I find most flowers and plants beautiful, but some are unusual and a few are downright weird and charming-ugly, like Charles Bronson. I like different-looking plants. It might be the flower, the leaves, the way it grows or any unusual properties it might have. I think the weirdest plant in my garden is the Scopolia: It's about 30 cm - 1 foot - tall, has shiny green leaves and very dark bell-shaped flowers. Most people who have read agent novels, have come across scopolamine, the truth drug. It comes from this plant. I've got it because my husband wanted it and a dear garden friend wanted to get rid of it. Another weird-looking one is on my wish list. It's an orchid called Cypripedium tibeticum and looks like this: The strange shape and dark colour makes it stand out between the delicate or brightly coloured neighbours. Which plant do you find strange or weird?
What a good idea for a thread, Droopy. I'll have to scratch my head on this one...and pour-over my old garden CD's to see if I have something to contribute. I like this idea, cos there are indeed some odd plants out there, that's for sure. I shall take a look after work. Nice fotos, BTW.
Nice pics. I think a lot of plants are weird. I will have to think of the weirdest one for me, but I think the Venus Fly Trap will be the top one for me.
Those certainly are unique looking plants Droopy. I really can't think of any others right now, but I think my strangest looking plant is my "Queen of the Night". It has odd looking leaves and a strange growth habit. But when it blooms, the fragrance fills the house and it's definitely worth the wait! I think Venus Fly traps are very interesting and hope to get one this year.
Ok then...I have a couple of pics that may qualify, but I'm not sure. It's the closest that I can come to a weird plant. This one is weird because it is actually a Tanacetum with four flower heads fused together. The last one shows how they're supposed to look.
The four headed mutant is interesting. That was a zealous bloom huh? Plants keep you on your toes with surprises like that.
Sjoerd, the frilly poppy is beautiful. Is it a somniferum-cross of some kind? The tree - what sort of tree is that? Have you been glueing green balls on it? I do like the grey flower, it looks like silver. We had a fused lily this year, I've never had that before.
I have to bashfully admit that I do not have any idea whatsoever what kind of a cross that poppy is. It was a blow-in. I tend to let blow-ins and self-seeded poppies just stay and cross-breed to their heart's content. Some very nice ones appear some years. I had to snikker and chuckle when you asked what sort of tree that was. May I be a real meany and not tell you right away? Would you like to make a few guesses? The gray-silver flower is actually a dead artichoke flower. I like seeing fused flowers. Sometimes they are not so attractive, and other times they are spectacular...y'nevvuh know.
You are so right, they are weird! But in an attractive way. The "Queen of the Night", is that a cactus? My grandmother had one she called "Queen of the Night", but also told me it wasn't the real one, because that looked different. I'd love to see yours. No, you may not!
I think this is my wierdest plant - the cobra lily. I love its unusual black and white colour combination.
That is gorgeously charming, Eileen. Do you grow it indoors, or is it hardy outside? I like the big white middle inside too. Do you have it's Latin name? Imagine just asking such a question to an impatient person like me... Now that you've told me, I can see the resemblance to the allium flower heads. But it's really amazing, because I still think the stem looks like a tree stem, and I was very ready to purchase such a special tree.
Gosh Eileen...that is gorgeous! Is it in the Jack-in-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum) family? I like that one.
I knew that that "tree" picture was not a tree. It truely resembled a tree to mee too but I did not think a tree could make such a well formed head like that. All of the pictures are spectacular.
Oh, I know that one Glendann! Euphorbia milii, commonly called "Crown of Thorns". We used to have a whole thick hedge of that when we lived in Florida. MAN that hedge was deadly! But it sure kept the neighbor's pup in is own yard.
