Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

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Katuk egg stir-fry: quick n fun exotic recipes. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Katuk egg stir-fry: quick n fun exotic recipes

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The only animal that laughs. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

The only animal that laughs

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When plants cross into the Gothic: the Darker Bat Lily. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

When plants cross into the Gothic: the Darker Bat Lily

Black Bat Lily (Tacca chantrieri)

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:

#Nature_Wonders #Shade_Garden #Container_Garden

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Advantage of a rainy day. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Cat Philemon in a swing

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Helicopter flower Madhavi - the Spring Herald that clings to a Mango Tree. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Hiptage benghalensis - Helicopter Flower, Madhavi, Spring Herald, flower close up

Hiptage benghalensis - Helicopter Flower, Madhavi, Spring Herald, flower close up

Hiptage benghalensis - Helicopter Flower, Madhavi, Spring Herald, flower

Hiptage benghalensis - Helicopter Flower, Madhavi, Spring Herald, flower

Hiptage benghalensis - Helicopter Flower, Madhavi, Spring Herald, seeds

Hiptage benghalensis - Helicopter Flower, Madhavi, Spring Herald, seeds

Hiptage benghalensis - Helicopter Flower, Madhavi, Spring Herald, flowers on the bush

Hiptage benghalensis - Helicopter Flower, Madhavi, Spring Herald, flowers on the bush

🚁 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. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Mango chili salt bites

Mango chili salt bites

🍴 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. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Cat Timo sits where he fits at TopTropicals

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💖 Featured Variety: Lolita Surinam Cherry

Freshly harvested Lolita Surinam cherries, dark purple to black, on a plate.

The Lolita is a special form of Surinam cherry. Fruits ripen nearly black, turning sweet and rich without the resinous bite of the common red type. The taste is often compared to a mix of grape and cherry with a tropical twist.

  • Fruit Season: Mainly spring into early summer, often with a smaller second crop in fall
  • Plant Size: Usually 6–8 ft in the ground, 4–5 ft in containers
  • Container Friendly: Thrives in larger pots, stays compact with pruning
  • Pollination: Self-fruiting — no partner tree needed

Health Benefits

  • High vitamin C content for immunity and skin health
  • Antioxidants that help reduce inflammation
  • Fiber to support digestion
  • A versatile kitchen fruit — eaten fresh, made into jams, sauces, or desserts

Shop Lolita Surinam Cherry

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One bite, your whole day of vitamin C: Barbados Cherry that outdoes oranges! A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Malpighia glabra - Barbados Cherry, Acerola

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