Black Batflower / Tacca chantrieri

I don't remember ever seeing this unusual plant before. An interesting name for an interesting plant, too. It is native to China. Taken in the ENMAX Conservatory at the Calgary Zoo on 9 April 2013. When I took my photos, I didn't realize just how much of the plant was the actual flower : ) The link below to a photo on Wikipedia shows a complete flower. Three common names for this species that I came across are Bat Flower, Cat's Whiskers, and Devil Flower. I think the "whiskers" are part of the bracts.


"These flowers are somewhat bat-shaped, are up to 12 inches across, and have long 'whiskers' that can grow up to 28 inches. There are different color types, including white and brown, both retaining the whiskers of the black variety .... Tacca chantrierei grow wild in the tropical forest in Yunnan Province, China, where they can get as tall as 36 inches (~0.91 meters). They grow best in well-drained soil and high humidity but are hardy down to -3C." From Wikipedia.

upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/89/Tacca_c...

www.rarexoticseeds.com/en/tacca-chantrieri-seeds-black-ba...