Euphorbia tirucalli or 'Sticks on Fire growing at this reserve. (i.imgur.com)
This one was about 9 1/2’ ft tall. Crazy to also see these growing in abundance on the sides of the road in SoCal!
It's not enough to have plants in my office. I have to grow them myself.
Rare Underground Flowering Palm Species Discovered in Borneo (lighthouse-eco.co.za)
Palm trees with their feathery fronds are a long-standing symbol of the tropics… aboveground. Now, researchers with Royal Botanic Gardens have documented a unique member of the palm family that produces its flowers and fruits almost exclusively beneath the soil.
OC Milkweed being eaten by the local Monarch Butterfly caterpillar population
Zanthoxylum Clava-herculis, or toothache tree, is a tree native to the Southeastern U.S. The trunk is thorny and lumpy, and it grows 8-15 meters tall. It has a natural anesthetic in the bark, leaves, and spines, which has the ability to numb the mouth.
Colchicum Autumnale, AKA Autumn Crocus is a species of lily found throughout most of Eurasia. All parts of the plant are deadly if consumed. It grows leaves in the spring and summer, before dropping them and blooming with purple flowers in the fall.
Borago Officinalis, or Starflower is a mid-sized herb with 5-pointed bright blue flowers. It is native to much of Europe. The leaves are edible and taste like cucumber, while the flowers are often dried or crystalized with sugar for edible decorations.
Pyrus Calleryana, AKA the Callery Pear, is a tree native to Southeast Asia. In the spring, it blooms with thousands of tiny white flowers and releases a foul odor. These fetid blooms turn into a hard, mildly poisonous fruit, which is consumable by birds.
Ecballium Elaterium or exploding cucumber is native to Southern Europe. It's known for its odd way of spreading seeds. As it grows, pressure in the gourd builds until it's ripe and shoots off the stalk, quickly expelling a stream of tiny seeds in its wake
What's wrong with my roses
Phytolacca Americana, or Pokeweed, is a herbaceous plant up to 2.5 meters tall, and native to North America. The plant is very toxic to mammals, especially the berries. Due to the risk from the toxins, and its density of growth, it is considered a pest.
Banyan trees, AKA strangler figs, can live for centuries. They germinate in tree branches and grow aerial roots downwards. This stabilizes them so they can wrap around the host tree, creating pressure until the host dies, leaving only the Banyan tree.
A leaf of a wild copper beech held against the sun. It gets trippier if you zoom in.
Tulip breaking is a phenomena caused by a virus spread by aphids. It causes a flower's undertones to show in irregular streaks. In the 1600s this colorful effect was very desired. Nowadays the same result is achieved through planting Rembrandt Tulips
My enormous Rose of Sharon bush!
Mimosa Pudica, or Touch-Me-Not is a short creeping plant known for its ability to rapidly close its leaves in response to stimuli such as touch. It also "sleeps" at night, wherein the leaves close at night and open in the morning.
Welcome!
Welcome to the plant magazine! I wanted to make a space where people could talk about plants and enjoy a shared hobby. The name is pretty indicative of the topic. :)