What plants that should be on a Must See List?
Here are the first 10 plant wonders that I have seen that I thought of when I asked the question–
1) Tundra at 400′ elevation in the Arctic Circle in Sweden. So far north that the high mountain tundra doesn’t require a high mountain. Plants miniaturized by the cool short growing season.
2) Flooded forests in the Peruvian Amazon – The plants are standing in 10′ (more than 3 m) of water
3) Ant-acacias The ants live in the swollen thorns on the plant. If you bump the acacia, they rush out to bite and sting you.
4) Sensitive plant, Mimosa pudica. If you touch it the leaves fold up.
open ———(touch)——– closed
5) Living stones, genus Lithops, are small plants that look like pebbles. I haven’t seen them except in greenhouses and botanical gardens. Most if not all are native to southern Africa. Link to photo
6) Giant sequoias, Sequoiadendron giganteum, trees so big you can drive a car through a tunnel through them. One, General Sherman, is the world’s largest tree. Link to photos
7) Swamp. A swamp is a flooded forest. I’d read about them. Many of the knobs sticking out of the water are cypress “knees” which exchange gas for the trees so they don’t suffocate under the water.
8) California spring wildflowers in bloom. After a good wet winter, the hillsides are painted in color for a few weeks in April or May. (very old photo, sorry)
9) Tallgrass prairie – the grass, especially big bluestem Andropogon geradii, can grow to 6′ (3m) so you are totally surrounded in grass
10) Saguaro, Carnegiea gigantea, the iconic cactus of the US southwest
What plant wonders ones would you recommend?