Creature 328: Heracleum mantegazzianum

A plant that makes you act like a vampire

Heracleum mantegazzianum is commonly known as giant hogweed or many other names, most of which sound quite nasty.

It grows up to 5.5 meters tall and has a pretty nasty toxic defense. Unlike most plants, this thing doesn't need to wait until you eat it to poison you. If it comes in contact with your skin a chemical sticks to you. When that chemical is exposed to sunlight it starts reacting and causes severe irritation and burns to your skin. It is not fatal but in some cases hospitalizations might be necessary.

Distribution:
The giant hogweed is native to central Asia but for some reason I will never understand we have introduced it into several other areas.

Classification:
Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Angiosperms
Class: Dicotyledon
Order: Apiales
Family: Apiaceae
Genus: Heracleum
Species: Heracleum mantegazzianum

Images Links:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Heracleum_mantegazzianum_(Meise)_JPG1a.jpg

http://ohioline.osu.edu/anr-fact/hogweed.html

Creature 315: Peristeria elata

Another Orchid

It's about time I had another lazy day, so let's have another orchid. Today it is Peristeria elata.

It is commonly known as the dove orchid, because it sort of looks like a dove.

Distribution:
The dove orchid is native to central America and South America above the equator.

Classification:
Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Angiosperms
Class: Monocotyledon
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Genus: Peristeria
Species: Peristeria elata

Image Links:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peristeria_elata
https://featuredcreature.com/6-amazing-orchids-that-look-just-like-animals/

Creature 306: Psychotria elata

A flower that looks like lips

Psychotria elata is flowering plant sometimes known as the hot lips plant or the hooker's lips.

The reason for this unusual name is the strange appearance of the floral bracts as the flower is developing. They look like a heavily lipsticked set of human lips. When the floral bracts open the flower looks like this.

Distribution:
Psychotria elata can be found in rain forest habitats of central and south America.

Classification:
Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Angiosperms
Class: Dicotyledon
Order: Gentianales
Family: Rubiaceae
Genus: Psychotria
Species: Psychotria elata

Image Links:

http://www.amusingplanet.com/2013/05/psychotria-elata-or-hookers-lips-most.html

http://amazingincredible.blogspot.com.au/2013_10_01_archive.html

Creature 279: Bambusidae

More interesting than you think.

Bambuseae is the name of a grass tribe which you would probably know as Bamboo. But before you say 'Oh... I waited a whole day for Bamboo! I'm checking XKCD' please give this fascinating plant a chance.

Bamboo are not only the largest grass strongest and woodiest members of the grass family, but they are the fastest growing.  In fact they are the fastest growing organisms in the world.  Some species have been known to grow 91 cm in one day under ideal conditions. At that rate could get to most people's height in 2 days. Some bamboo have been known to grow up to 40 meters tall. Not bad for grass.

Not impressed yet? Well you would think that something which is thrown together that quickly would not be made very well but bamboo is so tough people can and do build houses out of it. It has a higher compressive strength than concrete and its tensile strength is in the same ball park as steel.

Distribution:

Bamboo can be found in all the world's topical regions and well into the temperate regions of East Asia, North and South America.

Classification:
Bamboo are a tribal level taxon in the grass family (Poaceae). There are thousands of species of Bamboo worldwide
Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Angiosperms
Class: Monocotyledon
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae

Image Links:

http://garden.lovetoknow.com/wiki/Small_Bamboo_Plant_Transplanting

https://pelagicus.wordpress.com/tag/hiking/

http://www.drvotehnika.info/clanci/zelena-skola

Creature 260: Orchis italica

It's an orchid day!

Description:
Orchis italica is usually known as the naked man orchid. I'll let you figure out why:

I'm not sure if we fully understand why the flowers assume this shape. It seems that their main pollinators are bees. The do produce a sweet nectar which is sometimes used by humans to produce a drink.

Distribution:
Naked man Orchid occurs rarely across the Mediterranean.

Classification:
Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Angiosperms
Class: Monocotyledon
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Genus: Orchis
Species: Orchis italica

Image Links:
http://www.danoah.com/are-the-hanging-naked-men-flowers-real
https://angiesgrapevine.wordpress.com/2013/03/12/orchis-italica-naked-man-orchid-italian-orchid/

Creature 244: Ricinus communis

The most deadly plant in the world?

Ricinus communis is commonly known as the Castor oil plant.

It is a widely cultivated garden plant and is kept for it beauty despite the fact that it is very deadly. According to the Guinness book of records it is the most deadly plant in the world,  however this is debatable.

The beans of the plant carry a toxin called ricin, the same one made famous in Breaking Bad. Eight beans are said to be enough to kill most people. The toxin ricin interferes with protein synthesis. Basically it stops almost every metabolic process in your body and you slowly die. The poison normally  kills within a week. Ricin is not undetectable and it is not untreatable.  If treatment is available the patient will usually survive. The symptoms vary from case to case but they can be a lot more severe than they seem to be in breaking bad. It is fairly hard to detect if you don't know what to look for.

Distribution:
The Castor oil plant is native to North East Africa and India but grows wild throughout the tropics and is widely cultivated.

Classification:
Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Angiosperms
Class: Dicotyledon
Order: Malpighiales
Family: Euphorbiaceae
Genus: Ricinus
Species: Ricinus communis

Image Links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castor_oil_plant

http://www.barstoolsports.com/philadelphia/philly-area-teen-sends-ricin-laced-birthday-card-to-ex-girlfriends-new-piece/

http://kertesz.blog.hu/2014/11/12/halalos_novenyek_kezkozelben

Creature 233: Phoenix dactylifera

The phoenix rises again after 2000 years.

Phoenix dactylifera is one of if not the oldest cultivated fruit in the world, with evidence of them being cultivated as early as 6000 BC. They are commonly known as date palms and as the name suggests they are the sources of the fruit known as dates.

They are highly tolerant to arid conditions growing in many areas of the Middle East and North Africa. Like many arid species their seeds are highly resistant to ageing and can last a long time before conditions are appropriate for them to germinate and grow. So how long can their seed last? The Judean date palm, which is a subspecies of date palm which used to be common in ancient Judea, was believed to have gone extinct around 500 AD. Apparently they used to be a major part of the Judean economy before the destruction of the second temple. They apparently used to form thick forests in their ideal climates and were a very effective agricultural crop given the harsh conditions of the region. In the 1960s a jar of stored date palms from the Fortress at Masada were excavated. They were carbon dated to between 155 BC and 64 AD. They are likely to be from the latter part of this time frame as the siege of Masada ended in either 73 or 74 AD. Three of these seeds were planted in 2005 in southern Israel, and one of them sprouted. Despite the fact that the original leaves that sprouted looked practically dead as they were densely covered in white lines the plant survived and by 2010 the plant grew to 2 meters tall. The plant was named Methuselah as it has lived for so long. Unfortunately date palms require male and female plants to germinate and it is impossible to grow a pure Judean date palm from a single specimen. Methuselah is a male plant and will be crossed with similar date palm subspecies in order to get a hybrid.

Distribution:

Date Palms are probably native to Mesopotamia and the Levant but have been cultivated across in many warm parts of the world both humid and arid.

Classification:
The name for the genus Phoenix is quite appropriate considering that this subspecies has risen again from the ashes of extinction.
Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Angiosperms
Class: Monocotyledon
Order: Arecales
Family: Arecaceae
Genus: Phoenix
Species Phoenix dactylifera

Image Links:
http://brookebenoit.com/2010/08/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judean_date_palm#mediaviewer/File:JudeanDatePalmMethuselah.JPG

Creature 231: Impatiens bequaertii

Flower that looks like a dancing girl

Today's bizarre creature is another flower that looks like something else, only this time it is not an orchid.

Impatiens bequaertii doesn't have a common name. It looks like a dancing girl. The various lobes of the flowers are often arranged differently giving it the appearance of different dancing poses.

Distribution:
Impatiens bequaertii  is native to East African rain forest. It is rarely cultivated as an ornamental plant in various parts of the world.

Classification:
Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Angiosperms
Class: Dicotyledon
Order: Ericales
Family: Balsaminaceae
Genus: Impatiens

Image Links:
http://www.strangewonderfulthings.com/260.htm
http://filing.pl/17-kwiatow-ktore-wcale-nie-wygladaja-jak-rosliny/

Creature 219: Antirrhinum

Freaky seed pods

Description:
Antirrhinum is a genus of commonly cultivated garden plants known as snapdragons.

The flower looks fairly ordinary in itself. It earned the name snap dragon because when the lateral margins are squeezed it looks a little like a dragon opening its mouth.

If you think that is cool wait until you see the skull shaped seed pods:

Distribution:
Species of Antirrhinum can be found in Europe,  North Africa and North America.

Classification:
Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Angiosperms
Class: Dicotyledon
Order: Lamiales
Family: Plantaginaceae
Genus: Antirrhinum

Image Links:

http://www.tandmwholesale.com/AntirrhinumOrientalLanterns

https://honeydos.wordpress.com/2011/03/29/something-to-talk-about/

http://www.kuriositas.com/2013/07/the-dragons-skull-macabre-appearance-of.html

Creature 193: Pecteilis radiata

Orchid day today.

Pecteilis radiata is an orchid. Commonly called the white egret orchid. Take a look:

It clearly looks like a spectacular white bird taking off. Apparently an egret.

Distribution:
You can find the white egret orchid in East and North Asia.

Classification:
This orchid has many invalid scientific names attached to it.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Angiosperms
Class: Monocotyledon
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Genus: Pecteilis
Species: Pecteilis radiata

Image Links:

http://icps.proboards.com/thread/3338/pecteilis-radiata

http://www.slippertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13241

Creature 190: Azorella compacta

A Patient plant

Description:
Azorella compacta is a funny looking plant which is commonly known as Llareta (as in in Spanish ll).

It may look a little like a giant ball of moss, but it is a flowering plant, or a colony of flowering plants anyway. They grow in dense colonies in order to prevent heat loss at the high altitudes they it lives. Some llareta plants are estimated to be 3,000 years old. Of course when you live that long there is really no hurry, and they only grow at a rate of around 1.5 cm per year.

Distribution:
Llareta can only be found in the Andes mountains at atitudes between 3000 and 4500 m.

Classification:
Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Angiosperms
Class: Dicotyledon
Order: Apiales
Family: Apiaceae
Genus: Azorella
Species: Azorella compacta

Image Links:

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/349943833516826887/

http://www.myrokan.com/

Creature 165: Ophrys apifera

Another orchid day.

Description:
Today's bizarre creature is Ophrys apifera. Some of my regular readers might recognize the generic name Ophrys, a genus of orchid. That's right today is an orchid day!

Ophrys apifera is commonly known as the bee orchid as it mimics bees. If you don't know what I mean by that check out my other orchid posts here. It emits a smell which mimics female pheromones of the bee genus Eucera.

Despite all the effort it has gone to in order to attract pollinators,  the bee orchid is mostly self pollinating.

Distribution:
The bee orchid can be found in Europe,  North Africa and the middle East.

Classification:
Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Angiosperms
Class: Monocotyledon
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Genus: Ophrys
Species: Ophrys apifera

Image Links:

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ophrys_apifera_(flower).jpg

http://iberianature.com/lucyblog/2010/06/

http://www.panoramio.com/photo/399055

Creature 136: Hydnora africana

A parasitic plant worthy of sci-fi.

Description:
Hydnora africana is weird looking parasitic plant.

Hydnora africana flower

The plant lives underground for the majority of their lives. They don't photosynthesize and they don't produce chlorophyll and they rely entirely on other plants for their own energy. The plant sends out roots which attach themselves to the roots of another plant. They have specifically evolved to target plant species in the genus Euphorbia. They have evolved an acid which wears away the outer layers of the roots and steal the nutrients from the roots of other plants. When it rains heavily, the plant grows flowers from the roots. Their fruit also grows underground and is eaten by animals which disperse the seeds through their feces. The fruits can contain up to 20,000 seeds each.

Hydnora africana root infecting its host

Hydnora africana is mostly pollinated by carrion beetles which feed off decomposing bodies.  As a result they give off a chemical which mimics the smell of rotting ruminate mammals.  This strategy is unusually common in parasitic plants. Cultivated plants usually take around 5-6 years before they produce flowers.

Hydnora africana fruit

Distribution:
Hydnora africana is native to southern Africa, particularly in the Arid regions.

Classification:
The Magnoliid clade are one of the basal Angiosperm clades which branch off before the Monocotyledons split from the core Eudicots. The Order Piperales includes the commonly known plante genus Piper (peppers).

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Angiosperms
Class: Magnoliids
Order: Piperales
Family: Hysnoraceae
Genus: Hydnora
Species: Hydnora africana

Image Links:
https://ww2.odu.edu/~lmusselm/plant/parasitic/hydnora_haustoria.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydnora_africana
https://ww2.odu.edu/~lmusselm/plant/parasitic/hydnora_winter2002.php

Creature 129: Dracula simia

A flower that looks like a monkey's face

Today I don't really feel like writing,  which leaves me two choices.  I can post an Orchid or a Nudibranch, both taxa are so weird looking you will never get sick of seeing new species. They also speak for themselves with their weird appearance so I don't need to write much.

Description:
So this orchid is called Dracula simia the specific epithet simia meaning monkey. Their common name is the monkey's face orchid, and once you have seen it the etymology of it will be obvious:

The main pollinators of these are various butterfly, and if you look at them from the right angle you can kind of see how they might be mimicking a butterfly.

Distribution:
Monkey's face orchid is endemic to the Mediterranean region and Western Europe, but it is widely all over the world as an ornamental plant.

Classification:
Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Angiosperms
Class: Monocotyledon
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Genus: Dracula
Species: Dracula simia

Image Links:
http://www.boredpanda.com/flowers-look-like-animals-people-monkeys-orchids-pareidolia/?image_id=flowers-look-like-animals-people-monkeys-orchids-pareidolia-7.jpg
http://gardenofeaden.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/how-to-grow-monkey-face-orchids-from.html

Creature 127: Lysichiton americanus

You can eat it, but why would you?

Description:

Today's bizarre creature is a swamp plant named Lysichiton americanus by the scientific community, but called skunk cabbage by everyone else.

You would probably guess that skunk cabbage doesn't smell too good given the name and you would be correct. The smell of the skunk cabbage is meant to attract pollinators such as flies and beetles.

Despite its foul odor parts of the skunk cabbage are quite edible. If you make a mistake and eat the wrong paet you run the risk of getting a mouthful of Calcium oxalate. This toxic substance has a horrible taste and will cause a severe burning sensation in your mouth and throat. These effects can last for weeks. Severe poisoning can wreck havoc on your internal organs and can cause kidney or liver failure (i.e. it can kill you.). So I guess the question is, who would eat it? There's nothing wrong with real cabbage.

Distribution:
Skunl cabbage is Native to Western Nort America, from Alaska to Southern California. It has been introduced into the U.K. as a garden plant and has gone wild. I don't understand why you would want a foul smelling, toxic, swamp plant in your garden either.

Classification:
There are several other plants which are referred to as skunk cabbages, that's why we don't use common names in scientific publications.
Kingdom:Plantae
Phylum:Angiosperms

Class: Monocotyledon
Order: Alismatales
Family: Araceae
Genus:Lysichiton
Species: Lysichiton americanus

Image Links:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Yellow-skunk-cabbage.jpg
http://mistyfjordsair.com/gallery2.html

Creature 119: Amorphophallus titanum

The biggest flower in the world?

Description:

Amorphophallus titanum is commonly known as the titan arum or the Zamikand. It is a member of the genus Amorphophallus  Greek for shapeless phallus, a weird name for a plant most people would think, although flowers are plant reproductive organs so I guess it's not that weird. Anyway the specific epithet is more what you would expect from a plant with this kind of flower. They are huge:

In fact it is the largest flower in the world growing up to 3 m tall and sometimes weighing in excess of 75 kg. This title is somewhat debatable as the definition of a flower is not as obvious as it may seem. You may remember the post on Rafflesia arnoldii whose claim to fame is that it is the largest single flower in the world. The titan arum can be considered the largest flowering body in the world. Surprisingly enough this colossal flower grows out of subterranean tubas with a single leaf above ground much like an onion or potato.

Like Rafflesia arnoldii the Titan arum gives off a smell similar to that of a rotting corpse when it is in flower. This is to attract it's pollinators which are usually flesh eating beetles of flies. The plant can live up to 40 years old but it will only flower 4-6 times in its life. The enormous effort that goes into producing the flower must be difficult to maintain as the flowers only last 48 hours.

Distribution:
The titan arum is found on the Indonesian island of Sumatra.

Classification:

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum:Angiosperms
Class: Monocotyledon
Order: Alismatales
Family: Araceae
Genus:Amorphophallus
Species: Amorphophallus  titanum

Image Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Titan_Arum_in_bloom._Royal_Botanic_Gardens._Melbourne,_Australia.jpg

http://biology.fullerton.edu/facilities/greenhouse/amorphophallus/

Creature 111: Victoria amazonica

A waterlily you can float on

Description:
Victoria amazonica is a large water-lily which is often referred to as a giant waterlily or the Queen's waterlily.

The leaves can grow up to 3 m in diameter and the stalk which anchors them to the ground can reach 8 m long. The base of the leaf contains a series of ribs which gives them an amazing load bearing capacity for a leaf. You can load a giant waterlily with over 130 kg before it begins to sink, so in theory you could float on it assuming you got on it gently and distributed your weight properly. The underside of the leaf is armed with spines to protect them from predators from below.

Their white flowers only open up at night. They are pollinated by beetles and once they have been fertilized they change color to pink.

Distribution:
The giant waterlily is found in the shallow waters of the amazon river.

Classification:
The Order Nymphaeales consists entirely of aquatic plants. They are a small group of flowering plants which do not belong to the Monocots, the core Eudicots of even the Magnoliids. They are one of three groups of basal angiosperms which form a paraphyletic group. As we cannot go around classifying paraphyletic groups together the only logical class to put them in is their own class. The name Nymphaeopsida has bee thrown around, and that is the name I will go with.
Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Angiosperms
Class: Nymphaeopsida
Order: Nymphaeales
Family: Nymphaeaceae
Genus: Vicotria
Species: Victoria amazonica

Image Links:
http://www.explore-kew-gardens.net/engMarch/textMM/waterlilyN.htm
http://www.bellewood-gardens.com/2006/Garden%20Writers'%20Get-Together.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_amazonica#mediaviewer/File:Victoria_amazonica_edit_1.jpg

Creature 104: Lithops

A plant pretending to be a rock

Description: 

Camouflage is common in animal with many different elaborate disguises concealing many different types of animals from their various predators or sometimes prey items. While plants do sometimes mimic other poisonous plants or they may draw attention to their thorns they tend not to camouflage. Animals commonly use patterns and colour similar to the vegetation to hide themselves, but what backdrop could a plant camouflage into? Lithops is a genus of plant which specialises in camouflaging itself in stony deserts. They are commonly known as Living stones or pebble plants.

 The rock-like top of the plant which you can see there is actually a highly modified leaf. Most of the plant is underground. It extends small stalk above the surface which grow a pair of semi-fused leaves which look like a rock. I know what you're thinking, aren't leaves green because of their chlorophyll? and don't they need that for photosynthesis? The answer is yes and yes. These leaves are actually translucent and enough light gets through them to reach the inside of the plant where all the real photosynthesis goes on. 

This is a pretty good system until it comes time to pollinate the flowers. Like many plants they have mechanisms to prevent self-pollination so they need other plants to reproduce. There is just no way to do this without becoming a bit more obvious to insects, and potentially insect predators for the short period in which they are in flower.

Distribution:

Lithops is endemic to arid and semi-arid areas of southern Africa.

Classification:

Lithops are commonly included with cactuses in plant stores and gardening blogs etc... They are not in the cactus family, but their family Aizoaceae are a predominantly arid family and is in the same order, Caryophyllales.

Kingdom: Plantae

Phylum: Angiosperms

Class: Dicotyledon

Order: Caryophyllales

Family: Aizoaceae

Genus: Lithops

Image Links:

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lithops_aucampiae_var._koelmanii_120502.jpg

http://biljoljupci.com/2007/sobno-bilje/lithops-ivi-kamen/66/

Creature 98: Larrea tridentata

The oldest living thing on earth.

Description:

 Larrea tridentata is a unimpressive looking desert bush which has many common names such as cresote bush, greasewood and gobernodora.

Cresote bush is technically the oldest living thing on Earth. When the plant gets to 30 to 90 years old its branches begin to die. At that point the plant splits in two and the old plant dies off as its clone lives on. The clonal colonies form rings of bushes. Individual bushes can grow up to 4 m tall, but usually don't grow more than 2 m tall. The oldest known specimen is known as king clown which lives in the Mojave Desert and is believed to be 11,700 years old. It is a ring of clonal bushes, the largest of which is 20 m in diameter.

These bushes are normally found with no other plants in the immediate vicinity due to its incredibly efficient systems for collecting water, which will starve other plants of access to water. The plant was used by native Americans as a herbal medicine.

Distribution:

Cresote bush is found in the Western Deserts of North America.

Classification:

Kingdom: Plantae

Phylum: Angiosperms

Class: Dicotyledon

Order: Zygophyllales

Family: Zygophyllaceae

Genus: Larrea

Species: Larrea tridentata

Image Links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Clone#mediaviewer/File:King_Clone.jpg

http://www.fireflyforest.com/flowers/1384/larrea-tridentata-creosote-bush/

Creature 90: Caleana major

A flower that looks like a duck

Description:
Just another Orchid today, there will be several of them, but that's only because they are so weird. Caleana major is commonly known as the flying duck Orchid.

It is a similar story to the fly orchid, although it is in a different genus altogether. Like the fly orchids, the flying duck orchids are mimicking female insects in order to attract its pollinators. The males are lured in and before they realize what is going on they are covered in pollen which they then carry to another flower. The shape is supposed to attract species of sawflies, which are a paraphyletic group similar to wasps. To a human the flower looks a bit like an abstract flying duck but apparently to a male sawfly it looks like a female sawfly.

Distribution:
Flying duck orchid is found in dry eucalyptus forest along the East Coast of Australia including Tasmania as well as the south cost up to the Nullarbor plains.

Classification:
Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Angiosperms
Class: Monocotyledon
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Genus: Caleana
Species: Caleana major

Image Links:
http://www.thefeaturedcreature.com/6-amazing-orchids-that-look-just-like-animals/
http://morgana249.blogspot.com.au/2014/07/20-orchids-that-look-like-something.html