Alien black flower

[Wendylou]

Alien black flower

25 Mar '08 5:31 pm

I'm growing this stunning flowering plant in West Africa, I've searched and searched for it's name but so far no joy.
Can anyone help ??

[Dixie]

Wow!	25 Mar '08 5:45 pm

I've never seen anything like it !it is certainly spectacular.Jack from South Africa will probably know....JACK ????
Dixie
Welcome,Wendylou.your garden looks so interesting.

[Wendylou]

Alien Black flower

25 Mar '08 6:18 pm

Thank I love it! although i get the feeling it might bite at times

[MacFlax]

25 Mar '08 8:18 pm

Spectacular! I'm really intrigued now.

[GardenGnome]

Outrageous Plant!

26 Mar '08 8:02 am

Hello there Wendylou. Such a lucky gardener you are to have such a beautiful plant. where did you get it? Did you find it in the wild or was it store bought? So unusually beautiful.

Well, Jack, what does your brain cells think when you see this plant. Have you ever seen one before? Can you decipher this mystery?

Welcome to the forum Wendylou. I hope to see more of your garden soon.

Christopher

[Wendylou]

Alien Black flower

26 Mar '08 6:32 pm

Ah thank you thank you
Actually got it from the garden at my Doctors office, had to chat up the gardener for a (sucker)? Since then I’ve been growing them in pots and sharing with friends.. they seem to do soo much better in big pots.
Thank you for the welcome.

[faerisweet]

Wendylou

27 Mar '08 8:23 pm

I remember seeing this called a bat flower, so I googled and sure enough, found it.
Family;Taccaceae
Genus; Tacca
Species;Chantrieri
It is also called cat's whiskers or devil flower.
Here is a link with info on it. Really cool plant btw, had thought about getting it, but not right for my climate. http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/54257
Hope this helps.

[Wendylou]

Cat's Whiskers

28 Mar '08 6:29 pm

Thank you thank you!
I rather like Cat's Whiskers
My driver used to call it butterfly flower so he wasn't to far off .

[Mark]

30 Mar '08 6:34 pm

Hi Wendylou. That surely is a nice looking plant. I've heard of "Bat flowers" but I don't think I've ever seen one let alone grown one. Yours looks stunning. I'm surprised to find that it has such nice folliage as well given that it isn't more widely grown or available. I wonder where you garden. Thanks for sharing this beauty.

[moosey]

31 Mar '08 3:28 pm

That's a beautiful flower - so strange looking to me, I've never ever seen anything quite like it. Imagine it being able to grow outside! I like the bat flowers name - I can imagine heaps of Australian fruit bats hanging around in the trees, snoozing in the sun. Hmm...

Wendylou, thanks so much for posting and getting us all to think a bit harder.