Weird Wednesday: October 5, 2005
October 5th, 2005 by Laurie Barak
Hello and welcome to Weird Wednesday! Where I find some weird auctions on eBay and share them with my Blog readers.
This week it’s weird plants…check these out!
A mutation of the common Gold Star cactus, the brain cactus (mammillaria elongata monstrosus) looks like…a brain! The mutation is actually caused by a virus that doesn’t hurt the plant. Cacti (plural for ‘cactus’) are easy to take care of and this particular cactus is great for children as it doesn’t have spikes or barbs on it (though it’s best not to touch the plant anyway). Brain cactus do not grow very large so it is great for a kitchen windowsill.
This is a brain cactus.
The ribbon plant is a wonderful, rare plant from the Solomon Islands with long, completely flat stems,” writes the Seller. “It is sometimes called a succulent (the same family cacti are in), but it’s actually in the rhubarb and buckwheat family. What you see are the stems. The leaves themselves are small and they don’t appear too often. The flattened stems are smooth and durable. They branch out and weave their way up eerily, forming a bushy mass of ribbons over 10 feet tall if left unpruned. You can grow it in a pot indoors or out, pruning it to any height that’s convenient. Makes an artsy and unique houseplant!”
A healthy ribbon plant.
“The bat plant or devil flower, Tacca chantrieri, is native to Southeast Asia,” writes the Seller. “The purple-black flower looks somewhat like a flying bat, a sinister face or a mean cat with lots of whiskers. Bat plant is bat-like in color, shape and quite a complex plant with interesting side bracts of dark shiny green and white leaves. ”
This auction is for seeds to grow your own bat plant. Freaky!
The flower from a mature bat plant.
I have no idea where the Seller of this auction found these crazy things. They do look like they came from a Dr. Seuss book. Funny gift for someone who likes retro or 70s items. Just plain weird if you ask me!
Get your freak on.
And that’s your Weird Wednesday for October 5, 2005.
