Here are photos of some of our more unusual plants.
This is called "Giant Voodoo Lily" (Amorphophallus paeonifolius)
(one of the exercise paddocks can be seen in the background)A magnificent tropical plant originating in Southeast Asia. Pictured is a mature plant which stands almost 7' tall with leaves twelve feet across or more. This amazing plant dies back completely in the fall; it's large bulb-like corm (which can eventually reach the size of a small washtub) remains dormant throughout the Winter. In early spring, before the stalk and leaves appear, mature plants (7-10 years) produce a spectacular bloom. The "flower" resembles rotting flesh in both color and smell <ugh!>. Below is a picture of this plant's 1999 bloom. The pencil shows how big the flower is (if you look closely, you can see the same pencil at the base of the big plant above). Baby plants can be seen coming up beside the bloom. The plant's stems are mottled grey & green.
A mature bloom from the above plant (1999).
Here are some pictures of a few more of our naturalized tropical plants.
"Pothos," "Heart-leafed," and "Cut-leafed" Philodendrons
growing on trees around the kennels.
A "Red Emperor" Philodendron (and Syngonium sp.) growing on a large
tree
directly behind 3 runs.
Syngonium (a number of cultivars) grows everywhere around the
kennels...over the ground...up the trees.
Rhapis palm (Rhapis excelsa)
We have a number of large colonies (and potted specimens) of these rare, prized palms (also called "Lady palm"). We have many different cultivars (and are adding more) including variegated types. They produce beautiful, long bracts of interesting coral or yellow colored flowers, sometimes twice a year. These palms have been cultivated by the Chinese & Japanese for hundreds of years. Since the 17th century, the Japanese have been avidly hybridizing to achieve an array of growth habits and leaf colors and shapes. The inset picture shows a dwarf cultivar, "Zuiko-Lutino" in a beautiful Japanese Nishiki pot. The specimen shown is over 10 years old and is only 12" tall. The larger potted specimen shown is about 8' tall. They make excellent indoor plants. For more about Rhapis palms, see "Links."
And here is a "blood lily." This one is in a pot, but we have several naturalized colonies.
(note the green bud just beneath the bloom)
Check back here for other interesting plant pictures as new plants bloom
and the seasons "change" in Florida
"Rhapis palm in Nishiki pot" copyright Lynn McKamey