For Halloween!! Marvel Comics Announcement

MARVEL COMICS 
PROUDLY ANNOUNCES A NEW BAT  CAVE
OPENING IN PUNA HAWAII 

(just in time for Halloween)


About three years ago I saw the most unusual black flower in a vase at a friend's house. When I admired it, she offered to give me four tiny little seedlings which I have carefully tended in the greenhouse (they would be quickly consumed by fast growing vines if planted in the jungle.)

In the meantime, however, I found a white one for sale, blooming,and bought it for Phil. Recently I noticed that one of them was blooming and since they seemed pretty well established I decided to plant them....but WHERE? They do love shade, and since so many of our ohia trees have died, finding just the right place was an issue.

Under the protective leaves of our giant Monstera I cleaned out a little "cave" area for them and planted them in a semi-circle with the white one in the middle. So, we now have an unofficial "bat cave."

The website EashGrowBulbs had this to say about the "Tacca" plant:
Spectacular. Bizarre. Tacca! Lurking in the shadows of the tropical jungles, the sinister seeming blooms of the tacca rule the shaded depths of the understory. Lush, emerald green foliage makes a beautiful backdrop for the dramatic blooms. Widely flared bracts (8-12 inches across) mimic the look of a bat's wings in flight, while the rounded lobed blooms beneath may appear to be the animal itself. Extraordinary trailing filaments remind others of a cat's whiskers, leading to other common names for this most uncommon of plants.