5 Unusual Plant Species at the UConn

Greenhouse

Click on the picture of Dana Ozimek, a collections horticulturist at the EEB greenhouse, to hear what she had to say about the greenhouse and its collection.

Photo courtesy of florawww.eeb.uconn.edu

The Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Greenhouse houses a very diverse collection of plants.

1.) “Miracle Fruit” Synsepalum dulcificum. When eaten, the fruit (a small red berry about 2 to 3 cm long) produced by this evergreen bush from tropical west Africa has the unique ability of preventing human taste buds from tasting sourness. The effect typically lasts 30 minutes or more.

2.) “Devil’s Tongue” Amorphophallus konjac.

Devil’s Tongue is a tuber, a relative of the potato, which is found in Asia. The plant is a popular ingredient for soups and stews in Japan and is an excellent source of fiber. The Japanese either cook the tuber or reduce it into gelatinous blocks resembling tofu.

3.) “Kola Nut” Cola acuminate.An extract from this West African native tree’s nut is used in cola drinks. Alternatively, the nut can be chewed to release the stimulants caffeine and theobromine, an alkaloid similar but lesser in affect to caffeine (theobromine can also be found in the cacao plant, which is used to make cocoa powder).

4.) “Ant Plant” Hydnophytum moseleyanum.

The ant plant, found in Indomalaysia, exists in a symbiotic relationship with ants. The plant provides shelter for ant colonies from predators and the elements within its body (which contains hollow tunnels), while the ants living inside provide the plant with nutrients from their waste and protect it from tissue damage.

5.) “Fly Bush” Roridula dentate.The “Fly Bush” possesses sticky hairs on its leaves that trap insects, but produces no enzymes for the purpose of digesting those insects. Instead, the Fly Bush holds a symbiotic relationship between it and an assassin bug, which is immune to the sticky hairs. The assassin bug eats the insects trapped in the plant and the plant in turn gains nutrients from the assassin bug’s waste.

Credits

All plant information is courtesy of the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Plant

Growth Facilities website and Dana Ozimek.

Photographs by Sam Okon