# Tim's strange plant thread



## TimV (May 18, 2008)

I've collected unusual plants for years, and one the fun thing I do on Sundays is play around in my greenhouse. I'll plan on updating this thread occasionally. I hope some of you enjoy these, which is one of the reasons I don't think I would believe in evolution even if I weren't a Christian.

The first is one of our West Coast carnivorous plants, the Cobra Lily _Darlingtonia californica_. On the top you can see small clear patches. When an insect flies in the hole at the bottom of the dome, they see the clear patches, or "windows" and bash themselves against them like you see flying insects try to get out of your house by repeatedly hitting a window. The insect eventually falls down the tube, and is used by the plant as food. They grow on very poor soils, where there isn't much competition from other plants, as there are not enough nutrients in the soil to keep plants alive.







The second is _Drosera binata_, the Forked Sundew. These plants also live where other plants can't, due to limited nutrients in the soil. This plant has caught a mosquito, and will pull the insect to the center of it's leaf, where specialized cells digest it. They get big enough to catch birds.


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## TimV (May 18, 2008)

This is _Cephalotus follicularis_ from Australia. That trap is actually a leaf. The teeth point inwards, and when a bug crawls into the trap to get nectar, the teeth keep it from climbing out, and it's used for food. This is a difficult, slow growing plant only found in a small area.


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## blhowes (May 18, 2008)

Those are pretty cool. How many plants have you collected over the years?


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## TimV (May 18, 2008)

About 500, Bob.

This one is _Stapelia hirsuta_ from Southern Africa. They attract pollinators by imitating an infected sore on an animal. The flowers smell so bad you can't breath too closely to them. They look and smell so much like rotten meat that flies are attracted and actually lay their eggs on them. I've seen them hatch and maggots emerge, and the flies of course are unwittingly pollinating the flower. This species reminds me of Patrick Star on Spongebob.


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## Gryphonette (May 18, 2008)

Mercy Maud, Tim, can't you raise orchids or roses like normal people?





Seriously, those are fascinating! How many species of



plants do you have? I'd not heard of any of those before.


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## Beth Ellen Nagle (May 18, 2008)

Fascinating plants. The second one would be fun to take photos of.


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## etexas (May 18, 2008)

I want a greenhouse now! Cool plants!


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## TimV (May 18, 2008)

There are around 500 species, Anne.

Here's a _Sarracenia_ hybrid. Remember the story of Socrates? How they made him drink Hemlock? The active ingredient in Hemlock is connine, and this plant mixes connine in with it's nectar, which it exuded around the lip, above the trap. The flies and wasps eat the nectar, are paralyzed in a few seconds, fall in and are eaten. I never fertilize these, and by the end of the year their traps are full of bugs that they've captured. The hairs you can see point down, which keeps the bugs from crawling out.


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## Leslie (May 18, 2008)

Neato!!!


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## TimV (May 18, 2008)

This is a Nepenthes. The trap is also a modified leaf, and it contains chemical to sedate it's prey, as well as surfactants to wet insects which drowns them faster. They get big enough to catch rats, and there is documentary proof that they do.


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## CalvinandHodges (May 18, 2008)

Very, Very interesting!


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## PuritanCovenanter (May 18, 2008)

Tim,

This is awesome. Thanks for sharing this stuff. Keep up the good posts.


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## Backwoods Presbyterian (May 18, 2008)

Wow!!! Cool stuff...


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## TimV (May 18, 2008)

The last one until the next time I get my camera out. I'll try to fit a mini botany lesson with each post.

Here's a "stone mimic", a _Gibbaeum_. Plants are very scarce in Bushmanland due to only 3-5 inches of rain per year, and the antelope are always hungry, so some plants look like rocks to keep from getting eaten.


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## satz (May 18, 2008)

Great thread.


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## Mushroom (May 18, 2008)

satz said:


> Great thread.



Neat stuff, Tim.


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## Presbyterian Deacon (May 18, 2008)

Tim:

Do you have any plants that will eat my mother-in-law? 












_______________________________________________
Just kidding of course!


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## DMcFadden (May 18, 2008)

Wow! Our God is an amazingly infinite Creator.


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## BJClark (May 18, 2008)

These are so cool..

I'm in agreement with Dennis..WOW, Our God is an amazing creator..


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## jwithnell (May 18, 2008)

Another carnivorous plant fan in reformed circles! So far, I only have a few in the cobra lily family. Last winter I had my eye on a Nepenthes, and really wish I had gotten one. I am trying to rig up a fountain so I can keep my plants out back with their pots sitting in water that won't become a major mosquito breeding ground.


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## SteppingHeavenward (May 18, 2008)

These are so neat! I'm afraid I don't have much of a green thumb when it comes to exotic plants... I can handle regular garden crops, but our poor orchids aren't faring too well.  

One question - is there any hazard to your health (or safety!) when handling some of these plants? I'm thinking that it would be a fun hobby to pursue when our kids get older, but am wondering if some plants may not be recommended for a young hobbyist.

How do you acquire these plants? Any recommended books or websites?


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## Southern Presbyterian (May 18, 2008)

Thanks for the photos and the botany lessons!





*Wondering if anyone else has the theme from "Little Shop of Horrors" playing in there head, like me.*


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## JBaldwin (May 18, 2008)

The plants are really neat!


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## TimV (May 18, 2008)

None of the plants I've shown so far are poisonous. I keep quite a collection of medicinal plants, including hallucinogenic plants, but those are usually cactus like things or foul tasting so I've never even considered banning my kids from the greenhouse.

I've collected them through the years by building relations with other growers, and we buy and trade cutting, seeds etc...There are some forums online like this. Some are easy to grow but some are advanced, so they would make a good project for a young person or an older one who wants a challenge.

International Carnivorous Plant Society - Home

Thanks, all


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## TimV (May 22, 2008)

This is a Mexican Butterwort, or _Pinguicula_. Before pesticides they were grown in orchid houses to kill Whitefly and Fungus Gnats. They are covered with very small, greasy cells that hold their prey to them and then digest them. They are used in traditional veterinary medicine for wounds in cattle and other animals, as they have a very high ability to withstand bacteria.

The flowers are high above the plant as they don't want to eat their pollinators!






And here's a close up of the sticky cells


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## TimV (May 22, 2008)

And an unusual colorful cactus _Echinocactus rigidispinus_ var. ruprispinus.


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## JonathanHunt (May 22, 2008)

Wow, what an awesome thread! Many thanks for the time and trouble!


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## etexas (May 22, 2008)

I REALLY should get a greenhouse!


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## sastark (May 22, 2008)

I love the picture of that cactus. Thanks for posting these!


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## TimV (May 22, 2008)

Sure! I just showed a person from Bible Study the greenhouse and the first thing that was said was "I can't believe how God worked that one out".


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## turmeric (May 22, 2008)

That Nepenthes is giving me serious fashion ideas! Jesus was indeed correct - people would pay dearly and still not look as good as the lilies of the field!


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## TimV (Jun 2, 2008)

OK, now for something more controversial. There have been plants both particularly abused and particularly useful that have a huge relationship with mankind. Opium poppy for example. I also grow some of these types of plants, but can't show you all of them ;-)

To start, _Salvia divinorum_, the Diviner's Sage. South American witch doctors and healers have used this for centuries, and it's lately become illegal to sell it in places like France, Russian and lately in a half dozen US States. By throwing some leaves on a fire it has a calming effect, but in high doses (kids get the concentrated stuff) it causes hallucinations.


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## TimV (Jun 2, 2008)

One of the "button" cactus, which also cause visions in high doses. I've never heard of a good medical use for this one, but that doesn't mean there isn't one. _Astrophytum asterias_, I grew from seed three years old. 





And another, _Aztekium ritteri_. This plant is about the size of a quarter and about 10 years old. Very rare; you'll almost never see this one except in specialized collections. It gives a very long term altered state, and again I've never heard of a medically useful role for this one. During the winter if you water it just once you can kill it.


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## a mere housewife (Jun 2, 2008)

Tim these are amazing. I enjoy all the pictures and information very much. I always kill plants (even my favorite, a little bonsai tree Ruben got me which was supposed to be virtually indestructible. I trimmed one of its arms when its little flowers died and then the other to make it even and that was the end) and am amazed at how much care and expertise goes into such beautiful images.


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