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AN ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE UNUSUAL CAPABILITIES OF PLANTS.
Dedicated to my mother & aunt Kendra.
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strange
pages
stinky
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deadly
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6-15
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SENSITIVE PLANT RESSURECTION PLANT WHISTLING THORN
Strange
TOOTHACHE PLANT
{ acmella oleracea }
Toothache
PLANT
life cycle:
annual
special attributes:
NUMBS YOUR TONGUE
Muscle Relaxer: Paracress contains spilanthol, a paralyzing chemical that helps to ease wrinkles and relax the skin. Urinary Antisceptic: Indigenous people of the tropics utilize the plant as treatment for Malaria and as a Urninary
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Numbing: Chew on the paracress leaves and a bitter tasting tingling sensation will begin to spread on your tongue and gums, eventually making it go numb. Cooking: In some countries, paracress is used in cooking as an herb, and tends to bring a unique bitter flavor to the dish.
The Toothache Plant has also been given the nicknames “peekaboo plant” and “eyeball plant” thanks to its olive shaped flowers (see Fig. 1.) This plant is most known for its yellow round flowers and medicinal abilities. The Toothache Plant gets its nickname from one of its many attributes, its ability to get rid of toothaches.
Fig 1.
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Fig 1.
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{ mimosa pudica}
Sensitive
PLANT
life cycle:
annual
special attributes:
REACTS TO TOUCH
Fig 2.
The sensitive plant does not get its name because its feelings get hurt easily. When its leaves are stimulated, the mimosa pudica responds by quickly folding up its leaves and drooping (fig 2.)
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{ selaginella lepidophylla }
Ressurection PLANT
Fig 1.
life cycle:
*
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stays alive with moisture
special attributes:
COMES BACK TO LIFE
Fig 2.
Also known as the Rose of Jericho, this one of a kind plant gets its name from its ability to fully dry out and compact into a small grey ball to survive drought (fig 1.) The plant seems dead and grey in this state, but when placed into water, the ball unfurls and becomes green and alive once again (fig 2.)
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{ vachellia drepanolobium}
Whistling THORN
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life cycle:
perennial
special attributes:
WHISTLES IN THE WIND
The whistling thorn, is a tree rather than a plant, that grows seed pods with 3 inch horns. These spiked pods are home to multiple types of stinging ants whom burrow holes into the vessel and reside inside. Once these pods dry out, the ant homes turn to whistles once wind blows over them, giving the tree its name the whistling thorn.
In the past, humans have used the dried pods as weapons or fencing tools due to the sharp spikes and hardness the pods aquire with age.
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SKUNK CABBAGE POPCORN PLANT
Stinky
CORPSE PLANT
{ amorphophallus titanum }
Corpse
PLANT
life cycle: blooms every 8 years
special attributes:
SMELLS LIKE DEATH
Titan Aram is its official name, but the nickname for this plant is much more fitting. The first thing that will strike you when you approach a corpse plant is the overwhelming smell of rotting meat. It holds the largest flower structure in the entire plant kingdom and the plant itself can reach a whopping 12 ft in height.
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Among the forests of north america, particularly the damp and muddy spots, you are sure to find these foul smelling patches of plants. Skunk Cabbage seems quite normal when it is undisturbed but as soon as its leaves are bruised or damaged, the plant releases an odor resembling skunk.
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{ symplocarpus foetidus}
Skunk
CABBAGE
life cycle:
perennial
special attributes:
SMELLS LIKE SKUNK
The skunk smell released from its leaves is a simply a way for the plant to attract pollentators. Bugs like flies are attracted to the smell of rotting flesh and skunk which helps the plant spread across forests.
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{ didymobotrya }
Popcorn PLANT
life cycle:
annual
special attributes:
SMELLS LIKE POPCORN
If you’d like your garden to smell like a movie theater, this one’s for you. The popcorn plant’s small buds look like the popcorn, and smell like it too. The Popcorn Plant is native to tropical areas of Africa and can grow 10-25 ft. in its natural habitat. The popcorn plant you find in plant shops, however, only grow to be 2-3 ft.
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Fig 1.
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VENUS FLY TRAP DEADLY NIGHT SHADE GAS PLANT
Deadly
PITCHER PLANT
Fig 1.
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{ didymobotrya }
Pitcher
PLANT
The pitcher plant, aka monkey cup, is a hardy tropical perrenial named after its jug like leaves and lid. In order to retrieve vital nutrients, the plant secretes a sugary slippery nectar and waits for critters to cross its path. If the plant is lucky, an insect or even salamander will fall within its ‘pitcher’ and start to be dissolved in a pool of digestive fluids.
life cycle:
perennial
special attributes:
CARNIVOROUS
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{ dionaea muscipula }
Venus Fly
TRAP
This small carnivorous perennial is most known for its ability to fold its ‘jaws’ and trap tiny insects inside (Fig 1.) The inside of the plants mouth has tiny hair like structures called trichomes, which need to be triggered in order for the trap to close. They act as precautionary measures so that the plant does not waste energy closing its jaws on a raindrop or leaf.
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life cycle:
perennial
special attributes:
CARNIVOROUS
Fig 1.
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The gas plant/burning bush is a tall slender herb that blooms a cluster of pink or white flowers during late spring. The herb reaches 2-4 ft in height and produces tiny star shaped fruits (Fig. 1) that attract butterflies and other pollenators. On hot and dry days, the spark from a match or lighter is enough for the oil on its leaves to ignite, and encase the gas plant in a ball of flames
Fig 1.
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{ dictamnus albus }
Gas
PLANT
life cycle:
annual
special attributes:
FLAMMABLE
The pretty pink plant is covered in gland covered leaves producing volatile oils. Along with being flammable, the oil produces an citrusy aroma that some describe as lemon like.
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A NOTE FROM THE ILLUSTRATOR Work, school, & just life altogether can make it easy to forget the beautiful and natural world that we’re living in. My hopes are that this book served one of two purposes in your own life.
1.) A distraction from the buzz of life. 2.) A reminder that beauty is where you look for it in this strange, stinky, and deadly world.
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Designed and Illustrated by Madison Stabinger To learn about the artist or to see more work please visit:
madisonstabingerdesign.com