Avatar

Heaven in a Wildflower

@wild-flowers-blog1 / wild-flowers-blog1.tumblr.com

To see a world in a grain of sand And a heaven in a wild flower -William Blake I'm a plant-crazed biology student from Eastern Michigan University. Just supplying you with a daily flower or two.
Posts
Avatar
reblogged
Avatar
thebashfulbotanist

American witch-hazel, Hamamelis virginiana, is blooming right now in Shenandoah National Park. Native Americans used this plant as an astringent, and it’s still used in herbal medicine today (studies haven’t quite supported its effectiveness, although there’s unrelated evidence that it might have some cytotoxic activity against colon cancer cells).

-El

Avatar
reblogged

‘Demon Orchid’ Has a ‘Devil Head’ and Claw-Like Petals                         

By Kacey Deamer on LiveScience // Photos by Marta Kolanowska

A new species of orchid is in a league of its own — not just because it’s relatively rare, but also because scientists say it looks like the devil.
The new species, Telipogon diabolicus, was named for its gynostemium, the orchid’s reproductive structure, which looks like a devil’s head. The orchid is also described as having “distinctly clawed petals,” adding to its demonic appearance, according to the researchers who discovered it.
About 30 of the reddish to dark-violet-maroon orchids — of which only several were flowering adults — were found growing in a small forest at the border between Putumayo and Nariño (regional jurisdictions called “departments”) in southern Colombia.

Read more on LiveScience

Source: livescience.com

Sponsored

You are using an unsupported browser and things might not work as intended. Please make sure you're using the latest version of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge.