Sunday, January 6, 2008

Homeless

Many plants are extinct in the wild but survived in cultivation. These are usually nice looking plants that caught the fancy of horticulturists. Examples include the aluminum plant Pilea cadierei from Vietnam, the Chocolate Cosmos Cosmos atrosanguineus from Mexico and at one time the Malaysian Begonia rajah was thought to be in this category, until its rediscovery in a Johore stream near Endau Rompin National Park. Most likely the pretty Impatiens repens from Sri Lanka is also a member in this club - it has not been seen in the wild for a century already as its habitat has been destroyed.
The cool house in Singapore Botanical Garden has big clumps of this plant although I do not think it needs to be cool - mine grow wild in partial shade and wet soils. Its creeping habit and large yellow bloom has been the interests of hybridisation attempts.

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