“Your Arms Around Me”

[With apologies to Jens Lekman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zR3jYWXeb9w ]

Seeing these leaves in the process of “unrolling” knocked me over today! What an amazing process how these huge leaves “erupt” as a “spike” and then “unfurl”!

This plant is in the Araceae, or Arum, family:
“The leaves are alternate, simple or compound, petiolate, sometimes very large, and usually with a sheathing base. The inflorescence is a fleshy spike or spadix subtended or commonly partially enveloped by a bract or spathe which is sometimes petaloid or brightly colored” — http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/carr/ar.htm

Apparently, one of the largest collections of living Araceae is maintained at Missouri Botanical Gardens. See some of the collection: http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/gardens-gardening/your-garden/help-for-the-home-gardener/advice-tips-resources/visual-guides/aroid-collection.aspx

Family page at PhytoImages, http://phytoimages.siu.edu/cgi-bin/dol/dol_terminal.pl?taxon_name=Araceae&rank=family

Photo taken at SIUC Plant Biology Greenhouse, http://www.plantbiology.siu.edu/facilities/plant-biology-facilities/greenhouse/index.php

1 year ago (“Wildflower”): http://365project.org/rhoing/365/2013-05-01
2 years ago (“Walking to my car … *on* campus”): http://365project.org/rhoing/365/2012-05-01
3 years ago (“Mayday! Mayday!”): http://365project.org/rhoing/365/2011-05-01

[Rick Schies]

The amazing life of nature. Always makes you appreciate it the more

[sarah]

this looks very interesting fav

[Danette Thompson]

I like it!