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Bizarre botanicals

2011 October 20

Bizarre hybrid pitcher plant, Sarracenia ‘Mardi Gras,’ is easy to grow in pots. Photo by Ken Moore


By Ken Moore
Flora Columnist
The book Bizarre Botanicals, by Larry Mellichamp and Paula Gross, professors of botany and horticulture at UNC-Charlotte, quietly hit bookstores last year without its deserved fanfare. Perhaps one day this volume will be discussed by D.G. Martin, my favorite columnist, next to Andy Borowitz.

D.G.’s popular UNC-TV Book Watch series, as described in his weekly newspaper column, focuses on North Carolina’s stellar novelists, historians and other notable personalities. D.G. has little spare time to become entangled in the bizarre world of some of our native and cultivated plants.

However, knowing that he loves plants and nature, I suspect he would have a “romp” of a good time focusing on this lively volume that contains stories on numerous plants with such engaging names as voodoo lily, bat-faced cuphea, love-in-a-puff, love-lies-bleeding and hearts-a-burstin’.

Not surprisingly, this journey through the bizarre world of plants begins with the stories of carnivorous plants. North Carolina is famed as the native home turf of numerous species of pitcher plants, Sarracenia species and our most famous Venus flytrap, Dionaea muscipula.

For decades, the stellar display of carnivorous (insectivorous) plants at our local botanical garden has enlightened young and old alike with the clever ways these plants trick, trap and eventually digest a diversity of insect and small animal prey.

Mellichamp and former botanical garden curator Rob Gardner spent many years producing named cultivar hybrids of our native pitcher plants for the delight of gardeners everywhere. Many local gardeners enjoy growing these beautiful, bizarre hybrids in bog gardens and pots.

In addition to North Carolina representatives of carnivorous plants, images and stories of species from around the world are included in this colorful tour of botanical sex, death and wizardry.

The authors provide recommendations for home cultivation of all the plants featured, which is fortunate since many of the bizarre botanicals are from far-off tropical places and require indoor cultivation during our winter season.

Seeds of hearts-a-bustin’ literally burst from the heart of strawberry-shaped capsules. Photo by Larry Mellichamp


A surprising number of these “bizarre” curiosities are found in our near-by forests. The spring flowering Jack-in-the-pulpit (do you know it frequently changes its sex?) is always a delight when discovered in shady, wet areas. The garish, fruited hearts-a-burstin’ or strawberry bush would show off its fall seed capsules throughout our forests were it not a favorite food for local deer. Impressive specimens can be viewed behind the deer fencing at the botanical garden.

Make note that just before Halloween, you have an opportunity to hear Mellichamp describe and illustrate bizarre plant behaviors, including pyrotechnic spores that burst into flame, “shy” foliage that cowers from the slightest touch and even plants that fake death to attract pollinators. The free illustrated lecture and book signing at the botanical garden is at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 30. Please call 962-0522 to register so that garden staff can plan accordingly for this free event.

Though it may someday be featured on Book Watch, make note that you learned about Bizarre Botanicals first at The Carrboro Citizen.

Email Ken Moore at flora@carrborocitizen.com. Find previous Ken Moore Citizen columns at The Annotated Flora (carrborocitizen.com/flora).

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