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Madeira Vine

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Madeira Vine

Madeira vines just don’t give up on growing.

  • Madeira vine is a species of perennial vine, that is a somewhat hardy, evergreen plant, native to South America.
  • ‘Madeira vines’ are also known as ‘mignonette vines’, ‘lamb’s tail vines’, and ‘potato vines’.
  • The scientific name of the Madeira vine is Anredera cordifolia, and it is from the family Basellaceae, a family of flowering herbaceous plants.
  • Madeira vine leaves are fleshy and shaped like a heart, and are typically between 2 to 15 centimetres (0.8 to 5.9 inches) in length.
  • The length of a Madeira vine can reach between 30 and 40 metres (98 to 131 feet) particularly when assisted by tall plants and trees, which it uses to climb.

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  • A number of countries, including parts of Africa, New Zealand and Australia, consider Madeira vines as major weeds, as they choke out native vegetation and spread easily, especially in subtropical to tropical areas.
  • A Madeira vine grows from a tuber in the ground, and the plant is efficient at regrowing from a broken root, which is one of its primary spreading methods, while water movement, such as creeks or floods, is another way the vines spread.
  • The small flowers of Madeira vines are white to cream in colour, and in summer and autumn they form in clusters along long spikes, which from a distance, look like lamb’s tails.
  • Madeira vines produce large quantities of tubers along their stems, which often break off and start growing in the ground to produce new plants, enabling the plant to easily multiply, and the tubers are also a source of food for the plant when the growing conditions are tough.
  • The Madeira vine is a very quick grower, and in the right conditions, can grow as much as a metre (3.3 feet) in seven days.
Bibliography:
Anredera Cordifolia, 2016, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anredera_cordifolia
Madeira Vine, 2015, Business Queensland Government, https://www.business.qld.gov.au/industry/agriculture/species/declared-pests/weeds/madeira-vine
Madeira Vine (Anredera cordifolia), 2011, BioNET-EAFRINET, http://keys.lucidcentral.org/keys/v3/eafrinet/weeds/key/weeds/Media/Html/Anredera_cordifolia_(Madeira_Vine).htm
Madeira Vine (Anredera cordifolia), 2011, Weed Management Guide, http://www.weeds.org.au/WoNS/madeiravine/docs/47053_ERGO_Weed_Mgmt_guide_Madeira_vine_Pages.pdf

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Boiling River of Mayatuyacu

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Boiling River of Mayatuyacu

Don’t try your luck taking a dip in the Boiling River of Mayantuyacu.

  • The Boiling River of Mayantuyacu is a river that winds through the Amazon rainforest in central Peru, in South America.
  • The Boiling River of Mayantuyacu is also known as ‘Shanay-timpishka’, named by the local natives, translated to mean something like “boiled with the heat of the sun”.
  • The length of the heated part of the Boiling River of Mayantuyacu is about 6.4 kilometres (4 miles), with a depth of up to 5 metres (16 feet) and a width of up to 24 metres (80 feet).
  • The temperature of the Boiling River of Mayantuyacu ranges from 50°C to 100°C (122°F – 212°F), and it can quickly cause a third degree burn – burning all skin layers.
  • The Boiling River of Mayantuyacu is a peculiar phenomenon, as no active volcano is located near the river – the closest is approximately 700 kilometres (430 miles) away, as the source of other boiling rivers is typically volcano activity, though it is likely fed by a number of hot springs.
Mayantuyacu Boiling River, Hot, Trivia, Ten Random Facts, Healer, steam, Amazon
Part of the Boiling River of Mayatuyacu
Image courtesy of Sofia Ruzo/The Boiling River Project
  • The Boiling River of Mayantuyacu is considered sacred, and is believed to be a place with spiritual and healing powers by the natives, who have long known of its existence.
  • The Boiling River of Mayantuyacu is the final resting place of animals unfortunate enough to wander into the water, as the temperatures cook the animals alive.
  • Robert Moran, an American geologist discovered the Boiling River of Mayantuyacu’s in the 193os, though it wasn’t until 2011 that scientific documentation began, by American geoscientist Andrés Ruzo, who rediscovered the river, led there by his aunt, after hearing tales of it twenty years earlier.
  • The local legend explains that the hot waters of the Boiling River of Mayantuyacu were released by a giant mythical serpent named ‘Yacumama’.
  • Due to its isolated location, the trek to the Boiling River of Mayantuyacu is potentially dangerous, and it is about an hour from the nearest health centre and three hours from the nearest hospital.
Bibliography:
The Boiling River of Mayantuyacu, Peru, 2016, Amusing Planet, http://www.amusingplanet.com/2016/02/the-boiling-river-of-mayantuyacu-peru.html
Breyer M, Mysterious 4-Mile Long River in Peru is so Hot is Actually Boils, 2016, Treehugger, http://www.treehugger.com/natural-sciences/mysterious-4-mile-long-river-peru-so-hot-it-actually-boils.html
History of Site, 2016, The Boiling River, http://www.boilingriver.org/history-of-site/
Kim S, Peru‘s Mysterious ‘Boiling River’ that Burns Animals to Death, 2016, The Telegraph, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/south-america/peru/articles/peru-mysterious-boiling-river-that-can-burn-you-to-death/

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Sensitive Plant

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Sensitive Plant

Sometimes you just want to shrink away. Sensitive plants know how you feel.

  • Sensitive plants are a species of plant, originating in tropical areas of South and Central America.
  • ‘Sensitive plants’ are also known as ‘shy plants’, ‘sleepy plants’, ‘humble plants’, ‘common sensitive plants’, ‘touch-me-not plants’, and ‘shameful plants’.
  • The scientific name of a sensitive plant is Mimosa pudica and it is from the family Fabaceae, the family of legumes.
  • Sensitive plants have thorny stems, and fern-like leaves that are peculiar in nature, as their leaflets fold inward when touched or shaken, and they reopen minutes later.
  • The small pink to purple flowers of sensitive plants are made up of lots of stamens that create a spherical shape, and after flowering the plant produces seed pods that are bordered with prickles.

Sensitive Plant, Flower, Vegetation, Trivia, Ten Random Facts, Purple, Grassy

  • When the leaflets of sensitive plants fold, water is being purged from the leaf cells using potassium ions and others, which causes the leaf cell to collapse.
  • Sensitive plants have been introduced into Asia, particularly the east, as well as parts of Africa, and it is considered an invasive weed in areas of Australia.
  • Sensitive plants are often grown for their unusual nature of leaf-folding, and they can be grown inside in pots, although they will need sufficient light to thrive.
  • The height of a sensitive plant usually reaches 15 to 45 centimetres (6 to 18 inches), and it is considered to be a ground cover, so it tends to have a spreading habit.
  • Sensitive plants can be grown as a perennial or an annual, depending on the climate and growing conditions, and the plant has medicinal properties that have been traditionally used for treating wounds, among other things.
Bibliography:
Common Sensitive Plant, 2015, Queensland Government, https://www.business.qld.gov.au/industry/agriculture/species/non-declared-pests/weeds/common-sensitive-plant
Mimosa Pudica, 2016, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mimosa_pudica
Mimosa Pudica (Common Sensitive Plant), 2011, BioNET-EAFRINET, http://keys.lucidcentral.org/keys/v3/eafrinet/weeds/key/weeds/Media/Html/Mimosa_pudica_(Common_Sensitive_Plant).htm
Mimosa Pudica (Sensitive Plant), n.d, KEW Royal Botanic Garden, http://www.kew.org/science-conservation/plants-fungi/mimosa-pudica-sensitive-plant

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Island of Dolls

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Island of Dolls

You may have braved Hashima Island… but can you brave the Island of Dolls?

  • The Island of Dolls is a man-made island, known as a ‘chinampa’, in a canal in the Xochimilco area, approximately 28 km south of Mexico City.
  • ‘The Island of Dolls’ is also known as ‘Isla de las Muñecas’ in the native Spanish, and as of 2013, it was decorated with over 1,500 dolls.
  • It is said that in the 1950s, or perhaps in the 1920s, a girl drowned in the canal next to the Island of Dolls, and a doll was subsequently hung on a tree on the island, to appease her spirit.
  • A recluse, Julián Santana Barrera, was the lone resident of the Island of Dolls until his death, and was the person who began the tradition of suspending dolls on the island.
  • Barrera is said to have continued collecting dolls to display on the Island of Dolls, so the spirit of the drowned girl could play with the dolls, or so the girl’s spirit would not continue to haunt him.

Island of Dolls, Trivia, Ten Random Facts, Mexico, Creepy, Hang, Canals

Part of the Island of Dolls
Image courtesy of Kevin/Flickr
  • The original dolls of the Island of Dolls were often found in the canal; rubbish sites; or given to Barrera in exchange for his farm produce.
  • In 2001, Barrera, who inhabited the Island of Dolls for about fifty years, drowned in the canal, supposedly in the same spot as the legendary girl had drowned years prior, and it is possible it was a deliberate act, so that he could join the girl’s spirit.
  • The Island of Dolls is a site of particular tourist interest, and takes approximately 2 hours to navigate to the island by boat, with many visitors bringing their own dolls to hang on the island.
  • The dolls of the Island of Dolls are of poor condition, weathered by wind, rain and general water submersion, and often a haven for insects; while many are without clothes, limbs and even bodies.
  • The Island of Dolls story is considered by many as fictional, and simply told by the hermit to explain his bizarre collection of dolls, while visitors to the island claim dolls have whispered to them, while some superstitiously believe that the dolls ‘awaken’ during the night.
Bibliography:
Forde M, The Island of the Dolls, 2010, Unexplained Mysteries, http://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/column.php?id=188993
Isla de las Monecas -The  Island of Dolls, n.d, Isla de las Monecas, http://www.isladelasmunecas.com/
Island Of The Dolls: Mexico’s Creepiest Places, 2011, Amusing Planet, http://www.amusingplanet.com/2011/04/island-of-dolls-mexicos-creepiest.html
Thompson M, Journey to the Island of the Dolls, 2016, The Lineup, http://www.the-line-up.com/island-of-the-dolls/
Welcome to the Island of the Dolls, the Creepiest Place in Mexico, n.d, Vocativ, http://www.vocativ.com/culture/photos/welcome-island-dolls-creepiest-place-mexico/

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Broadleaf Carpet Grass

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Broadleaf Carpet Grass

Broadleaf carpet grass is your friendly neighbourhood carpet!

  • Broadleaf carpet grass is a perennial species of grass, native to Central and South America, and southern North America.
  • ‘Broadleaf carpet grass’ is also known as ‘carpet grass’, ‘tropical carpet grass’, ‘blanket grass’, ‘Louisiana grass’, ‘lawn grass’, ‘cow grass’, and ‘savannah grass’.
  • The scientific name of broadleaf carpet grass is Axonopus compressus, from the family Poaceae, the family of grasses, and it is similar in appearance to the closely related Axonopus fissifolius (sometimes known as Axonopus affinis).
  • Broadleaf carpet grass is typically used as a form of groundcover, often as a lawn or for pasture, as it can form a dense covering over the ground and can help reduce erosion.
  • The height of broadleaf carpet grass can reach up to 15 centimetres (6 inches), and the plant produces stems up to 45 cm (18 inches) high, where the seeds are formed.

Broadleaf Carpet Grass, Trivia, Ten Random Facts, Vegetation, Plant, Growing, America, Australia,

  • Broadleaf carpet grass can grow well in moist soil that is of poor quality, and it is best grown in shade.
  • Countries with warm moist climates, such as areas of Australia and South East Asia, have seen the introduction of broadleaf carpet grass, where the plant is often considered an invasive weed.
  • Broadleaf carpet grass leaf blades range from 2 to 16 cm (0.8 to 6.3 inches) in length and they are between 0.2 to 1.8 centimetres (0.1 to 0.7 inches) wide, and they feature fine hairs on the outer edges and around the nodes.
  • Broadleaf carpet grass plants spread easily, as roots can form at each node, creating a connected root system, and the plant can also be grown from seed.
  • When healthy, broadleaf carpet grass is a vivid green colour, blending into purple/red colours at the base of the leaves.
Bibliography:
Axonopus compressus, n.d, Tropical Forages, http://www.tropicalforages.info/key/Forages/Media/Html/Axonopus_compressus.htm
Axonopus compressus (carpet grass), 2016, CABI, http://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/8094
Axonopus compressus (Swartz) Beauv., n.d, FAO, http://www.fao.org/ag/agp/AGPC/doc/gbase/data/Pf000180.HTM
Broad-leaved Carpet Grass, 2011, Queensland Government, http://keyserver.lucidcentral.org/weeds/data/03030800-0b07-490a-8d04-0605030c0f01/media/Html/Axonopus_compressus.htm

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Guava

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Guava

Sweet or sour, guavas are versatile.

  • Guavas are a variety of fruit originating from Central America’s tropics, and they are now grown in various tropical islands and regions in America, Asia and Africa, while in 2011, India produced the most guavas in the world.
  • The most commonly grown species of guava plant has the scientific name Psidium guajava and it is from the family Myrtaceae, the family of myrtles, while some other species in the Psidium genus also produce similar, edible fruit.
  • The ovoid, pear, or round shaped guava ranges from 2.5 to 15 centimetres (1 to 6 inches) in length or diameter, depending on the species and variety.
  • Guava skin can be a green, yellow, cream, or red colour, while the flesh colour may be white, yellow, red or pink.
  • Typically gauvas are eaten fresh or slightly spiced, but they are also dried or made into juice, jams, or cooked as part of a dessert.
Guava, Ten Random Facts, Fruit, Green, Skin, Food, Culinary, Fresh, Whole, Uncut
Guava
Image courtesy of Chetan Kolluri/Flickr
  • Around 110 to 535 individual seeds can be found in a single guava, and the skin and seeds are generally edible.
  • Guavas commonly have a sweet taste, however, they can also have a sour flavour, depending on the variety or species, and they often have a strong sweet and/or musky odour.
  • The guava tree can grow to heights of 1.8 to 7.6 metres (6 to 25 feet) or more, and they can bear two crops of fruit in a year.
  • Water makes up to approximately 80% of the content of guavas, making it a great means of hydration.
  • Guavas are extremely high in vitamin C and are a good source of fibre, vitamin A, potassium, folate and copper.
Bibliography:
Ahuja A, 15 Amazing Guava Benefits: Heart Healthy, Weight Loss Friendly and More, 2015, NDTV Convergence Limited, http://food.ndtv.com/health/15-amazing-guava-benefits-heart-healthy-weight-loss-friendly-and-more-1244242
Grant B, Guava Plants; How to Grow and Care for Guava Fruit Trees, 2016, Gardening, http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/fruits/guava/growing-guava-fruit-trees.htm
Guava, 2016, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guava
Tropical Guava, 1996, California Rare Fruit Growers, Inc, https://www.crfg.org/pubs/ff/guava.html

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