blog: coopette.com: Totally Tropical

Totally Tropical

The sun is shining this morning, and it feels like spring might – at last – be on the way. But last week the weather was vile and we had cabin fever, so Pete and I paid another visit to The Living Rainforest near Newbury. (Our last visit was in 2007.

It was a cold day, and it was overcast and raining. We discovered that there are no lights in the Living Rainforest, so it wasn’t a good day for photography. But we also discovered that the price of an entry ticket gives you an annual pass – so we can go back for free on a better day (or several!), which is really cool. During the warmer months there are butterflies flitting about, which are absent in the winter, so that’s another reason to return.

The highlights for me this visit included:

A Marquesa palm (Pelagodoxa henryana, one of the world’s rarest palms) that was reaching for the skies. Originally from the South Pacific, it bears large edible fruits that apparently taste a bit like avocado.

A beautiful Dumb Cane specimen (Dieffenbachia), which is anything but edible as it is one of the most poisonous plants in the place, despite being a popular house plant. I’ve developed an interest in all things poisonous since reading Wicked Plants.

The Magic Bean (Mucuna spp.) is far more useful. Farmers in its native Central America use it to fix nitrogen in their soil to add fertility. It also has medicinal and edible uses.