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A look into the Carnivorous world- Nepenthaceae
“The pitchers of Nepenthes possesses extraordinary power of digestion” … “The fact that a plant should secrete, when properly excited, a fluid containing an acid and ferment, closely analogous to the digestive fluid of an animal, was certainly a remarkable … Continue reading
Posted in Asia, Australia, Low Nutrient Environments, Madagascar, Palaeotropics, Students
1 Comment
Camellia sinensis: A Blood Boiling and Tea Stained History
Family, Genus and Species Limits Commonly known in the West as ‘Tea’, Camellia sinensis (L) O. Kuntze is an evergreen shrub assigned to the family Theaceae. The most recent circumscription of this family includes 3 sub-families: Theeae, Gordonieae and Stewartieae, … Continue reading
Posted in Asia, Crops, Evolution, Species
Tagged Camellia sinensis, China tea plant, Economics, History of tea, Taxonomy, Theaceae
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Pandanus amaryllifolius – The only Pandanus with fragrant leaves
P. amaryllifolius is one of the plants that is capable of evoking nostalgic memories of South-East Asian life solely by its scent. Pandanaceae is a paleotropical monocot family that comprises 4 genera (ie. Pandanus, Freycinetia, Martellidendron and Sararanga). Pandanus is … Continue reading
Posted in Asia, Crops, Palaeotropics, Students
Tagged Asian Cooking, Asian Pandan, food flavour, medicial plants, medicinal plant, Medicine, Pandan, Pandanaceae, Pandanus, Scented Plants, Thai Pandan, William Roxburgh
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Ipomoea batatas – Sweet Potato or When is a potato not a potato?
Many of you will be familiar with the knobbly, red-skinned, orange-fleshed, vegetable known as sweet potato but you might be surprised to learn that it is more closely related to the parasitic thread-like dodders than it is to our familiar … Continue reading
Cyperus papyrus L., post 2 of 2, taxonomy and distribution
Cyperus papyrus is a tall and graceful plant. It looks stunning in the Tropical Greenhouse with a tropical blue sky behind it, which, even in October, Reading obligingly provided, to prove the point. It’s up to 5m tall, with almost globular … Continue reading
Posted in Africa, Crops, Madagascar, Pond, Species, Students, Water Plants
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Cyperus papyrus L., post 1 of 2, value and uses
The one thing that most people know about this plant is that it was the source of paper for ancient Egyptians. They started to use it for writing on circa 5000 years ago, and carried on up until the 8th or … Continue reading
Posted in Africa, Countries, Crops, Madagascar, Pond, Species, Water Plants
4 Comments
Brassavola nodosa
A little Introduction The sweetly scented Brassavola nodosa (L.) Lindl. more commonly known as Lady of the Night orchid, belongs to the rather extensive Orchidaceae family, and is part of the Brassavola genus, which contains approximately 21 species. The majority of the Brassavola species grow on … Continue reading
Leucaena leucocephala – White lead tree
Leucaena leucocephala is widely grown as an agroforestry species in tropical regions. In the 1970s and 1980s the tree was very widely planted as a forage tree legume and seen as a solution to many tropical agriculture problems as it … Continue reading
Posted in Americas, Crops, Species
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Maranta arundinacea – Arrowroot
Arrowroot is a member of the Marantaceae commonly known for the ‘Prayer Plants’ which are grown for their decorative leaves. In contrast M. arundinacea is grown very much for its starchy rhizomes, although there is a cultivar with variegated leaves.
Posted in Americas, Crops, Species
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Musa acuminata – Dwarf Cavendish Banana
It wouldn’t be a tropical plant display without a banana plant showing those huge luxuriant leaves. Dwarf Cavendish bananas are low growing which makes them wind resistant when grown outside and means they fit under a greenhouse roof when grown … Continue reading