Here at Seagrave Nurseries we’re pretty obsessed with our
plants. Our world is covered with plants, and we are surrounded by some of the
most beautiful of nature’s creations everywhere we go. Plants have a bad rep
for being motionless, basic and uninteresting, but we TOTALLY disagree. Here
are some of the coolest, weirdest and most wonderful plants that exist,
challenging the boring stereotype that plagues their kingdom!
The
Corpse Flower
As its name elegantly suggests, the corpse flower is a
smelly beast, happily wafting the stench of rotting flesh. Nice, right? Not only does it smell strongly like a decaying
corpse, it looks like it just hopped out of a sci-fi film.
Coming from the forests of Sumatra, it's not actually one
big flower; it’s actually thousands upon thousands of little male and female
flowers. As the spathe begins to open up, the spadix becomes a gas chamber,
warming its natural oil and emitting noxious fumes for 8 to 12 hours to attract
pollinating beetles[1]. What’s most impressive it that a mature one of these
monsters can weigh up to 200 pounds!
Venus Flytrap
Not many plants eat things besides sunlight, but this plant
is carnivorous! This makes the Venus Flytrap really feel it like it might be
from another planet.
They have trigger hairs which activate the trap when two are
touched within 20 seconds of each other. The teeth-like spikes act as
interlocking fingers to lock the prey inside and then the rest is done with
digestive juices.[2]
Silver Torch Cactus
This it is a very unusual cactus indeed. It's woolly for a
start, and it grows pretty unusual flowers. But weirder still, is that this
cactus actually prefers cold temperatures!
It can stand frosts
up to -10 degrees and it lives in the high mountains of Bolivia and Argentina, were
it gets strong sunlight and water in the summer months. So Cacti don’t just
belong in the dessert!
Skunk Cabbage
Victoria
Amazonica
Commonly known as giant waterlillies
and famous for having leaves so large and sturdy that you could place a child
or even a petite woman upon one without the risk of sinking, these beauties are
pretty incredible. The ends fold up to avoid overlapping with their pals and
the bottom of them are covered in thorns to protect from being eaten. Their
flowers are enormous, beautiful, and change colour over the course of the
lily's lifetime. [3]
We hope you’ve enjoyed our blog. We at Seagrave are dedicated to supplying hardy architectural specimen plants for people who do not want to pay garden centre prices. If you have any questions or would like any advice please call us on – 01509 621300
[1] http://www.chron.com/news/bizarre/article/Hold-your-nose-Corpse-flower-to-bloom-at-1597222.php
[2] http://www.sarracenia.com/faq/faq2100.html
[3] http://gardenofeaden.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/the-giant-amazon-water-lily.html
