Symplocarpus foetidus — Eastern Skunk Cabbage
Eastern Skunk Cabbage, Clumpfoot Cabbage, Foetid Pothos, Meadow Cabbage, Polecat Weed, or Swamp Cabbage, commonly known as simply Skunk Cabbage, is a low growing, foul smelling plant that prefers wetlands.
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Eastern Skunk Cabbage Symplocarpus foetidus. Photo Sue Sweeney
The large leaves grow 16 to 22 inches (40 to 55 centimeters) long and 12 to 16 inches (30 to 40 centimeters) broad. It flowers early in the year while there is still snow and ice on the ground when only the flowers are visible above the mud, with the stems buried below and the leaves emerging later.
The flowers are produced on a 2 to 4 inch (5 to 10 centimeter) long spadix contained within a spathe 4 to 6 inches (10 to 15 centimeters) tall and mottled purple in color. The rhizome is often 12 inches (30 centimeters) thick.
Breaking or tearing a leaf produces a pungent odor. Though unpleasant, the smell is not harmful, nor is the plant poisonous to the touch. The foul odor attracts its pollinators, scavenging flies, stoneflies, and bees. The odor in the leaves may also serve to discourage large animals from disturbing or damaging it.
Skunk cabbage is notable for its ability to generate temperatures of up to 60 to 100° F (15 to 35° C) above air temperature by cyanide resistant cellular respiration in order to melt its way through frozen ground, placing it among a small group of plants exhibiting thermogenesis. Carrion-feeding insects that are attracted by the scent may be also encouraged to enter the spathe because it’s warmer than the surrounding air, fueling pollination.
Eastern Skunk Cabbage has contractile roots which contract after growing into the earth which pulls the stem of the plant deeper into the mud, so that the plant in effect grows downward, not upward. Each year the plant grows deeper into the earth, making older plants nearly impossible to dig up. They reproduce by hard, pea-sized seeds which fall in the mud and carried off by animals.
In the 19th century the U. S. Pharmacopoeia listed eastern skunk cabbage as the drug “dracontium,” used in the treatment of respiratory diseases, nervous disorders, rheumatism, and dropsy. Skunk cabbage was used extensively as a medicinal plant, seasoning, and magical talisman by various tribes of Native Americans. While not considered edible raw, the leaves may be dried and used much like basil in soups and stews.
It can be found naturally in eastern North America, from Nova Scotia and southern Quebec west to Minnesota, and south to North Carolina and Tennessee, and also in northeastern Asia, in eastern Siberia, northeastern China and Japan. It’s protected as a state endangered plant in Tennessee.
Arum maculatum — Jack in the Pulpit
Arum maculatum is a common woodland plant species of the Araceae family known by numerous common names including Wild arum, Lords and Ladies, Jack in the Pulpit, Devils and Angels, Cows and Bulls, Cuckoo-Pint, Adam and Eve, Bobbins, Naked Boys, Starch-Root and Wake Robin.
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Jack in the Pulpit. Photo Ivo Shandor
Its purple spotted leaves appear in the spring followed by the flowers borne on a poker shaped inflorescence purple spadix which is partially enclosed in a pale green spathe or leaf-like hood. The flowers are hidden from sight, clustered at the base of the spadix with a ring of female flowers at the bottom and a ring of male flowers above them.
Above the male flowers is a ring of hairs forming an insect trap, ensnaring the insects beneath the ring of hairs where they’re dusted with pollen before escaping and carrying the pollen to the spadices of other plants, where they pollinate the female flowers. The spadix may also be yellow, but purple is more common.
In autumn the lower ring of female flowers forms a cluster of bright red berries which remain after the spathe and other leaves have withered away, and are extremely poisonous.
The root-tube may be very large and is used to store starch, reaching as much as 16 inches (40 centimeters) below ground level in mature specimens.
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Arum maculatum, Cuckoo-pint or Lords and Ladies. Photo Sannse
All parts of the plant can produce allergic reactions in many people and should be handled with care. The spadix produces heat and probably scent as the flowers mature. But there are claims that the root of the cuckoo pint, when roasted well, is edible. It was used like salop or salep (a working class drink popular before the introduction of tea or coffee), and also a substitute for arrowroot.
The plant is widespread across temperate northern Europe.
Aristolochia
Aristolochia is a large plant genus with over 500 species. Collectively known as birthworts, pipevines or Dutchman’s pipes, they’re the namesake of the family Aristolochiaceae. They are widespread and occur in the most diverse climates. Some species, like A. utriformis and A. westlandii, are threatened with extinction.
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Photo Forest & Kim Starr
Many species of Aristolochia are food for larvae of Lepidoptera, namely swallowtail butterflies. These become unpalatable to most predators by eating the plants.
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Photo L. Shyamal
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Aristolochia maxima. Photo Kurt Stueber
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Aristolochoia arborea. Photo Kurt Stueber
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Aristolochia pontica. Photo Katpatuka
Aristolochia clematitis — Birthwort
Aristolochia clematitis — known as (European) Birthwort — is a herbaceous plant in the Aristolochiaceae family, native to Europe and occasionally found established outside of its native range as a relic of cultivation. The leaves are heart shaped and the flowers are pale yellow and tubular in form.
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Aristolochia clematitis. Photo Kurt Stueber
This poisonous plant was formerly used as a medicinal plant — recent study suggests that it’s the cause for thousands of kidney failures in Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia and Croatia where the plant is unintentionally consumed through flour.
The findings were discovered after a clinic for obesity in Belgium used Aristolochiaceae as a diuretic. After a few months some of the subjects suffered from kidney carcinoma and kidney failure.
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Photo
Robivet
Due to the Doctrine of signatures birthwort was used in childbirth as a preparation given to women in labor to expel the placenta, but the aristolochic acid may just as well kill the patient.
Others claim that a decoction of birthwort stimulates the production and increases the activity of leukocytes (white blood cells), or that pipevines contain a disinfectant which assists in wound healing.
Aristolochia gigantean — Brazilian Dutchman’s Pipe
Aristolochia gigantea — sometimes known as Brazilian Dutchman’s Pipe or Giant Pelican Flower — is an ornamental plant native to Brazil, typical of Bahia and Minas Gerais vegetation.
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Aristolochia gigantea
Many species have ingenious insect traps and malodorous, often nauseating stenches when the blossoms first open. One of the largest and most bizarre flowers on earth is the Brazilian Dutchman’s pipe.
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Aristolochia labiata (Mottled Dutchman’s Pipe, Rooster Flower) is native to Brazil.
The showy maroon calyx-like corolla is the size of a large dinner plate 12 to 16 inches (30 to 36 centimeters) across, with an “inviting” orifice leading into an inflated, bladder-like trap. Another unusual Dutchman’s pipe native to northern California (A. californica) has much smaller blossoms that are pollinated by fungus gnats.
Aristolochia grandiflora — Pelican Flower
Aristolochia grandiflora — or Pelican Flower — is a deciduous vine with enormous flowers that emit an odor that humans consider unpleasant but is attractive to insects such as butterflies. They confine their visiting flies until the male flowers are mature.
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Aristolochia grandiflora. Photo Cary Bass
These flowers have a specialized pollination mechanism — the inner part of the perianth tube is covered with hairs, acting as a fly-trap which eventually withers to release the fly, covered with pollen.
The plant is native to the Caribbean, and has been introduced to Florida in the United States
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Aristolochia grandiflora detail. Photo Cary Bass
It was highly regarded as a medical plant since the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans, and on up to the Early Modern era, and plays a minor role in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). It is however most notable for containing toxic aristolochic acid, sometimes in quantities fatal to humans.
In July 1999, two cases of nephropathy associated with the use of Chinese botanical preparations were reported in the United Kingdom that were shown to contain aristolochic acid. In 1993, a series of end-stage renal disease cases had been reported from Belgium associated with a weight loss treatment, where Stephania tetrandra in a herbal preparation was suspected of being substituted with Aristolochia fangchi.
More than 105 patients were identified with nephropathy following the ingestion of this preparation from the same clinic from 1990-1992. Many required renal transplantation or dialysis. Subsequent follow up of these patients has shown they are at an increased risk of urological cancer.
Ceropegias
Ceropegias are an interesting group of plants that have many common names including lantern flower, parasol flower, parachute flower, bushman’s pipe, string of hearts, snake creeper, wine-glass vine, rosary vine, necklace vine and condom flower which produces striking, malodorous blossoms shaped like a wine glass, often with glistening cilia to attract flies.
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Ceropegias distincta. Photo Dr. David Midgley
The flowers have a tubular corolla with 5 petals most often fused at the tips, forming an umbrella-like canopy, a cage, or appendage-like antennae. The flower tubes are lined with small hairs that point downward to form a trap for small flies that are attracted by their odor.
The insects are prevented from escaping until the hairs wither when the flower matures, the pollen of the Ceropegia flower being attached to the flies’ bodies when they escape.
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Ceropegia woodii. Photo Dr. David Midgley
The stems are vining or trailing in most species, though a few species from the Canary Islands have erect growth habits. Among some species such as Ceropegia woodii, the nodes swell, and the roots similarly expand to form tubers beneath the soil surface. The leaves are simple and opposite, although they can be rudimentary or absent. Especially in certain succulent species, the leaves may also be thick and fleshy.
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Ceropegias linearis. Photo Dr. David Midgley
Ceropegias have attracted much attention from botanists, horticulturalists, gardeners, and succulent enthusiasts. Carl Linnaeus, who first described this genus in volume 1 of his Species plantarum, which appeared in 1753, thought that the flowers looked like a fountain of wax. From this the scientific name was derived, ‘keros’ meaning wax and ‘pege’ meaning fountain.
Many Ceropegia species have been taken as ornamental houseplants, and some of these are commercially available. They can be propagated by seed and cuttings.
Sapranthus
Sapranthus is a genus of flowering woody plants in the family Annonaceae that produces flowers which are pollinated by flies, and smell accordingly like decaying organic matter.
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Sapranthus flower, Guanacaste, Costa Rica. Photo Cody Hinchliff
A Costa Rican tree in the custard-apple family (Annonaceae) called “palanco” (Sapranthus palanga) bears cauliflorous blossoms on the main trunk. The flowers are purplish-black when mature and have a strong musky odor resembling a rotting carcass.
Sterculia foetida — Indian almond
Also known as the Indian almond, Java almond and colloquially termed the tropical chestnuts, the Sterculia foetida is a large rain forest tree of the Old World tropics that produces masses of small, reddish-orange flowers with a putrid stench.
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Photo J.M. Garg
It produces edible seeds inside large, woody pods called follicles which are eaten raw, roasted or fried, but if consumed in excessive quantities the seeds may have a purgative effect.
The species name foetida is derived from the putrid odor of the blossoms.
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Flowers and a seed pod (follicle) of the Indian almond (Sterculia foetida). Photo J.M. Garg
Sterculia species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including the leaf-miner Bucculatrix xenaula, which feeds exclusively on the genus.
Phallaceae — Stinkhorns
Phallaceae — or stinkhorns — are fungi from a family of basidiomycetes which produce a foul-scented, phallus-shaped mushroom.
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Elegant Stinkhorn Mutinus elegans. Photo Zen Sutherland
Rather than the typical method of reproduction for most mushrooms which use the air to spread their spores, Stinkhorns produce a sticky spore mass on their tip which has an odor of carrion or dung that attract flies. The insects land on the stinkhorn, thus collecting the spore mass on their legs and carry it to other locations.
These fungi have been said to be edible in their immature “egg” state with claims of a fishy taste when fried, but few people care to get past the foul smell in order to eat them.
Aseroe rubra — Anemone stinkhorn
Commonly known as the anemone stinkhorn and sea anemone fungus, Aseroe rubra is a common and widespread Australian basidiomycete fungus recognizable for its foul odor of carrion and its anemone shape when mature that also attracts flies which spread its spores. Found in gardens on mulch and in grassy areas, it resembles a red star-shaped structure covered in brownish slime on a white stalk.
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Aseroe rubra. Photo Cas Liber
Starting out as a partly buried whitish egg-shaped structure 1.25 inches (3 centimeters) in diameter, it bursts open as a hollow white stalk with reddish arms that erupt and grow to a height of 4 inches (10 centimeters).
It matures into a reddish star-shaped structure with 6 to 10 arms up to 1.5 inches (3.5 centimeters) long radiating from the central area. These arms are bifid (deeply divided into 2 limbs). The top of the fungus is covered with dark olive-brown slime or gleba, which smells of rotting meat. There is a cup-shaped volva at the base that is the remnants of the original egg.
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Stinkhorn Aseroe rubra in camping ground at Springbrook, Queensland. Photo Mike Young
This fairly common fungus is widely distributed in Australia from southeastern Queensland through New South Wales and eastern Victoria and Tasmania. It’s also found across the islands in the Pacific Ocean. A saprotroph, it’s found on woodchips and mulch and is common in gardens and amenities plantings, and also occurs in alpine grasslands and woodlands.
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Veiled Lady. Photo Opencage
Phallus indusiatus — Veiled lady
Phallus indusiatus — also called long net stinkhorn and veiled lady — is a stinkhorn fungus, eaten as a vegetable (known in English as bamboo fungus or bamboo pith) in some cuisines of southern China, particularly that of the southwestern province of Yunnan, and called zhu sheng or zhu sun in Chinese.
According to an article in the International Journal of Medicinal Mushrooms, the smell of this fungus can trigger spontaneous orgasms in human females.
Mutinus caninus — Dog Stinkhorn
Mutinus caninus, commonly known as the Dog Stinkhorn, is a small thin, phallus-shaped woodland fungus with a dark tip which is usually curved. The column is very fragile, pitted, and cylindrical.
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Mutinus caninus. Photo Frank Gardiner
The tip is covered in the spore bearing matter (gleba) which is a dark olive-brown paste that possesses an irresistible smell to insects which help distribute the spores on their bodies, and in their stomachs. Beneath the spore mass the tip is dark orange. Although its smell is not as strong as the related common stinkhorn it has been described as smelling like cat feces.
This small member of the Phallaceae family emerges from an off-white egg-like fruiting body 0.8 to 1.6 inches (2 to 4 centimeters) high, and 0.4 to 0.8 inches (1 to 2 centimeters) wide that lies half buried in leaf litter on the woodland floor. White mycelial cords (rhizomorphs) are often visible beneath this ‘egg.’ The egg has a tough outer skin which covers a gelatinous inner layer, which in turn protects the fully formed, but un-expanded fruiting body.
When the egg splits open the fungus expands rapidly — usually within a few hours — to its full height of 4 to 5 inches (10-12 centimeters). It’s about 0.4 inches (1 centimeter) thick, and is yellowish-white, yellow, or pale orange. The split egg is retained as a volva-like sack, at the base.
It’s not generally considered or recommended to be edible, although there are reports of the immature eggs being consumed. At least one report from West Virginia in the eastern United States strongly recommends the eggs peeled and fried as a tasty dish.
The fungi are often found growing in small groups on wood debris, or in leaf litter, during summer and autumn in Europe and eastern North America. |
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楼主: thatll
发表于 2009-8-11 09:08:07
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