Book Review: The Hidden Histories of House Plants
I am currently at 50. Houseplants. It has not always been this way. A combination of pandemic culture and general intrigue took root these past few years.
I would classify myself as an intermediate-beginner and have taken initiative to care for my house guests a bit better by taking classes at the New York Botanical Garden Midtown Education Center as well as reading books on the topic.
This post encapsulates some interesting facts from this neat book I finished from the Brooklyn Public Library, authored by Maddie & Alice Bailey.
Monsteras have Swiss cheese-holed leaves to allow leaves below them have some access to sunlight.
Begonias have swirl patterns that follow the Fibonacci sequence— each number is the sum of the previous two.
Calathea (prayer plant) leaves close at night to become less noticable and harder to grip to predators.
Orchids and other flora contain specific openings and scents for the pollinators they want to particularly attract.
Night flowers need to be larger and more colorful and fragrant so night pollinators like bats can spot them with more ease— hence their heightened perceived beauty.
Bromelaids tight leaf structure store water to create pools to serve as a vibrant visiting ground for very many critters. Some also lay eggs. Others eat the eggs.
Ficus Elastica (rubber plant) roots can be trained over the course of years to create entire bridges in remote mountainous regions.
Marimo Balls require ex-glacier, crystal clear and windy waters to form into their characteristic spheres
Terrariums were first utilized to transport popularized plants as cargo worldwide, bringing the survival rate from 5% to close to 80%. Beforehand, ships were too cold and watering the plants with salt water wasn’t the best strategy.
Mimosa Pudica (type of fern) forms memories to remember which external stimuli can be harmful and will move its leaves away accordingly.
Echeveria (succulent) emits a powdery bloom that acts like sunscreen to protect it from extreme amounts of UV rays.
Senecio Rowleyanus (string of pearls) will abosrb sunlight during the day but will wait until nighttime to open its stomata to exchange gases in an effort to conserve moisture. Hence certain plants release oxygen into your air at night which can help you sleep better.
Drosera (venus flytrap) emit digestive enzymes to digest their prey. They can also trigger hairs that can count before deciding if it is worth closing on a particular catch.
And the fascination continues..