Uncarina stellulifera...Madagascan succulent with a beautiful flower and a very strange fruit!
A month ago I took a picture of the delicate pink, rosy-veined flower of this strange Madagascan succulent. Yesterday when I passed the plant I was stunned to see this strange fruit.
The development of the fruit starts with small protuberances on the ovary which gradually elongate. The barbs only become visible and exposed after the collapse of the exocarp and mesocarp during maturation. The barbed spines attach the fruit to the fur or skin of passing animals and deliver the seeds to new areas.
The most spectacular member of the Mousetrap Tree genus, this species has lavender flowers. A new introduction to South Florida, this Madagascar endemic exhibits the typical pachycaul growth habit of Uncarina. Needs to be planted in full sun with superb drainage.
Isn't the internet wonderful! I found a site about this plant and emailed its owner. Now this Madagascan plant I saw in a Miami botanical garden has connected me with a professor in Copenhagen who saw the same plant in a small airport in Madagascar! Here's a link to his site... www.bihrmann.com/caudiciforms/subs/unc-ste-sub.asp
Uncarina stellulifera, Madagascar
Lin Lougheed Spiny Forest of Madagascar Plot 31, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Miami, FL
Uncarina stellulifera...Madagascan succulent with a beautiful flower and a very strange fruit!
A month ago I took a picture of the delicate pink, rosy-veined flower of this strange Madagascan succulent. Yesterday when I passed the plant I was stunned to see this strange fruit.
The development of the fruit starts with small protuberances on the ovary which gradually elongate. The barbs only become visible and exposed after the collapse of the exocarp and mesocarp during maturation. The barbed spines attach the fruit to the fur or skin of passing animals and deliver the seeds to new areas.
The most spectacular member of the Mousetrap Tree genus, this species has lavender flowers. A new introduction to South Florida, this Madagascar endemic exhibits the typical pachycaul growth habit of Uncarina. Needs to be planted in full sun with superb drainage.
Isn't the internet wonderful! I found a site about this plant and emailed its owner. Now this Madagascan plant I saw in a Miami botanical garden has connected me with a professor in Copenhagen who saw the same plant in a small airport in Madagascar! Here's a link to his site... www.bihrmann.com/caudiciforms/subs/unc-ste-sub.asp
Uncarina stellulifera, Madagascar
Lin Lougheed Spiny Forest of Madagascar Plot 31, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Miami, FL