plants

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Science

Timelapse of Dormant ‘Rose of Jericho’ Plants Exploding to Life After Exposure to Water

The Rose of Jericho (Selaginella lepidophylla) is a species of desert moss that has the amazing ability to ‘resurrect’ itself after bouts of extreme dehydration lasting months or even years. After just a few hours of exposure to moisture the plants burst to life, uncurling from a tight ball of dry leaves to a green flower-like shape. Videographer Sean Steininger shot this timelapse of several plants as he exposed them to water. (via Cause, Science!)

Update: Apparently a few places sell these plants online.

Design

Makoto Azuma Uses the Stratosphere as a Backdrop For His Latest Floral Art

Last week Japanese botanic artist Makoto Azuma attempted to go where most artists only dream of going: to space. In a project titled Exbiotanica, last week Azuma and his crew traveled to Black Rock Desert outside Gerlach, Nevada. In the dead of night Azuma’s project began. The team launched two of Azuma’s artworks – a 50-year old pine suspended from a metal frame and an arrangement of flowers – into the stratosphere using a large helium balloon. The entire project was documented, revealing some surreal photographs of plants floating above planet earth. “The best thing about this project is that space is so foreign to most of us,” says John Powell of JP Aerospace. “So seeing a familiar object like a bouquet of flowers flying above Earth domesticates space, and the idea of traveling into it.” (syndicated from Spoon & Tamago)

Art Photography

Eye Heart Spleen: Human Organs Made from Flowers and Plants by Camila Carlow

Lungs

This delicate series of sculpted plants is part of a project by artist Camila Carlow titled Eye Heart Spleen. The photographic project is comprised of 13 images representing human organs constructed from plants and flowers. From Carlow’s statement about the project:

The most fascinating and intricate of biological structures, yet we rarely pay heed to the organs inside our body. Regardless of whether we fill ourselves with toxins or nourishing food, whether we exercise or not—our organs sustain us, working away effortlessly and unnoticed.

In a similar way, plants flourishing in the urban environment are a testament to nature’s indifference to our goings on. They grow out of the sides of buildings, in brick walls and between the cracks in concrete, despite of the traffic and pollution.

Camila Carlow is a Guatemalan-born artist based in Bristol, England, and she works in a range of mediums from photography and painting as well as cinematography. Several of the Eye Heart Spleen photos are available as prints in her shop. (via Sweet Station)

Intestines

Heart

Eye

Kidneys

Art Design

Man Spends 13 Years Transforming a Hedge into a Massive Dragon

Photo © Damien Mcfadden

Plant care comes in many forms. For some of us it’s enough to keep a few potted plants hanging on for dear life on a windowsill, while others indulge in the joy of pushing lawnmower around every few weeks, or maybe even keeping a garden. But John Brooker of Norfolk had a horticultural vision unlike the rest of us. For the past 13 years he’s hacked and trimmed and molded the 150ft-long (45.7m) hedge outside his Frizzleton Farm property into a massive dragon complete with flowing tail and wings. Photographer Damien McFadden (also on Facebook) recently stopped by to snap these fantastic photos of Brooker at work. All images courtesy the photographer. (via Neatorama, BBC)

Photo © Damien Mcfadden

Photo © Damien Mcfadden

Photo © Damien Mcfadden

Photo © Damien Mcfadden

Photo © Damien Mcfadden

Photo © Damien Mcfadden

Design Science

Unearth the Secrets of the Green Kingdom with the ‘Plants’ App from Tinybop

You might remember an awesome app mentioned here a few months ago from the creative team over at Tinybop called The Human Body. The educational app takes you deep inside the, erm, bowels of the human body using artwork from illustrator and designer Kelli Anderson. Less than a year later we get to see the latest addition to Tinybop’s Explorer’s Library series, Plants.

The educational title lets you explore two interactive dioramas (forest and desert) illustrated by Marie Caudry where you learn about the lifecycle of plants and how they interact with the rest of the world. Tundra and grassland biomes coming soon.

Tinybop also invited Anderson back in a partnership with Daniel Dunnam to create this paper stop motion short to promote Plants. Download the app here here. (via Colossal Swissmiss)

Design

Ultra Small Bonsai Plants Give New Meaning to the Word Miniature

What happens when you apply of love of small things to an art form that’s already all about small things? In recent years Bonsai—Japan’s art form of growing miniature trees in miniature planters—has undergone a miniaturization trend. Industry experts consider bonsai plants less than 3 cm (about 1 inch) to be particularly difficult, but artists have taken on the challenge, creating tiny plants and tiny planters that, literally, are at your fingertips. It’s given rise to a new category, known as cho-mini bonsai, or ultra-small bonsai.

It’s no secret that the Japanese excel at making things smaller, whether it’s automobiles, electronics or food. In fact, Japan’s love of small things can be found in literature dating back over a 1,000 years. When it comes to the land of the rising sun, it’s clear that beauty comes in small packages.