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Post by myrt on Nov 6, 2010 17:56:04 GMT
Of all the things I love about plants I think seed pods are amongst my favourites. I run gardening groups for adults with learning difficulties and at this time of year (in the UK) we spend many hours collecting and admiring seeds and the amazing variety of pods they grow in. Silver Birch: Centaurea: Lavender: English Marigold: Verbena bonariensis: Nigella: Nicandra:
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Post by myrt on Nov 6, 2010 18:00:31 GMT
And some more: Fir cone: Sycamore: Beech nuts: Teasel: Clematis: Globe Artichoke: I know there will be far more exotic ones in other areas of the world. I would love to see some if possible please
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 6, 2010 21:46:48 GMT
"exotic"? I couldn't identify most of them!
It hardly matters, as I wallowed in the total loveliness of your images several times before answering. Beautiful subjects, Myrt, beautifully captured ~~ thanks!
(you won't see anything from me until I get a new camera)
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Post by Deleted on Nov 7, 2010 6:34:55 GMT
Those are as interesting as they are lovely, myrt. I know that I have seen a lot of those papery pods shown in photo #7, but I have forgotten what they are. Here are a few of my own.
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 7, 2010 6:39:21 GMT
All really good, Kerouac, but those first two ......... ~!!!!!~
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Post by Deleted on Nov 7, 2010 6:56:00 GMT
It was something in the Jardin des Plantes. What was funny was that I had to wait my turn to photograph it. Several people homed in on it.
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Post by tod2 on Nov 7, 2010 6:58:35 GMT
All absolutely fantastic! What glorious close-ups
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 7, 2010 7:00:59 GMT
It was something in the Jardin des Plantes. What was funny was that I had to wait my turn to photograph it. Several people homed in on it. I think it's some sort of thistle.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 7, 2010 7:24:23 GMT
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Post by myrt on Nov 7, 2010 8:36:20 GMT
Aren't seeds pods wondrous?? I love your pictures Kerouac2....the grass seeds are very lovely. Are the papery pods from Bladder Senna? They don't look quite right but that's the nearest I can get. I have collected about 30 pods, from a Bladder Senna tree I found in a garden I was working in, to try and grow the seeds..I love them but they are uncommon in the UK for some unknown reason. Which reminds me I must send some to Cheery. Sooo forgetful these days... And no idea what the pod in the last picture is...
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 7, 2010 15:56:44 GMT
Thanks for the IDs, Myrt. I looked at your pics again, and am more in love than ever with your teasel one. Well, all of them!
Interesting that the clematis is all bloomed out. Is that a cultivated one? The wild autumn clematis is going crazy here this year. There are vast expanses of white in fields and on fences.
Kerouac, that middle picture is a beautiful arch-type of the onset of autumn.
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Post by tod2 on Nov 7, 2010 16:04:55 GMT
Today I was delighted to find not one but THREE seed heads of a Delicious Monster plant! Growing underneath the passionfruit vine I never noticed them before - these are still in the very early stages of ripening - one still has the dry petal still attached. I will keep an eye on them and see if they get to the stage where I can take a bite ;D I have eaten the fruit seeds only once before and they were fabulous.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 7, 2010 16:07:54 GMT
They look like they are specially for the ladies.
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 7, 2010 16:15:53 GMT
Wasn't someone just saying in another thread how sophisticated the membership here is?
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Post by myrt on Nov 7, 2010 18:50:27 GMT
Wasn't someone just saying in another thread how sophisticated the membership here is? Some humour is universal...and there's nothing wrong with a good giggle.... ;D Never seen anything like that before in my life though......um, could that be why it's called Monstera deliciosa.....I could be very rude here but I shall resist... ;D The Clematis is a tangutica, Bixa - very pretty lemon yellow flowers - I grew it from seed and it grows humungously every year...but it's a real beauty.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 7, 2010 18:58:02 GMT
;D Fabulous photos and great thread topic!!! Thanks. So good to finally have some more gardeners in here,I am so thrilled .
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Post by Deleted on Nov 7, 2010 19:17:34 GMT
As a non-gardener, I can see that I have no business here.
*flounces away in a huff*
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Post by myrt on Nov 7, 2010 19:20:51 GMT
Pleeeeese - no flouncing!
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 7, 2010 21:45:34 GMT
Who's he kidding? He's off to google jokes about the cucumber patch.
Wow. Thanks for that clematis ID. I looked it up, and it's a stunner.
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Post by tod2 on Nov 8, 2010 8:12:33 GMT
These are seed pods off the Kapok Tree - about the size of a loofah. I collected them about 2 years ago at a resort near the Kruger National Park. Will try and dig out the photos of the actual tree and all the fluffy kapok lying on the lawn. If anyone would like some seeds and grow this wonderful tree - just say! The tree gets very large in the rainforest but the ones we saw were nowhere near some of these photos in the link: - I think it must take a hundred years to get really large. tinyurl.com/34rcu9x
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 8, 2010 16:23:09 GMT
Oh, the pods are wonderful!
That tree is called a pochote here in Oaxaca and a ceiba in the Yucatán, where it's considered the Tree of Life. I think some part of it is used in making dyes. I'd love to know if the fluff is spun and used anywhere in the world.
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Post by tod2 on Nov 9, 2010 6:55:23 GMT
What amazed me about the pod(middle) is when I pulled it open the fluff was organised in little balls with the honeycomb sections showing on the inside of the pod where each ball nestled!
I know when I was a child my the pillows were filled with kapok.
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Post by myrt on Nov 9, 2010 7:28:46 GMT
I've never seen kapok seeds before - how amazing! It's incredible the lengths nature goes to - such small seeds encased in such huge and fluffy surroundings.... They are really wonderful, thanks Tod2
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Post by Deleted on Nov 9, 2010 7:32:34 GMT
I would imagine that the real function of cotton or fluff is seed protection?
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Post by tod2 on Nov 9, 2010 7:34:09 GMT
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Post by tod2 on Nov 9, 2010 7:45:02 GMT
Gooseberry pod - I have many volunteer bushes all over the garden. Fruit hiding inside.
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Post by tod2 on Nov 9, 2010 7:54:11 GMT
Actually Kerouac, I have seen the fluffy kapok holding the seeds wafting in the breeze and landing quite far away - depending on the wind direction and strength, so I think it is merely for transport purpose These pods I picked up were just three of dozens lying below the tree. Some burst open still hanging on the branches.
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 9, 2010 17:21:42 GMT
That's an amazing trunk on your cycad, Tod. How old is it? Gooseberries are sweet, aren't they? A related Pysallis in Mexico is an important vegetable. Here is the AnyPort thread on it. Maybe you have a SA pie recipe to throw in there. Your photo of the balloon is so delicate and lovely. The kapok tree appears to function like a giant milkweed. I have Asclepias curassavica and lots of it, due to its promiscuous seeding. ( link - 3rd pic)
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Post by Deleted on Nov 9, 2010 21:08:00 GMT
I came across a number of these trees today, which I never would have noticed if myrt had not started this thread.
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 9, 2010 22:27:07 GMT
I don't know what they are, but I love the photo!
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