Amazing plants and where to find them

share | tweet | MORE |

 

When you are off trekking, hiking or simply nature walking, you are bound to stop and marvel at some species of plant or other that you haven’t seen before. As with animals, new and unusual plants are the spice of any trip in the middle of nature. And as opposed to animals, they stay in one place so you can take a good look at them, and they (mostly) don’t bite.

Since the flora vaies greatly according to climate and region, each trip you take is an opportunity to get acquainted with a weird or wonderful plant. So here is a list of the most amazing and surprising plants, and where you might bump into them.

Rafflesia, the rotting flower

Rafflesia is known to be the largest flower in the world, but if you’re imagining a fragrant bundle of delicate petals, you are off the mark. Rafflesia looks like a flower from afar, but once you see it up close, it loses any charm it might have had. This red, spotted, fleshy parasite thrives in the forests of Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. It can grow to a whopping 10 kilograms, and it smells like rotten flesh, hence it’s name, ‘corpse flower’.

Mimosa pudica, the sensitive plant

The mimosa migh tnot look like much, but you’re in for a surprise once you touch it, because the mimosa can move. When you touch the plant, its leaves fold up, and then reopen a few minutes later. This is a protection mechanism for the mimosa, because animals are often frightened away by such rapid movements.

Due to its curiosity value, the plant has been introduced in regions other than its native South America, and in some places, like Tanzania, for example, it is considered invasive. So if you happen to step on a plant and it starts to move, you’ll know that it’s a mimosa.

Nepenthes attenboroughii, the rat eating plant

The nepenthes looks like a quaint pitcher abandoned by someone in the Philippine forests, but don’t be fooled by its harmless, domestic appearance. This plant is carnivorous, and instead of eating mostly insects like other carnivorous plants, it likes to eat rats. Actually, this is only a misconception, although it sounds suitably creepy.

The plant is surely large enough to catch a rat, and there have been instances when squeeky critters were found half-digested by nepenthes, but that was cause by the rodent’s bad luck rather than the plant’s designs.

Aristolochia grandiflora, the pelican flower

If you are walking in the wilderness of the Caribbean islands, chances are that you’ll encounter this ugly fellow. The pelican flower is called like this because it resembles the beak of a pelican, although a more vivid imagination would rather see a sea monster in it.

The pelican flower is harmless, although decidedly malodorous for the nose of humans. The flower was introduced in California as well, in order to attract butterflies.

Codariocalyx motorius, the dancing plant

This tree is native to Asia and it is widespread in China, Laos, Bhutan, Thailand and many other countries. It is similar to the mimosa, in that it can move. Its leaves move for 3 to 5 minutes in order to better catch the sunlight, and when all the leaves move at once, it looks rather like wind is blowing through them, except that you can’t feel it. You might have to look at it for a few  minutes before it starts moving, but once it does, it looks quite cool.

You might also like

share | tweet | more |

 

 

Comments on Amazing plants and where to find them

Enter your comment below, or trackback from your own blog. You can also subscribe to these comments via RSS

Martha wrote on August 10, 2010:

Great blog! The sensitive plant is now called the TickleMe Plant here in the USA because it really move fast when you Tickle It. It can easily be grown in the
TickleMe Plant Greenhouse. Just google TickleMe Plant to see it in action and to grow one.

 

Leave a comment:

* your name

* your email address (will not be published)

your website

 

*=required