#bioactive #plants #vivarium #terrariumplants #vivariumsofinstagram #bromeliads #bromeliad #orchid #orchids #moss #mosses #tropicalplants #plantsmakepeoplehappy #greenlife #nature #naturephotography #vivariumplants #fern #ferns #marcgravia #marcgraviasintenisii #neoregelia #rainforest

After killing the seeds the first time, second attempt has seen success: Manihot esculenta, or Cassava is now well established in the greenhouse!
A shockingly fast growing plant (these are hardly a month old if that) and rather ornamental with those strange leaves, Cassava is a South American native that has established quite a widespread usage worldwide for food. Thick starchy roots are prepared in all sorts of ways from boiled and fried as a potato-like vegetable to ground into flour or processed into that strangely textured but popular food, tapioca.
What’s rather surprising about this though, is that this is not a plant you can safely eat normally; it must be soaked or heavily boiled, because otherwise it is packed full of cyanogens, hydrogen and nitrogen-rich chemicals that when ingested, break down to release hydrogen cyanide. Even just a small amount of raw cassava may well be lethal, so it begs the question: how did people figure out that this toxic root could eventually be processed into food?

#manihotesculenta #cassava #edibleplants #educational #strangeplants #seedgrown #ornamentalplants #botany #plants #horticulture #plantsmakepeoplehappy #botanical #gardening #carltoncarnivores

Nepenthes hamata x attenboroughii.
I don’t think much more really needs saying; this small plant already looks amazing both newly opened and aged to black, and is almost certainly going to become a toothy giant in a few years. Definitely likes cooler weather tho, it’s gaining size only after fall has moved in.

#nepenthes #nepenthesattenboroughii #nepentheshamata #tropicalpitcherplant #pitcherplant #hybrid #carnivorousplants #plantswithteeth #strangeplants #colorful #rareplants #tropical #plants #botany #plantsmakepeoplehappy #horticulture #botanical #gardening #carltoncarnivores

Nepenthes (‘Helen’ x spectabilis PB) HC A x mollis JH, HC A. Growing more striking with every new pitcher, the stripes a very clear standout trait but the peristome also already showing flare influence from spathulata and mollis. I selected four to keep as I usually do, but a couple dozen siblings are also available on the website Shop., waiting for new spaces to spread their roots and take off in.

#nepenthes #tropicalpitcherplants #pitcherplants #seedgrown #carnivorousplants #stripes #strangeplants #hybrid #rareplants #tropical #plants #exotic #indoorplants #botany #plantsmakepeoplehappy #horticulture #botanical #gardening #carltoncarnivores

FINALLY, I caught a bloom open: Drosera spatulata ‘Tamlin’ x ultramafica.
A true spat x ultra cross, unlike the commonly traded plants that are just a large spatulata. These guys possess the stiffer, longer petioles and slightly more pronounced stipules, as well as slightly larger flower profile, of ultramafica, as well as the more leaf-happy growth habit and flatter profile of spatulata. And confirming my suspicions because none of the spent flowers before this one are even remotely filling up: the actual hybrid is sterile.

#drosera #droseraspatulata #droseraultramafica #sundew #carnivorousplant #hybrid #strangeplants #flowers #rareplants #botany #plants #indoorplants #indoorjungle #horticulture #plantsathome #botanical #plantsmakepeoplehappy #gardening #carltoncarnivores

Figured it formed just as the cold set in, but finally got a decent pitcher on the true Sarracenia ‘Leah Wilkerson’. I had the offspring mimic “Lunch Box” for a while, but not the original Leah. Hopefully they both make it through winter though (I’m praying for a milder season this year, temps dropping below -15 F are disgusting).

#sarracenia #sarracenialeahwilkerson #americanpitcherplant #pitcherplant #colorful #carnivorousplants #strangeplants #cultivar #plants #botany #plantsathome #horticulture #plantsmakepeoplehappy #botanical #gardening #carltoncarnivores

🐆🐒🌿🌾 #zoo #zooanimals #animals #naturephotography #nature #naturephoto #photography #photos #plants #plantsmakepeoplehappy #plantphoto

Another brand new flower outside: Abelmoschus manihot!
Another member of the Hibiscus family, commonly referred to as Aibika or Sunset Hibiscus (among other names). This one is producing rather thin flower petals as they usually fill out in a near-perfect circle, but amazing nonetheless. Aibika is an Asian native, and almost completely edible; flowers of course are able to be eaten fresh if you’re not going for seed collection (though just harvesting petals is also an option), and the leaves are commonly used fresh or cooked in salads, soups, and stir fries. They’re extremely high in micronutrients and also fairly protein rich for a plant.
Winter will take these ones out, but I’m likely to start another couple to try and maintain edible options through the cold season inside.

#abelmoschus #hibiscus #flowers #plants #educational #edibleplants #botany #plantsathome #horticulture #plantsmakepeoplehappy #botanical #gardening #carltoncarnivores

New flower: Lilium formosanum!
Named after an old name for the place it hails from, the Formosa Lily is an endemic to Taiwan, and is both an easy and spectacular plant to grow. Cold hardy to at least my zone (5) despite its subtropical origin, they are capable of blooming less than a year after sprouting. Stems are lined with filiform leaves and can reach between 4 and 7 feet tall at full maturity, topped from mid summer to late fall with huge 10-inch plus trumpet blooms (this first-year flower is comically oversized compared to hardly foot-tall stem it’s on right now). The flowers are elegant in their simplicity, sometimes entirely white throughout and other times blushed or striped with pink on the exterior of the tepals, like this one is. Occasionally they may give off sweet aromas, and supposedly even after done blooming they remain ornamental as the seedpods and spent stalks bend upward in a candelabra-style shape that can remain all winter long.
This species is currently available in the Shop, and this is a great time to purchase to plant into the still-warm ground before winter. If you’re lucky you might even get the one that has a flower bud developing!

#lilium #liliumformosanum #lily #flowers #plants #educational #plantsathome #botany #plantsmakepeoplehappy #horticulture #botanical #gardening #carltoncarnivores