Rare plants

Rare plants

Rare plants, uncommon and are usually not recognizable to non-botanist specialists. Despite the fact that florae are a source of beauty, and many medications and various perfumes are extracted from them, some of them are poisonous and harmful.

The bleeding-heart rose

A Lamprocapnos spectabilis, or the bleeding-heart rose, is a species of the family Papaveraceae. However, it is still known as Dicentra, the old name of this flower. Other common names are lyre flower, Dutchman’s trousers, and lady-in-a-bath. It blooms in late spring until mid-summer, and West Asia, including Siberia, North China, Korea, and Japan is its native origin. This deadly beauty has four colors, which are white, yellow, pink, and red; it is toxic if swallowed, and directed contact with it may cause skin irritation. The sun is not the only factor in its growth, also it needs shadow and wet areas with a warm and dry climate. Self-sow is possible due to the dry of its seed pods.

The dragon blood tree

Dracaena cinnabari, also called the dragon blood tree, native to the Socotra archipelago, the largest Yemen island. Another name is the brother's blood tree, in which a Yemen’s myth indicates that Adam’s sons, Cain and Abel, who were the first inhabitants of Socotra island. In addition, it is believed that this tree grows when the blood of Cain and Abel. The Socotra dragon tree exists on Earth for more than 50 thousand years, and it produces a red sap when cut. Although it is a rare tree, it has several benefits referenced by Ibn Sina. The red resin is used for wound healing and ulcers in the mouth, throat, intestines, and stomach. Also, it is a treatment for fever, dysentery, and teeth’ health; the honey extracted from the tree is extremely expensive, and it has a valuable effect on one’s teeth. The dragon blood tree grows in arid regions rich in limestones, also in foggy and misty areas.

Pinguicula gigantea

Pinguicula subsp. ayautla or Pinguicula ayautla are the old names of Flypaper Plant Pinguicula gigantea, which is a tropical species of carnivorous plant in the family Lentibulariaceae. It has violet flowers with a purple venation, and the leaves are pale green and have trichomes, which secrete a mucilage that covers the entire leaf. Therefore, insects are catches on both the top and bottom surfaces of its leaves. Dormancy of this plant is triggered by a lack of moisture; thus, it forms a tight rosette to conserve water. Oaxaca in Southwest Mexico is the native origin of the Pinguicula gigantea plant, and it was first discovered by Alfred Lau and described by the botanist Hans Luhrs.

The corpse lily

Rafflesia arnoldii, also called stinking corpse lily, is a species of flowering plant in the parasitic genus Rafflesia. It is the largest individual flower on Earth and has a smell of unpleasant decaying flesh. The corpse lily endemic is in Southeast Asia forests, especially Indonesia and the Philippine. Despite its large size, it has no roots, shoots, leaves, or stalks, but It attaches to a host plant to obtain water and nutrients. It can grow to three feet across and weigh up to 15 pounds. This rare flower needs several months to develop its buds, whereas the flower only lasts a few days, five to seven days, even after its growth is completed. Sir Stamford Raffles with his friend Dr. Joseph Arnold was the first, who discovered the 16 known species of Rafflesia genus, including arnoldii, priceii, keithii, and tengku-adlinii.

Dracunculus vulgaris

Dracunculus vulgaris, commonly called the voodoo lily and the black dragon, is a species of aroid in the genus Dracunculus. It is native to rocky areas and hillsides in the central to eastern Mediterranean areas from Greece to the Balkans to Turkey. The black dragon is characterized by a large purple or maroon spathe and spadix, and the large palmate leaves that are irregularly cream-flecks. It has an unpleasant smell of the corpse, which lasts a few days in order to pollinate, attracting flies, such as Lucilia, Staphylinid, and Scarabidinid. Thus, it is self-seeding and bulb offsets. Once pollination is complete, the smell stops. In addition to its strange appearance, all the parts of it are poisonous if ingested. The stalks of it can grow to be 1.5 meters.

Welwitschia 

The Welwitschia mirabilis, or Welwitschia, is a monotypic gymnosperm genus named after the Austrian botanist and Dr. Friedrich Welwitsch.  This plant grows in isolated communities in the Namib Desert, and it is adapted to grow under arid conditions. Other common names of it are Tree Tumbo, Tumboa, and Namibia’s Living Fossil. It is a long-lived plant, with only two large leaves and roots; the growth rate may differ because of different sites. The leaves are parallel-veined and curled, and they contain millions of stomata on both leaf surfaces. Water is transported to the roots, where it is stored due to the millions of stomata that absorb the water from fog, using C3 metabolism. Once it is foggy, the stromata are opened, whereas, in hotter weather the stromata close. Welwitschia plants are dioecious, producing separate scaly male and female cones on separate male and female plants.