Tag Archives: Vegetation

Durian

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Durian

Can you brave the stench of a durian?

  • Durians are a species of exotic fruit, originating in Southeast Asia, and due to their overwhelming smell and appearance, ‘durians’ are known as the ‘King of Fruits’ in their native area.
  • Durians grow on a genus of trees with the scientific classification of Durio, from the family Malvaceae, the family of mallows, and while there are around 30 species in the genus, only about 9 of those have edible fruit – the most commonly cultivated one has the scientific name Durio zibethinus.
  • The length of the typically ovoid to spherical durian is generally between 15 and 30 centimetres (6 to 12 inches), with a diameter of 12 to 15 centimetres (5 to 6 inches), and they usually weigh between 1 to 8 kilograms or more (2.2 to 17.6 pounds).
  • The odour emitted by durian flesh is generally considered pungent, most commonly compared to excrement, onions and turpentine fuel, and other unpleasant smells, although some find the smell agreeable.
  • The smell of a durian can be quite difficult to remove from enclosed areas after exposure, leading to its ban in some public spaces like buses or other public vehicles, and in tourist accommodation, in much of Southeast Asia.
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Durian
Image courtesy of Kazue Asano/Flickr
  • Depending on the species, the spiky skin of durians can be a green, yellow, orange, or red colour, with a yellow, orange or red coloured flesh; while 70 to 85% of the fruit’s mass is inedible.
  • Durians have an exquisite taste compared to a combination of custard and almonds, if one can get over the smell, which can alter the actual taste to be oniony.
  • Durian is commonly eaten raw and chilled, and in sweet foods such as cold desserts, cakes and biscuits, as well as with rice or in curry, and despite being quite expensive, durians are very popular among the locals.
  • The spikes of a durian are thorny, so care needs to be taken when handling one; and when the fruit is ripe, it drops from the tree, which can be potentially fatal if it lands on a person’s head.
  • Fifty known compounds contribute to the smell of durians, four of which were first discovered in the fruit; and the fruit is high in vitamin C and thiamin, and is a good source of manganese, potassium, riboflavin, vitamin B6, folate, copper and fibre, and contains many other vitamins and minerals.
Bibliography:
Durian, 2006, Northern Territory Government, http://www.nt.gov.au/d/Content/File/p/Fruit/FF5_durian.pdf
Durian, 2016, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durian
Stromberg J, Why Does the Durian Fruit Smell So Terrible, 2012, Smithsonian, http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/why-does-the-durian-fruit-smell-so-terrible-149205532/?no-ist

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Venus Flytrap

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Venus Flytrap

Don’t get caught in the Venus flytrap!

  • Venus flytraps are a species of small insect-eating plants that grow from rhizomes, that are native to eastern subtropical United States.
  • The scientific name of the Venus flytrap is Dionaea muscipula, and it is from the Droseraceae family, the family of sundews; and the species is the only one in its genera.
  • ‘Venus flytraps’ are also known as ‘Venus fly traps’ and ‘Venus’ flytraps’; and they are of a bright green to red colour, with up to seven leaves that have a pink to red interior surface; and the plant grows to approximately 20 cm (7.9 inches) in diameter.
  • The traps of the Venus flytrap are also the leaves, and they are a hinged pair of almost semi-circles, with what look like eyelashes on the outer edges.
  • Two to five trigger hairs are found inside each part of the Venus flytrap trap, which triggers the trap to close on contact with an object, and they can close in less than a second, at approximately 100 milliseconds.
Venus Flytrap, Carnivorous, Pot, Trivia, Ten Random Facts, Plant, Vegetation, BloomingA Venus Flytrap
Image courtesy of Alex Chief/Flickr
  • Once something is trapped, Venus flytraps exert digestion fluids to dissolve the inner body of the prey into an absorbable liquid, while the inedible exoskeleton is disposed of after the traps reopen.
  • To avoid closing from non-food triggers such as dust, Venus flytrap traps will only close if more than one of its trigger hairs is touched in a period of twenty seconds from the first touch.
  • Venus flytraps most often capture and eat ants and spiders, but they also catch other insects including beetles; and it takes from 5 to 12 days to digest its caught prey, the time dependent on the prey size and other conditions.
  • If an inedible object falls into a Venus flytrap trap, the trap will reopen and dispose of the object in about half a day after trapping.
  • Venus flytraps bloom small flowers coloured white, that cluster at the top of the plant, and after flowering the plant often produces many tiny seeds that are black in colour.
Bibliography:
Diaonaea muscipula (Venus Flytrap), n.d, KEW Royal Botanical Gardens, http://www.kew.org/science-conservation/plants-fungi/dionaea-muscipula-venus-flytrap
The Mysterious Venus’ Flytrap, n.d, Botanical Society of America, http://botany.org/bsa/misc/carn.html
Venus Flytrap, 2016, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus_flytrap

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Rambutan

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Rambutan

Rambutans are sweet balls of flame and fire.

  • Rambutans are a tropical fruit that grow on trees that are native to Southeast Asia, especially areas of Indonesia and Malaysia.
  • The scientific name of the rambutan fruit tree is Nephelium lappaceum, and it is from the family Sapindaceae, the family of soapberries.
  • The term ‘rambutan’ is derived from the word ‘rambut’ of the Indonesian and Malay languages, and is translated as ‘hair’.
  • Rambutans are a spherical or slightly ovoid shape, typically 3 to 6 centimetres (1.2 to 2.4 inches) in length, with protruding thick spiky hairs.
  • Usually ripe rambutans have a red skin colour, though yellow or orange varieties are available, and they have a flesh coloured white, sometimes with a pink tint.
Rambutan, Red, Fruit, Spiky, Trivia, Food, Culinary, Ten Random Facts Rambutan
Image courtesy of Frank Fox/Flickr
  • Rambutans feature a single seed that some have suggested is poisonous, and while the seed is bitter tasting when raw, it is suggested that once roasted or cooked, it is safe to eat.
  • Rambutan fruit is green before it ripens and should stay on the tree until ripe; and the fruit is popularly cultivated in tropical areas, across Southeast Asia, southern Central America, parts of Africa and the Caribbean.
  • Rambutan fruit have a fresh taste that is quite sweet, similar to lychee and longan fruit.
  • It is common for rambutans to be eaten raw, however they can be made into a jam, or prepared in a salad or dessert.
  • The nutritional content of rambutans is quite small, though varied, though it is a good source of vitamin C, fibre, copper and manganese.
Bibliography:
Rambutan, 2006, Northern Territory Government, http://www.nt.gov.au/d/Content/File/p/Fruit/FF13_rambutan.pdf
Rambutan, 2015, Cape Trib, http://www.capetrib.com.au/rambutan.htm
Rambutan, 2016, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rambutan
Yingling K, What Is the Difference Between the Lychee, Rambutan and Longan?, 2014, Huffpost Taste, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kimlai-yingling/lychee-rambutan-and-longan_b_4690073.html

White Bat Plant

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White Bat Plant

How many times did you glance at the white bat plant?

  • White bat plants are a species of relatively large flowering plants, notable for their blooms that have a particularly strange appearance.
  • ‘White bat plants’ are also known as ‘giant bat plants’, ‘giant batflowers’, ‘purple batflowers’, ‘white batflowers’ and ‘cat whiskers plants’.
  • The scientific name of the white bat plant is Tacca integrifolia and it is from the family Dioscoreaceae, the family of yams.
  • White bat plants are native to Southeast Asia, and they grow from rhizomes, in both tropical and subtropical habitats.
  • The flowers of white bat plants tend to resemble the face of a bat, featuring a purple, plum or brown main flower colour, white whisker-like appendages and large white with purple upper bracts.
White Bat Plant, Ten Random Facts, Trivia, Petal, Large, Appearance, Strange, Plant
White Bat Plant
Image courtesy of Scott Zona/Flickr
  • White bat plants grow to be roughly 60 to 122 centimetres (24 to 48 inches) in height and their whiskers can grow as long as 71 centimetres (28 inches).
  • White bat plants are perennials that tend to die off in the winter months, and they grow best in partial or full shade.
  • Typically, white bat plants are grown for ornamental purposes, however they can be hard to obtain, and also difficult to care for.
  • White bat plants usually bloom during warm months, generally in spring and summer, with up to eight flowers blooming per plant each year.
  • The normally large, glossy green leaves of white bat plants, can turn black when the temperature is too cold.
Bibliography:
Black Bat Plant & White Bat Flower Plant, 2014, Daylilies in Australia, https://www.dayliliesinaustralia.com.au/black-bat-plant-white-bat-flower-plant/
Giant Bat Plant, 2009, Paradise Distributors, http://paraplants.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=63%3Atip-of-the-week&Itemid=27
Tacca integrifolia, 2016, Nurseries Online, http://www.nurseriesonline.com.au/plant-index/tropical-plants/tacca-integrifolia/
VanZile J, White Batflower – Growing Tacca Integrifolia Indoors, 2015, About Home, http://houseplants.about.com/od/More_Plant_Profiles/p/White-Batflower-Growing-Tacca-Integrifolia-Indoors.htm
White Bat Plant, 2015, Burke’s Backyard, http://www.burkesbackyard.com.au/fact-sheets/in-the-garden/flowering-plants-shrubs/white-bat-plant/#.VxSTd_l96Uk

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Sand Food

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Sand Food

Sand food looks like something from the beach rather than from the desert!

  • Sand food is a species of flowering herb found in deserts of the south-western area of the United States.
  • The scientific name of sand food is Pholisma sonorae and it is from the family Boraginaceae, the family of borages.
  • Sand food is found on sand dunes, and has a single scaly stem that can grow up to 1.8 metres (6 feet) underground.
  • Sand food has a brown, grey or cream coloured, roundish head with a diameter of up to 12.7 cm (5 inches), shaped like a mushroom, that sits above the sand.
  • To obtain moisture and nutrients, sand food plants use their long underground stem to take in water from the surrounding area, and attach themselves to another plant’s roots to absorb some of the host plant’s nutrients, like a parasite.
Sandfood, Trivia, Ten Random Facts, Vegetation, Desert, Plant, Flowering, Sand
Sandfood
Image courtesy of Pacific Southwest Region/Flickr
  • The small flowers of the sand food plant often sit in a circle on the top of the head, and they are purple to violet in colour.
  • Sand food heads are generally partially concealed by sand, however when the sand is moved from around the plant, the stem and head combination is visually similar to a mushroom.
  • Exactly how sand food seeds are distributed is uncertain; however it is likely that the ever-shifting nature of sand, or insects or small mammals, bring the seeds deep under the sand.
  • Sand food flowers bloom in the months from April to June, and are covered in hairs that effectively reduce the effects of the heat of the sun.
  • Historically, the stems of sand food plants have been consumed by Native Americans, either cooked, or eaten raw; and as of 2012, they were an ‘at risk’ plant, mainly due to habitat disturbance by vehicles and habitat loss.
Bibliography:
Grant B, Sandfood Plant Info: Learn Facts About Sandfood Plants, 2016, Gardening Know How, http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/flowers/sandfood/sandfood-plant-info.ht
Pholisma sonorae, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pholisma_sonorae
Pholisma Sonorae: A Strange Looking Flowering Plant, 2016, Amusing Planet, http://www.amusingplanet.com/2016/02/pholisma-sonorae-strange-looking.html
Pholisma Sonorae aka “Sand Food”, n.d, Atlas Obscura, http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/sand-food

Fishtail Oxalis

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Fishtail Oxalis

From a little bulb does a fantastic fishtail oxalis grow.

  • Fishtail oxalis is a species of perennial herb that originates in some areas of South America and Central America, as well southern parts of North America.
  • ‘Fishtail oxalis’ are also known as ‘fish-tailed oxalis’, ‘broadleaf wood sorrels’, ‘pink shamrocks’, ‘garden pink-sorrels’, and ‘sorrels’.
  • The scientific name of fishtail oxalis is Oxalis latifolia and it is from the family Oxalidaceae, the family of wood sorrels.
  • Fishtail oxalis plants reach a height of roughly 15 to 30 centimetres (6 to 12 inches), and the leaves have three leaflets that are generally shaped as a fish tail and are typically between 3 to 6 centimetres (1.2 to 2.4 inches) wide.
  • Fishtail oxalis grow from bulbs and generally shoot during autumn months if they have died off after flowering, and the plant does not usually produce seed in most countries.

Fishtail Oxalis, Trivia, Purple, Herb, Flower, Vegetation, Ten Random Facts, Australia

  • Fishtail oxalis usually produce 5 to 12 flowers in a group, that are of a mostly purple, pink, or white colour.
  • Fishtail oxalis spread easily from the multiplication of underground bulbs, and they can be used decoratively in the garden, particularly as a ground cover.
  • Spring months, and into summer, are the most common times for fishtail oxalis to bloom.
  • In some countries, such as Australia, New Zealand, India, and parts of Africa, fishtail oxalis are considered a major invasive weed, and they are also a pest in many other countries.
  • As a wood sorrel, fishtail oxalis are sensitive to light, and as a result the leaves and flowers close at night and sometimes during shady times of the day.
Bibliography:
Fishtail Oxalis, n.d, HerbiGuide, http://www.herbiguide.com.au/Descriptions/hg_Fishtail_Oxalis.htm
Oxalis Latifolia, 2016, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxalis_latifolia
Oxalis Latifolia (Sorrel), n.d, Invasive Species Compendium, http://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/38157
Oxalis Latifolia Kunth, n.d, PlantNET, http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Oxalis~latifolia
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