Batty Botany
Plants. They're not very interesting are they? Or are they? Lifelong zoologist Mark Steer goes in search of some of the weirdest green things the world has ever seen to find out if he's got what it takes to become a botanophile.
Plant Of The Week: DUMBCANE or MOTHER-IN-LAW'S TONGUE
Scientific name: Dieffenbachia picta
What's interesting about it?
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| Dumbcane: can deploy chemical weapons within a fraction of a second. Click image to enlarge. |
To make matters worse, the oxalate crystals have grooves running down their sides which channel an enzyme similar to those found in scorpion and snake venoms deep into the wounds.
All this causes a severe burning sensation, paralysis of the mouth (hence the plant's common names) and the occasional hideously painful death.
Despite its rather warlike defences, dumbcane is a popular houseplant. Which is dumb.
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Images: W
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