This lovely flower has been 17 months in the making.
Meet Tacca Integrifolia, the White Bat Flower.
I purchased this plant in July last year when my friend Lisa and I visited the Queensland Garden Expo and I was expecting it to flower straight away. However, a little investigating revealed these plants must be 2 – 3 years old before they produce flowers, and just like the Black Bat Flower, they can then produce 6 – 12 flowers during a season.
I’ve shared lots of photos of my Black Bat Flower and have been patiently waiting for my white one to put on a show. At least I’ve only had to wait 17 months since purchasing it and I don’t think it’s going to disappoint in any way despite being recently battered by high winds (more than a week ago) and then copping a bit of damage in the hail storm on Sunday.
Thankfully, it was only the leaves that were damaged and the emerging flower was left untouched.
Bat Flowers are some of the strangest and most amazing flowers in the plant kingdom and in the coming days (or perhaps a little longer) the flower should open fully to reveal a spectacular bloom.
I’ll post more photos as it emerges fully.
– ⋅ o ♥ o ⋅ –
AND . . . I’m thrilled there’s already another flower stalk emerging 🙂
CLARE'S COSMOS 