing to the red flower on the side of the road, "would you know what this flower is called?"

She gave it some thought then remembered what the flowers were called before we reached the corner.

B O T T L E    B R U S H

(Now that's one plant that is aptly named.)