re aroid fascination

From: Danielle Carl <cdanielle at prodigy.net> on 1999.06.16 at 14:09:18(3446) I think I was first mainly attracted to aroids by their bizarre looking foliage like Monstera with all the slits in its leaves and the endless variation of foliage found in Philodendron. I get a kick out of owning something most people haven't seen before like the exotic looking Alocasia amazonica and A. 'Frydek' (I know some of you in warmer climates say they're common in the local garden centers but they aren't here). For me it's just coincidence that all these plants have relatively the same flower anatomy. I had an aroid collection before I knew what an aroid was. Don't get me wrong the inflorescence are very interesting from a botanical perspective and some are very beautiful like Zantadeschia and there are some Arisaema that I would love to have. I once tried talking to a teacher I took botany with about a house plant I have and she replied "I don't know anything about it, I'm not interested in captive plants". I sometimes wish that I shared her spark for native wild plants because it would seem so much easier to be satisfied with a passion where its like god is the gardener and all you have to do is appreciate the garden as much as we all should but for me a big part of the draw is tending to my "captive plants" and watching them grow. Maybe it's just the right balance of give and take to participate in the miracle of life. I fulfill the plants requirements and in return I get a sense of accomplishment out of watching them grow and fill my space with something I enjoy being around. Taken a step further plants are a part of my identity. People know me as a plant person. I think one reason why I like bizarre plants is because they're not common, if they were then they would be normal not bizarre so Being that they aren't common and they look so bizarre they must be hard to grow so I must be good at what I do to be able to grow them ;-) Ok so not all aroids are so uncommon or hard to grow but the better care you take of them the more they show they're strange attributes like the way Monstera deliciosa only puts out leaves with an increasing number of splits if you treat it right and the way many philodendrons change leaf shape only when mature. I don't know if this is what you're looking for Bob but I thought I'd take a stab at it. Gabe Thomas +More cdanielle@prodigy.net Eugene OR > ....ideas out here that I don't see shared much> anywhere-as a stimulant to response, and further,> deeper interaction...> What is it that fascinates about these plants?> How did you first become interested in them?....

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