3C Style’s excellent post on karma and goodness reminded me that I haven’t given a Buffy update in a while!

Buffy the Vampire Plant has seen better days.  She’s tilting a little (okay, a lot), she’s a few leaves lighter, and she’s been knocked over by elbows and window cleaners at least twice.  When I got her, she was holding a crossbow and defeating evil.  These days, she’s ready for a nap and an ice pack or two.

But, she’s still kicking and I have been proved to be a triumphant, albeit terrible, plant mom.

Total Days Not Dead: 118!  My goal was 100 days!  I’ll keep taking care of Buffy, but I can officially cross this off my list.  Next step, turning my apartment into a jungle paradise.

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Just because, I wanted to share some of the world’s strangest plants, as found in the recesses of the internet.  When searching, I found an enormous number of weird, interesting, deadly, and funny plants.  I’ve included a few here, but I tried to avoid some of the carnivorous ones.:

13 of the World’s Strangest Plants:
1. Euphorbia Obesa: Also known as the Baseball Plant.  Once flowered, it will shoot seeds out of a small pod, showering your lawn (or tiny, one-bedroom apartment) with future living baseballs.


2. Hydnellum Peckii: Also known as the Bleeding Tooth Fungus.  Sounds delicious.  This fungus oozes (I know) thick red liquid from its pores, hence the super gross name.  If you’re looking for decorations for next year’s Halloween party, maybe spend some time in the forest looking for these?

3. Welwitschia Mirabilis: Also known as Welwitschia or Tree Tumbo.  It thrives in the dryest of deserts and can be as old as 1500 years.  While usually found in Namibia, it can also be found in Kruger National Park, South Africa.  If you go, don’t just look for The Big Five, but make it The Big Six!

4. Corpse Flower: Aptly named because it legitimately smells like a dead body, this flower attracts those carnivorous bugs that usually spend time at crime scenes.


5. Baobab Tree:  Sometimes known as the Tree of Life, these trees can live for 5,000 years, reach 30 meters in height, 50 meters around, and hold gallons of water.  I don’t have any jokes about this one, I just think it’s really cool.

6. Mimosa pudica: Also known as the Shy Plant or Shame Plant, because it will curl up or close when touched.  Days like today, Shy Plant, same.

7. Selaginella lepidophylla: Also known as the Resurrection Plant or Rose of Jericho, this plant can be completely dried out to the brink of death, and survive by curling up into a ball until water arrives.

8. Rafflesia Arnoldii: Also known as the Stinking Corpse Lily, because guess what? This one is the world’s smelliest and largest flower.  Looking like something that would belong in a cartoon, this one only flowers for a few days, so spotting it is incredibly rare.

9. Victoria Amazonica: Have you ever had a dream about lounging on a lily pad? Just me? Cool.  These lily pads are so large and sturdy, they can easily hold your small child for your next family holiday card.

10. Dragon’s Blood Tree: I’ll be honest, this one partly made the list because of the badass name.  It belongs in Game of Thrones.  The name comes from the dark red resin (or possibly REAL DRAGON BLOOD. You can’t tell me any different.)  The tree looks like a giant umbrella, and would rule the Seven Kingdoms.  #KhaleesiQueenofDragonTrees

11. Strangler Tree: This Jack the Ripper of trees grows and lives on existing trees, cutting off their friends’ access to nutrients.  Usually, if the Strangler Tree is living on another tree, the first tree dies. However, many other species live off of the produce from the Strangler Fig, so maybe it’s more like the Robin Hood of trees?

12. Monkey Face Orchid: It looks like a monkey.  I laughed for a solid two minutes looking at pictures of this monkey flower.  Seriously, spend some time in Google images, you won’t be sorry.

13. Hooker’s Lips Flower: I’ll just leave this here.

Sending you all my hugs and Hooker’s Lips Flowers!  Let me know if you have any weird plants or gardening tips!