Monkeyface Plant

Solanum mammosum

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I was introduced to this strange looking plant as Monkeyface plant. It is a tropical plant native to South America. It can be grown as an annual here in zone 6 if started indoors.

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The poisonous fruit is solid and about 2 to 3 inches long. The nasty thorns are at least ¼ long. The stem here is about ½ inch thick. It is grown for its ornamental value. Here it is used in a floral arrangement.

(Arrangement by Mary Jane Risch Associate Master of Ichiyo Ikebana School)

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Solanum mammosum is also known as Nipple Fruit, Titi Fruit, Apple of Sodom, Cow’s Udder.  

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I think I like the Monkeyface name best.

More information from Electronic Flora of South Australia.

Coco Cay

I’m really off my schedule lately and I can’t see it getting any better any time soon. Outdoor gardening is done for the year. I have house plants and cuttings to take care of indoors. I watered the Amaryllis for a March bloom. I’m reading a great gardening book.

I’ll get back to all that after the holidays.

So, here’s the final installment of my vacation. Oh. how I long for warm weather and swaying palms.

When you get off the tender on Coco Cay, you are greeted with a straw market and bright multi-colored buildings. The colored buildings pay homage to the natives brightly colored buildings. Historically, members of the same family painted their homes the same color. It was a sign of family pride. The rest rooms (above) are a whimsical example.

Rocky limestone paths crisscross the center of the islet. Some of the paths are steep with a thick rope strung from tree to tree for a handrail.

About 60 permanent residents maintain the island including a cook, a nurse and an engineer. The tidy compound is behind this sign.

The remains of an old building purportedly built by slaves in the 1700’s lies next to Blackbeard’s grave.

Edward Teach, also known as the villainous Blackbeard, is said to be buried on Coco Cay. There are Blackbeard stories everywhere from Florida to the Carolinas.

–A rather gruesome tale states that Blackbeard was killed in Beaufort Inlet in North Carolina. He was beheaded and his body was thrown in the water. His head was taken to Portsmouth and hung from the top of a large pole as a warning to others. Rumor is that his skull became a ceremonial goblet for a college of William and Mary fraternity.

Any animals on the island were imported.

I only saw two - a 4’ long iguana
and a chicken.
Royal Caribbean’s signature drink, Coco Loco, is served on the beach. It is delicious – a mixture of coconut, pineapple, papaya and banana flavors in an icy slush. “Coco Loco – makes you feel good.”

With temperatures in the teens here, I wish I was sitting on a warm beach with a Coco Loco right now.

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Confession of a Plant Geek

Which would you choose? Lounging on soft a sand beach or a guided hike to look at plants? I chose the hike. I guess that makes me a plant geek.

Coco Cay in the Berry Islands lies 150 miles east of Miami and 35 miles northwest of New Providence (Nassau). Also known as Little Stirrup Cay, this little chunk of paradise oozes with the rich folklore of the Bahamas.

Bush medicine is a large part of the Bahamian culture. African slaves in the 1700’s used indigenous plants to cure everything from menstrual trouble to measles. Our guide’s grandmother set up shop every Sunday after church to treat the villagers. Grandma wasn’t above pinching children’s noses until they swallowed the unpleasant potion.

Walking and writing was difficult over the uneven limestone paths. Reading my notes is even more difficult. Most of the information below was gleaned from the internet.

Buttonwood tree (Conocarpus erectus) - bark tea used to externally treat prickly heat and inflamed eyes. Used internally for syphilis and diabetes. The gray shimmer makes this tree stand out. from Ardastra, Gardens and Zoo Conservation Center

Cactus Prickly Pear (Opuntia dillenii) - gel used for healing wounds. The ripe, red fruit can be eaten raw or baked, and can also be made into jellies and wine. All parts of this thorny plant are useful for food or medicines. from Bush Medicine booklet Raven's Voyage

Gum elemi (Turnera ulmifolia) also known as gumbo-limbo in the Bahamas - boiled bark used topically for skin sores, measles, sunburn, insect bites, and rashes or drunk as tea to treat backaches, urinary tract infections, colds, flu, and fevers. It is very important ingredient in the aphrodisiac Bush Tea called “21 Gun Salute”. from Bahamas Folk Medicines
Lignum Vitae (Guiacum officinale) is The National Tree of The Bahamas. It is called the Tree of Life, or as many old folk call it "Nigly Whitey". Extremely hard and heavy self-lubricating wood. Steeped bark is drunk as a tonic for creating energy or as an aphrodisiac. from Bahamas dot gov

Sea Grape (Coccoloba uvifera) is used for upset stomach. The roots have been used to treat diarrhea. from Ardastra, Gardens and Zoo Conservation Center

Tamarind (Tamarindus indica) Medicinal uses of the tamarind are uncountable. Here are a few:

leaves and flowers - dried or boiled, poultices for swollen joints, sprains and boils. Lotions and extracts used to treat conjunctivitis, as antiseptics, as vermifuge, treatments for dysentery, jaundice, erysipelas and hemorrhoids and various other ailments
bark - astringent, tonic and febrifuge; fried with salt and pulverized to an ash, given as a remedy for indigestion and colic; decoction is used for gingivitis and asthma and eye inflammations; lotions and poultices applied on open sores and caterpillar rashes.
powdered seeds - made into a paste for drawing boils, with or without cumin seeds and palm sugar prescribed for chronic diarrhea and dysentery.
root infusion - curative value in chest complaints and is an ingredient in prescriptions for leprosy. from Purdue Horticulture Education

Bush medicine is woven tightly in the culture of the Bahamas. It is part of the heritage of the islands. Researchers have been studying the properties of these plants for years. Who knows, maybe we are already taking something that had its beginning in the Bahamas.

Even though I missed some beach time, I'm glad I took the hike.

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Key West

An island off Key West.

Donna (of Mama Mia Days) got it right.

The pictures are indeed from Key West. This bright and colorful town has many attractions. I enjoyed my short time there topped off with a House Margarita at Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville with the other Parrot Heads.

I’ve listed the names of the places below the pictures in the last post. You can check Wikipedia for more about Key West.

Thank you Donna!

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Where Am I?

Can you guess where I am? For some of you, this may be too easy.

It’s a place with beautiful and lush small gardens. Its history is rich in the pirates and patricians, houses and hovels, palm trees and pubs. If you like to party, this is a good place for you. The following pictures should give you some hints.

Please leave a comment with your guess. I hope you enjoy the view. (See comments below the pictures for the answers. Added 12/8/10.)

Bougainvillea drapes over the fence of a private residence in Key West.

Key West Lighthouse (1847). Originally much closer to the shore but instead of the waterfront eroding away, landfill was brought in leaving the lighthouse further inland. Maintained by Key West Art and Historical Society.We passed many gardens like this in old town.

Part of the lush gardens at Hemmingway House.

Truman’s Little White House. Part of the US Naval Station Key West. President Truman spent 175 days there during 11 visits.

Hemmingway House. A wedding gift from his second wife Pauline’s uncle where he wrote “For Whom the Bell Tolls” and “Snows of Kilimanjaro” . The purportedly manic depressive Hemmingway and a few friends built a privacy wall around the house with bricks “borrowed” from the city’s paving of Duvall Street. The brick construction is a little untidy due to the consumption of large amounts of alcohol during construction. (So I’m told.)

Famous six toed cats were very friendly and everywhere at Hemmingway House.

A sign at the entrance to Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville. Great burgers and the best (house) margarita ever!

Key West harbor. The red building in the center is Key West Museum of Art & History, formerly the Old Post Office and Customshouse

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A Different Kind of Garden

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I love tropical gardens. The hot colors and lush foliage make me dream of lying in a hammock under a breezy palm tree sipping a cool drink.




But this was a different kind of tropical garden.
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The gigantic rockets and spacecrafts stand as a testament to NASA's awesome program in the Rocket Garden.


Touring the Kennedy Space Center near Port Canaveral, Florida is a humbling experience. Everything is huge – from the rockets to the 8 foot wide strips of the American Flag painted on the side of the Vehicle Assembly Building. I was awed at the ingenuity and courage of the multitude of men and women in the program as I watched the 3D movie of the Space Shuttle mission.


The shuttle Discovery waits on the launch pad for its next scheduled trip to the International Space Station on December 17, 2010. See more information about this mission here.

I wish them safe trip and good flying!

(Great educational material and other fun stuff at NASA Connect. )

Ongoing research: Osteoporosis – Astronauts lose bone mass at the rate of 1% to 2% per month. NASA research has already come up with a fast and inexpensive tool to measure the extent of bone loss without exposing the patient to radiation by analyzing the stiffness of bones. Continued NASA research may uncover ways to prevent or end this debilitating disease.

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