15 Magical Plants Straight From the Lands of Fantasy and Wonders
Mother nature loves surprising us. There are places in the world where some bizarre plants look as if they came from another planet or even dimension!
#1 Night Sky Petunia
The spotted flowers of this plant do look like a sky full of stars.
#2 Flamy lilly, a wonderful perennial from Africa and Asia
It looks a bit like an orchid. It contains a toxic substance called colchicine, with the roots and seeds especially rich.
#3 Paphiopedilum rothschildianum - an amazing orchid
You can come across this plant in the Kinabalu mountains (north Borneo). The flowers can have a diameter of 12 – 18 inches.
#4 Common houseleek looks stunning in rock gardens
Its leaves form rosettes that change their color depending the season.
#5 Tacca Chantrier – The Black Bat Flower
It comes from India and astonishes with its inflorescence ranging from 12 to 20 inches in diameter, with the leaves adhering to it, looking a bit like thin ribbons.
#6 The bear's head tooth fungus
Edible and rare, it grows in the east part of North America.
#7 The naked man orchid (Orchis italica) is an Italian orchid common in the Mediterranean
The plant grows up to 20 inches and astonishes with its unique inflorescence.
#8 Hydnora africana a plant with no leaves and chlorophyll
The upper part of the plant is a huge flower. The plant grows in Africa as a parasite on roots of locust trees.
#9 The Brazilian Dutchman's pipe
The characteristic feature of the climber is huge flowers (giving off a nasty smells attracting some insects) and heart-shaped leaves.
#10 Palicourea elata, also known as 'girlfriend’s kiss'
It is common in rainforests of Mexico, Ecuador, Colombia or Panama. Surprisingly, it is the leaves that come in such extravagant red.
#11 Huernia guttata – a charming succulent looking like a star
It comes from RSA and its five-petal flowers are shiny and juicy.
#12 Faucaria tigrina – a succulent from South America
Its juicy leaves with the pinkish long bits look like an open tiger's jaw. In the summer the plant blossoms with a number of yellow flowers.
#13 Spurge – a green ball often confused with cacti
It can be 8 inches wide and it is a really popular potted plant. Its toxic juice, however, can cause food poisoning and skin irritation.
#14 Strongylodon macrobotrys, also known as jade vine, emerald vine or turquoise jade
The plants comes from the forest of the Philippines and is closely related to bean. Its shoots can be 20 yards long.
#15 The titan arum – only to be found in Sumatra
It blooms at night and the inflorescence can be 10 feet tall. It gives off a nasty stench of rotten meat to attract insects.
The Sensitive Plant
A name that is so meaningful as the plant is really sensitive to touch. It responds to stimulus within 0.08 second and folds its leaves inward. It all looks as if it was really ashamed!
Have you heard of all the plants? Are there any you have never seen before?
