Dublin Zoo grows many plants, some of which come from areas of the world that do not have such cold winters!
This Farfugium japonicum giganteum (sorry, no common name) is evergreen, some of the leaves in the picture to the right are 4 years old, which is unusual for a plant that is herbaceous - most plants like this die down each winter to escape the cold.
The frost before Christmas made it collapse - frozen cells cannot be turgid, hence the stems fall down.
Only time will tell how much damage it has suffered, and how much it will grow this summer.
Another interesting plant that you will see around the Zoo is Echium pininana.
Dublin Zoo has grown these great plants for years. Echium pininana is a Giant Bugloss, from the Canary Islands and grows over 2 to 3 years to be 4 metres tall when it flowers, after which it dies.
We use it a lot and love it for its massive leaves and blue towers of flowers in summer.
However it doesn't like our cold winters - it looks hunched up to keep out of the cold. Most will recover, and flower next year, but some, especially small ones, will die.
In a way we are encouraging evolution - the hardiest plants survive, so they should hopefully have hardier ofspring!
Echium pininana is endangered in its native Canary Islands, and althoug almost a weed in California, parts of the UK, and parts of Ireland, all those populations are genetically weak, and not a lot of use as a conservation tool.
(I must apologise for the layout, I have been battling with this post for a week now and it won't come right).
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