Hello again an welcome to the first Geek Of The Week in 2010. This week its all about Avatar and alien plants.

So I’m at the theaters watching avatar again, this time in IMAX, and I’m just geeking out on all that is Avatar. What really stands for me in this film are the Environments. The forest created by Weta is just amazing. It has so much life. When I say life I mean it feels as thought there are little things packed in every nook and cranny like a real deal Rain forest here on earth. While the animals were very well done I was really enjoying the plants. The plants in this film remind me a lot of the what you would find in the ocean. It seems that in this world the plants and animal life found underwater are above ground.

The image above reminds me of this scene in the movie where Jake Sully is walking in the forest and he sees giant flesh colored plants of different sizes packed in this area. When he touches one of the plants or animal it retreats back into a little tube like structure. As one goes they all start retreating like a domino effect. The other cool thing about this forest that reminded me of the ocean was all the bioluminescent plants and animals there were.

So this got me thinking of what kind of weird strange plant life do we have here on earth that many people have probably never seen. I was not surprised that we do have some very strange plants the seem almost alien in their design lifestyle. These plants do not follow the typical stereotypes of what you normally think of when it comes to plants.

Rafflesia:

Rafflesia is a parasitic plant that is found in the Indonesian rain forest. The plant is strange in that it has no leaves, stem, or true roots. Scientists say true roots because it does have something like a root that burros into a vine. This is how the plant gets its nutrients. Don’t ask me why this thing is not called a root but for some reason the botanists feel that it is not. The only part of the plant that is visible are the huge flower petals. This lovely flower is giant. What do I mean by giant. Well it can reach sizes of almost 4 feet in diameter and way up to 22lbs. A flower this size should smell pretty good, NOT. This thing smells of rotting flesh that drives the insects crazy and they just have to have it. Some animals like to eat fruit of this flower as well. Yum!

Titan Arum:

While reading about Rafflesia I found out about the Titan Arum or Corpse flower. The Titan Arum also goes by another name, Amorphophallus titanum. This name is Greek and basically translates into Penis Flower, or Penis Vagina flower. The Greeks don’t like to beat around the bush, pun intended. The Corpse Flower is found on the outskirts of  the Sumatran rain forest in the open grassy areas. This plant of many names is pretty damn big too. They can measure 10 feet in circumference and have blooms that tower to 9 feet high. They can weigh in at 200lbs. Like the first giant flower this one also smells of rotting flesh.

Welwitshia:

The Welwitshia plant pretty weird. This thing is found in the Namibian deserts. This think will grow only two leaves and has a stem that instead of growing taller just gets wider. Welwitshia is very good at living in the desert by being able to survive up to 5 years without any water. This plant also has a very long lifespan being able to live upward of a thousand years. The one nice thing about this plant it that it does not smell like rotting flesh and is apparently very tasty. Some of the locals call this plant the onion of the desert.

Codariocalyx motorius:

Lets just call this the Telegraph Plant unless its easier for you to say the above name. This Plant is really neat in that it dances, which is one of its other nicknames, Dancing grass. The Telegraph plant has the ability to move its leaves in order to best align them with the sun to achieve the best photosynthesis. While all plants move during the day to track the sun this one is unique in that the movement is quick enough to see with the naked eye and not with time lapse photography. When I watch the video I am just waiting for the plant to get up and walk away. You can find this plant in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

Dracaena:

So your probably saying wow all this weird shit and now you post a tree? Well yes this looks like a semi regular tree that you would find in Africa. That is all fine and normal. So why is this tree so cool? Well this tree has another name, the Dragon Blood Tree. Is you interest getting piqued yet? Well the dragon blood tree got its name from the sap it secretes which is red like blood. That is why this ordinary looking tree is in this list.

Mimosa Pudica:

Mimosa pudica or the Shy plant is pretty neat. Like the Plans in avatar this thing will retreat its leaves if touched. That’s all I have to say about this plant. Watch the video.

Nepenthes Attenboroughii:

This plant does not have another nickname yet. The reason being is that it was only recently discovered in 2007 on an expedition in the Philippine Archipelago. These common looking pitcher plants are bigger than normal. They are so big that small rodents will meet their doom if they get to curious about the content inside the pitcher. Well what is inside that these rodents and insects want? This plant has a very sweet nectar inside that is very incising. If a rodent or insect decides to investigate they quickly realize that this is the last thing they will be doing. The inside of the pitcher plant is coated with a very slippery wax. These rodents and insects will tire and later drown inside the plant. Once this happens the acids and enzymes inside the plant break down its catch. The only thing to remain will be bones. I guess its just a matter of time before these things become people sized.

Adansonia:

Adansonia or more commonly called the Baobab tree. These are found in Madagascar, Africa, and Australia. These trees always look like the aftermath of Giants trying to have sex with the earth but since the earth spins so fast well you get the idea. These trees are definitely funny looking but funny looking for a reason. This reason is because of their amazing ability to store water. The Baobab tree can store up to 300 liters of water inside. When it rains these things start drinking and swell up in size. They have a life span of about 500 years. Some trees are suspected of being over a thousand years old but no one is for sure since the trees do not make growth rings.

This is by far not the be all end all list of strange alien like plants here on earth. This is just a small list of some of the ones I found to be most interesting. While they may not all be as neat and pretty as Avatar’s plants there are still so many cool things out there in our own world. Until next week I’m Street Fece and I’m OUT!