What are your most Rare, Unusual, or Favorite Plants? Pictures Welcome!!!!
 

I think this might be a fun thread. I know a lot of you guys have some really Unusual, Rare and Favorite plants and many of us would sure like to see them! :) It doesn't have to be your photo if you have an internet shot, but please tell us about it!

Here's one of mine. It is an Ice Cream Bean tree Inga Edulis.



Mine is just a baby, but they are fast growing trees and the cotton candy like filling surrounding the beans are said to taste like vanilla ice cream. Here's a couple of interesting links about them.

Growing The Ice Cream Bean Tree (Inga Edulis)

ice Cream Bean tree - Google Search

~JaNan

Re: What are your most Rare, Unusual, or Favorite Plants? Pictures Welcome!!!!
 

Re: What are your most Rare, Unusual, or Favorite Plants? Pictures Welcome!!!!
 

I think this could be quite an interesting thread. That's a cool plant, Jan. I have some lists somewhere of interesting plants that I have grown/would like to grow. Many are not at all rare, but are just something that most people (at least around here) have not seen. Example: I've had people ask me, when they see my bananas, "What kind of palms are they?"

Re: What are your most Rare, Unusual, or Favorite Plants? Pictures Welcome!!!!
 

John, that's the kind of things I was hoping for. Plants that are common and easy to get for me here are not in the North East or North West. Plants that are common to you are very hard to get here. And it seems like we are ALL prone to Zone pushing. We always want what we don't have! Thanks for the reply! :)

Sherry, you know if I can keep it alive you will get a cutting of it! :giveflowersnana:

~JaNan

Re: What are your most Rare, Unusual, or Favorite Plants? Pictures Welcome!!!!
 

I definitely think this is a cool thread! I dont have too many rare plants. Probably the most rare of my palms would be my Chamaedorea microspadix and Chamaedorea tepejilote. I also have lots of plumerias which are very rare around here (not even available locally), but they are very common in the tropics.

Jamacian Pointettas seem pretty rare and I have one of those. They arent great potted plants, but they did survive being indoors and I got some blooms from it last fall.

Stromanthes are common, but they seem to be kind of rare at large sizes and mine is a really big clump! Its about 7 years old and has grown a lot from the 1 gallon plant it was when I got it. I wish I had some pics to share right now, but I'll post them soon!

Re: What are your most Rare, Unusual, or Favorite Plants? Pictures Welcome!!!!
 

Re: What are your most Rare, Unusual, or Favorite Plants? Pictures Welcome!!!!
 

The Ice Cream Bean Tree (Inga edulis) is a perennial member of the bean family Fabaceae and genetically placed in the tribe Ingeae. It is native to equatorial America where its seeds are a primary source of flour and the flesh is eaten for the vanilla-like flavor. It has an extremely wide canopy and is grown commercially for shade in coffee plantations. It also grows well in temperate subtropical climates including right here in San Diego, California.

Re: What are your most Rare, Unusual, or Favorite Plants? Pictures Welcome!!!!
 

Eryngium agavofolium, Sea Holly

Re: What are your most Rare, Unusual, or Favorite Plants? Pictures Welcome!!!!
 

Crinum x Powellii Album

Re: What are your most Rare, Unusual, or Favorite Plants? Pictures Welcome!!!!
 

Brillantaisia subulugarica

Re: What are your most Rare, Unusual, or Favorite Plants? Pictures Welcome!!!!
 

I am waiting for this plant to pop.

It was discovered high in the alpine ski-zone of the Troodos Mountains of Cyprus where it is the earliest Arabis.



Apparently its a bit slow to pop, two days now.

:waving::waving:

Re: What are your most Rare, Unusual, or Favorite Plants? Pictures Welcome!!!!
 

Wow…Janan…you continue to impress me!!

Ice Cream beans are awesome!

I remember eating them growing up in Florida and Central America..but alas it has been over 35 years since I have tasted this fruit. We do have a tree growing; but last year’s horrific winter froze it to the ground. The stump sent out dozens of shoots, we have been trying to cultivate a central stem and are hopeful for a comeback.

Re: What are your most Rare, Unusual, or Favorite Plants? Pictures Welcome!!!!
 

Re: What are your most Rare, Unusual, or Favorite Plants? Pictures Welcome!!!!
 

This is a Adenium obesum aka Desert Rose with four different colors of leaves

Solid White:



Half White half Green:



White outline on green leaf:



Solid Green:



The graft shows pretty well in this picture:



~JaNan

Re: What are your most Rare, Unusual, or Favorite Plants? Pictures Welcome!!!!
 

I love Desert Roses, and that one's amazing. Must cost a pretty penny.

Re: What are your most Rare, Unusual, or Favorite Plants? Pictures Welcome!!!!
 

This is commonly called Tree Spinach or Chaya:





This has lots of health benefits eating the leaves and drinking tea made from the leaves.

~JaNan

Re: What are your most Rare, Unusual, or Favorite Plants? Pictures Welcome!!!!
 

OK so more of mine!

Cherimoya (Custard Fruit, Custard Apple):



Annona squamosa (Sugar Apple, Sweetsop):



~JaNan

Re: What are your most Rare, Unusual, or Favorite Plants? Pictures Welcome!!!!
 

jananas..interesting plant the "tree spinach/chaya"
i drink alot of tea..always on lookout for something i havent
tried..
you have made tea from your plant?
do you make from green leaves..dry leaves 1st?
i'll have to check it out..
thanks..

Re: What are your most Rare, Unusual, or Favorite Plants? Pictures Welcome!!!!
 

Nannerfunboi, I made mine from fresh green leaves. I just went and picked one good size leaf from the tree (larger than my hand). I cut it up into my cup and poured the boiling water over it. I sweetened it that first time. But now because of the flavor of the leaves, I use a bit of salt instead which makes it more like a spinach soup I guess instead of a tea. So I personally didn't like it as a tea per say. Just my opinion though. I drink a lot of different teas also.

~JaNan

Re: What are your most Rare, Unusual, or Favorite Plants? Pictures Welcome!!!!
 

Chinese parasol tree (Firmiana simplex)

Re: What are your most Rare, Unusual, or Favorite Plants? Pictures Welcome!!!!
 

RE- the chaya or tree spinach (Cnidoscolus chayamansa and acontifolius). Folks should know that the raw leaves can be toxic. They have a high hydrocyanic acid content. It is thought that cooking reduces this to safe levels.

Re: What are your most Rare, Unusual, or Favorite Plants? Pictures Welcome!!!!
 

Fun thread! We have a Chinese Parasol tree too, and love it!

This is Frankincense, Boswellia sacra




And this is Myrrh, Commiphora myrrha


It's kind of a scraggly shrub, but I love the exfoliating bark:


Now all I need is the GOLD!!! :ha::ha::ha::ha:

Re: What are your most Rare, Unusual, or Favorite Plants? Pictures Welcome!!!!
 

I gotta go with my moso bicolor running bamboo. This guy has feathery delecate leaves, and it's still getting bushier going into fall. I'm a bit surprised that it only made shoots once in the spring however I'm not too disappointed as it's rhizome growth has been pretty impressive. This is a must get for bamboo lovers.

Re: What are your most Rare, Unusual, or Favorite Plants? Pictures Welcome!!!!
 

Re: What are your most Rare, Unusual, or Favorite Plants? Pictures Welcome!!!!
 

Beautiful shot Sherry!

This is the "rarest" of my African Violets. I love it because it is "variegated" and I love it because under good light the variegation is pink!



~JaNan

Re: What are your most Rare, Unusual, or Favorite Plants? Pictures Welcome!!!!