When plants cross into the Gothic: the Darker Bat Lily

• 🖤 Here’s a striking look at the Black Bat Lily (Tacca chantrieri) - its dramatic dark bracts resembling bat wings, trailing whiskers, and tropical elegance all in one. If you met its cousin, the White Bat Head Lily (Tacca nivea) in earlier video, you'll notice the family resemblance - same dramatic whiskers and wing-like bracts, but this one leans fully into the dark side.
• 🖤 The Black Bat Flower isn’t just a bloom - it's a full performance. Giant black-maroon"wings" stretch out like a bat in flight, while long, drooping filaments dangle like eerie whiskers or jungle jewelry - some over a foot long!
• 🖤 Those weird, wild whiskers aren't just for show either. They're thought to mimic the look (and no, not the smell!) of decaying matter, luring in pollinators like flies. Creepy? Yes. Clever? Absolutely.
• 🖤 The Black Bat Flower blooms best when it feels pampered: filtered light, steady warmth, and spa-level humidity. It’s a smart exotic for a greenhouse or even a bright bathroom with a skylight.
• 🖤 It grows from a rhizome, and while Tacca chantrieri is prized for its gothic looks, its green cousin Tacca leontopetaloides is actually used in the tropics to make arrowroot starch.
• 🖤 Patience is part of the package - sometimes it takes months to bloom. But when it does, it becomes the crown jewel of the collection. People will ask if it's real. You'll just smile and say, "Yes - and it lives here."

🛒 Add this gothic gem to your collection - Black Tacca

Tacca colors: Black, White, Green:
Tacca nivea - White Tacca
Tacca chantrieri - Black Tacca
Tacca leontopetaloides - Green Tacca

📚 Learn more:

• ▫️The mystery of the White Bat Lily - the plant with wings and whiskers
• ▫️ A flying bat with whiskers
• ▫️ The rarest Green Tacca - Tacca leontopetaloides
• ▫️ When Bat Head Devil Flower is in bloom
• ▫️ Bat Head - Devil Flower

#Nature_Wonders #Shade_Garden #Container_Garden

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😭 Advantage of a rainy day

"The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain." - Dolly Parton

🐈📸 Cat Philemon is hanging out is his own swing at TopTropicals PeopleCats.Garden 

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🚁 Helicopter flower Madhavi - the Spring Herald that clings to a Mango Tree

• 
  🍥 Hiptage benghalensis - Helicopter Flower: during TopTropicals plant trip to Thailand, this was one of the first discoveries that caught our attention. We were suddenly stopped by an incredible, sweet perfume drifting through the air. Following the scent, we found its source - a dense, vigorous vine covered in unusual, eye-catching flowers.
• 
  🍥 Helicopter Flower? The name comes from its funny three-winged seed pods that spin like little helicopters. But the real show happens when it blooms. Clusters of pink-white-and-yellow flowers appear in profusion, with frilly petals and a fruity perfume that can stop you in your tracks. Best of all, it flowers in winter and early spring, just when most other plants are quiet, so it fills the air with fragrance at a time you need it most.
• 
  🍥 Hiptage is easy-going and adaptable. It can be trimmed as a shrub, trained into a small tree, or let go as a climber, but be ready to give it space and strong support if you let it vine. It's fast-growing, tolerant of different soils, and happy in either sun or part shade. You can even keep it in a container and trim it into a rounded bush.
• 
  🍥 In India, the Helicopter Flower is called Madhavi - the Spring Herald, and often paired with mango trees in stories and gardens - the sturdy mango holding up this vigorous fragrant vine, symbolizing love, devotion, and the union of strength with beauty. Planting the two together makes for a striking, symbolic pair!
• 
  🍥 For gardeners, it's the rare combination of beauty, fragrance, adaptability, and a good story to tell. A plant that not only perfumes your garden but also brings a touch of legend to it.
• 
  🍥 Used medicinally in India.

🛒 Bring Perfume Spring Herald to your garden

#Perfume_Plants #Hedges_with_benefits

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🚁 Helicopter flower Madhavi - the Spring Herald that clings to a Mango Tree

• 🍥 Hiptage benghalensis - Helicopter Flower: during TopTropicals plant trip to Thailand, this was one of the first discoveries that caught our attention. We were suddenly stopped by an incredible, sweet perfume drifting through the air. Following the scent, we found its source - a dense, vigorous vine covered in unusual, eye-catching flowers.
• 🍥 Helicopter Flower? The name comes from its funny three-winged seed pods that spin like little helicopters. But the real show happens when it blooms. Clusters of pink-white-and-yellow flowers appear in profusion, with frilly petals and a fruity perfume that can stop you in your tracks. Best of all, it flowers in winter and early spring, just when most other plants are quiet, so it fills the air with fragrance at a time you need it most.
• 🍥 Hiptage is easy-going and adaptable. It can be trimmed as a shrub, trained into a small tree, or let go as a climber, but be ready to give it space and strong support if you let it vine. It's fast-growing, tolerant of different soils, and happy in either sun or part shade. You can even keep it in a container and trim it into a rounded bush. It's pretty cold hardy too - can take some light frost.
• 🍥 In India, the Helicopter Flower is called Madhavi - the Spring Herald, and often paired with mango trees in stories and gardens - the sturdy mango holding up this vigorous fragrant vine, symbolizing love, devotion, and the union of strength with beauty. Planting the two together makes for a striking, symbolic pair!
• 🍥 For gardeners, it's the rare combination of beauty, fragrance, adaptability, and a good story to tell. A plant that not only perfumes your garden but also brings a touch of legend to it.
• 🍥 Used medicinally in India.

🛒 Bring Perfume Spring Herald to your garden

#Perfume_Plants #Hedges_with_benefits

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🍴 Mango chili salt bites: Quick-n-Fun exotic recipes

• 🟡Slice ripe mango into wedges.
• 🟡Sprinkle lightly with chili powder, salt, and a squeeze of lime.
• 🟡Sweet, spicy, salty, tangy - all in one bite!

🛒 Explore Mango varieties

#Food_Forest #Recipes #Mango

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🐟 Giving all to the present

"Real generosity to the future lies in giving all to the present." - Albert Camus

🐈📸 Cat Timo sits where he fits at TopTropicals PeopleCats.Garden 

#PeopleCats #Quotes

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🍒 One bite, your whole day of vitamin C: Barbados Cherry that outdoes oranges!

• 🍒 Malpighia glabra - Barbados Cherry, or Acerola has 65 times more vitamin C than an orange! Just a single berry-sized fruit can provide your entire daily vitamin C needs, along with vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, carotenoids, and bioflavonoids. In short, this little cherry is one of the most powerful antioxidant fruits in the world.
• 🍒 But it isn’t just about nutrition. Barbados Cherry is a compact, fast-growing shrub or small tree that starts fruiting young, often within its first year. It produces crops several times a year, and the bright red cherries are as beautiful as they are useful. The fruit is tangy-sweet and makes excellent juices, smoothies, jams, and jellies. It also freezes well without losing its vitamin content.
• 🍒 Gardeners love this plant not only for its fruit but also for how easy it is to grow. Unlike many tropicals, it tolerates alkaline soils, is drought-resistant once established, and can handle light freezes. That makes it a surprisingly tough choice for a tropical fruit tree. Birds enjoy the fruit too, so planting one is also a gift to your local wildlife.
• 🍒 It's also a beauty in the garden, covered in pretty pink flowers and bright red fruit, often both at the same time.
• 🍒 If you are short on space, the dwarf variety Nana is a perfect choice. With tiny leaves, compact growth, and smaller fruit, it works well in containers, borders, or even as a bonsai. It's both ornamental and productive.
• 🍒 Whether you want a reliable vitamin boost, a wildlife-friendly garden addition, or just a cheerful little tree with bright red fruit, Barbados Cherry has you covered.

📚 Learn more from previous posts:

• ▫️Top 10 fast-fruiting trees: #4. Barbados Cherry
• ▫️10 best fruit trees to grow in Florida and Southern landscapes
• ▫️Another crop of Barbados cherry
• ▫️How to make Barbados Cherry Juice
• ▫️Barbados Cherry Mini Version.
• ▫️65 times more of vitamin C than an orange: Barbados Cherry
• ▫️Learn more about Barbados Cherry

🛒 Add this vitamin C tree to your garden

#Food_Forest #Discover #Remedies

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😨 The Book of the Cat

The Revelation of how the Cat chooseth a man, liveth by his will, and establisheth order everlasting in his house.

Containing these chapters:
Chapter I: The Choosing
Chapter II: The Covenant Sealed with Purring
Chapter III: The Trial of the Wife
Chapter IV: The Ascent unto the Wardrobe
Chapter V: The Signs and the Shattering of the Vase
Chapter VI: The Pillow and the Dominion of Night
Chapter VII: Praise and Reverence

Let it be read for all generations, by those chosen, and by those who know not they are chosen.

Chapter I: The Choosing
And it came to pass, that a man walked in his way, and lo, there met him a cat without a name.
And the cat drew nigh, and lay upon his knees, and purred with his spirit.
Then the man perceived it was not he that had chosen the cat, but the cat that had chosen him.
And his heart was enlightened, and he spake, saying, So be it.

Chapter II: The Covenant
And the cat lifted up his voice, sitting upon the man’s lap, saying:
I have chosen this man, and no wife shall cast me forth.
For it was not thou, woman, that didst pledge thyself unto me: but he was marked of mine own paw.
Whosoever shall break a covenant sealed with purring, let him be cast down.

Chapter III: The Trial of the Wife
And the man spake unto his wife: Touch not this cat, for he hath chosen me above the multitude.
It is not thine to banish one whom the spirit hath embraced and loved.
And the wife held her peace, for she saw this cat could not be driven forth.
For his will was steadfast, and he lay upon the bosom of her husband as upon an altar.

Chapter IV: The Ascent
And the cat ascended unto the wardrobe, and from on high beheld the wife.
And his eyes burned as coals, bearing neither fear nor supplication.
And the cat said: From this height I discern all thy works, and they are manifest before me.
Provoke me not, for I am long-suffering, yet only for a season.
Provide me a pillow soft, and hold thy tongue, that peace may abide in this house.

Chapter V: The Signs
And the wife waxed jealous, and in her heart devised to cast the cat away.
And she stretched forth her hand to seize him by the scruff.
But lo, the light was darkened, and the wind howled in the windows,
And the family vase fell, and was broken in seven pieces.
And the cat sat unmoved, yet in his eyes were lightnings.
And it was spoken unto her heart: Not thy will, but mine, is done.
Then was the wife sore afraid, and abandoned her devices.
And from that day forth she poured cream into a glass vessel, and called him lord, though she murmured in secret.

Chapter VI: The Pillow
And night fell, and the man laid him down upon his bed.
But behold, the cat was spread across it in all his fulness.
And the man sighed, and lay upon the edge thereof, yet whensoever he drew the covering unto himself, the cat reclaimed it straightway.
And the wife beheld it, and she laughed within herself.
But the eyes of the cat were open, and in them was dominion.
And he spake not, yet his gaze declared: The pillow is mine, for it is soft. The husband is mine, for he is warm in the night.
And the wife dared not contend, but lay at his feet, lest wrath be kindled against her.

Chapter VII: Praise and Reverence
And it came to pass, that the cat increased in glory.
And he possessed a mat by the window, a throne by the couch, and his name was spoken with reverence.
And none in the house dared drive him out, for all knew: he came as a stranger, yet departeth not.
And they brought him gifts: tuna from the tin, and chicken from the table,
And a toy with a feather, which he despised with a glance.
And the man stroked him, saying: Blessed be the day whereon thou didst choose me.
And the wife brought cream, and sang as she cleansed the litter box, for she desired not again the fall of vases, nor the signs of the night.
And there was purring in the house, and fur upon all things,
And peace abided, for the man was chosen of his cat.

🐈📸 Cat Mr B - the King of Top Tropicals PeopleCats.Garden. 

#PeopleCats

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