Every day this week, i have received an email with a photo of an unknown plant. "What's this?" the sender asks.
If i gave them the plant, i know the answer, but about once a week, i get a total oddball. "My daughter was out for a walk in the city where she lives, and she wants to know what this is."
I recognized the "tongue," so that's what i googled: Dragon's tongue. Yes, that's exactly what it is: Dracunculis vulgaris. Well, it is rather vulgar. One well-known catalog markets it as the Dracula plant. It smells like rotting meat in order to attract pollinating flies. Well, that's one way to make a living.
Sometimes, it's difficult to recognize one of our own rotten feelings. This is where a therapist comes in handy to help us articulate what that mushy, don't-quite-know feeling, really uncomfortable feeling is.
Meditation is great for de-stressing, but sometimes it dredges up some rotten stuff that we buried long ago in hopes of never having to deal with it. But we can't go around it. We have to go through it, and going through it mindfully often discharges it bit by bit.
Dragon's tongue may rivet my attention, but i don't think i want one in my garden.
I have two related arums in the garden: Amorphophallus paeoniifolius (Elephant Yam) and Amorphophallus konjac (Leopard Palm). I guess I could not resist the idea of having 'Voodoo Lilies' dotting the landscape.
ReplyDeleteI don't think they are very happy here. The Elephant Yams blooms every two or three years (maybe that's normal) and A. konjac has not bloomed in years (thankfully, as it is very scary). One might be inclined to meditate on the value of air freshener.