My Lamma Forums

[Lamma-Gung]

I've just found this fruit in the Lamma Forest above Pak Kok Village. I don't recall ever seeing one like this before, it's 11 inches long!

Anybody got an idea what it is?

I wonder if I can get this fruit to grow in my new rooftop garden?

[Lamma-Gung]

An Alert Reader and nature lover has just replied to my query:

"Did you know the pods in the middle image of your story 'Harvest Season in the Lamma Forest' possibly contains poisonous seeds? if indeed it is the same plant ... From Hong Kong Shrubs (Hong Kong, 1976), p. 93:

Strophanthus divaricatus
Common name: Goat's Horns

'The seeds of this species are probably very poisonous as other related tropical species yield an active poison, strophanthine, which has been used for poisoning arrows.'

and from http://74.125.153.132/search?q=cache:gTtlzhQuabUJ:www.hkmj.org/article_pdfs/hkm0810p405.pdf+Strophanthus+divaricatus+toxic&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=hk&client=firefox-a:

'Besides Rhododendron, more than 100 toxic plants have been identified in Hong Kong and some are extremely poisonous. Among them, Datura metel (洋金花), Strophanthus divaricatus (羊角拗), Gelsemium elegans (斷腸草) and Strychnos angustiflora (馬錢子) are collectively known as the ‘Top Four Toxic Plants’ (四大毒草) in Hong Kong.' See below.

(at least three of which are found on Lamma! Not sure about Gelsemium Elegans.)"

After this email, I couldn't resist to open my Goat's Horns seed pod, of course. I compared the look of the leaves with some Internet photos of Goat's Horns and it's this exact plant alright, but it's not ripe yet and the seeds haven't fully formed yet, it seems.

A really nice discovery in the Lamma Forest! Has anybody has seen this somewhere else on Lamma, easy to spot as they grow so huge, mine is over 11 inches long. Fortunately, I resisted the temptation to taste this seed pod, one of the ‘Top Four Toxic Plants of HK'!

[Lamma-Gung]

It's prime growing and bug season, but we're getting so few Flora & Fauna pictures these days.
Whatever happened to anonymous_guy, Zep, Harry_Li & friends? All of them too busy to shoot wildlife these days?

Show off your best shots in this Flora & Fauna forum to your fellow Lammaites!

[zep]

Yes, too busy, loo lazy (insert more excuses here) and it's just too hot! However, point taken. We'll be out and about when the weather gets a bit cooler. More people taking photos of wildlife would be good too.

I did hear a rumour of an exciting new bird in Yung Shue Long valley, never before photographed in this forum, so keep an eye open for news.

Meanwhile, to keep the pot boiling, here is a picture of a frangipani I grew from seed I gathered from that old tree that had dark red flowers at the bottom of Yung Shue Long valley opposite the current waste tip, (the tree is, alas, no more). The seeds were planted 3 or 4 years ago and this small tree is in a pot on my rooftop. I'd been waiting to see what the flowers were like as the flowers of some young trees grown from the same seeds that I gave to friends were red but had no smell (like the parent), while others were fragrant and yellow. This one is different again - the flowers are mainly white/yellow, with a beautiful pink tinge around the edges and in the centre, and a very strong sweet scent. Isn't sexual reproduction wonderful!