Friday 26 June 2009

Mum's Lipstick & A Dragon

Plants of interest in the garden at the moment, to name but two, are the
Dahlia 'Mum's Lipstick' and the Dracunculus vugaris Dragon Arum or Voodoo Lily.
Mum's Lipstick can be seen in the newly planted oak planters by the Besse Building. She is a Semi Cactus Dahlia with very striking yellow and pink flower, not to be missed.
The rather more sinister looking Dragon Arum can be found in the small
tropical border next to the Nuffield Building. To survive, the Dragon Arum needs to attract carrion-eating pollinators, which means that in the breeding season it will smell of rotten meat for a few days. However, it doesn’t eat the insects, rather just uses them to transfer pollen.
I can testify that the odour it produces is terrible, having spent five minutes next to it to get this picture!

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