Thursday, September 29, 2011

Rumble Among the Jungle, Matches 1.33-1.36

Rules and Stuff
1) It's probably possible to vote more than once per poll, but please don't. If I believe that someone is voting repeatedly, I will throw out those results, repost the poll, and seriously question that person's priorities.
2) If you want to link to a poll on Twitter / Facebook / your blog / whatever and encourage your friends to come and pump up the support for your favorite plants, you are encouraged to do so.
3) You are also encouraged to leave comments on Rumble posts, if so moved.
4) All photos will enlarge if opened in a separate window/tab.
5) You can choose which plant is "best" according to whatever criteria you decide for yourself. My personal process is a bit convoluted.1
6) All polls will be open for three days.


Results for matches 1.17 to 1.20:

In match 1.17, Senecio rowleyanus and S. radicans got off to a strong start, but were soon overtaken by Phalaenopsis/Doritaenopsis cvv., ultimately losing by a score of 46 to 67.
Match 1.18, on the other hand, was about as unambiguous as it's possible for a match to be, with Monstera deliciosa clobbering Musa/Ensete cvv. 88 to 19. I'm a little puzzled about this, but hey, I voted for Monstera too, so.

Phalaenopsis and Monstera will face one another in match 2.9, on October 9.

By contrast with 1.18, match 1.19 has been a seesaw since it began, with Sansevieria cylindrica taking an early lead over Mammillaria spp., then falling behind, then regaining. In the end, Sansevieria managed a mere three-vote victory, 55 to 52, the closest margin so far.
Araucaria heterophylla's victory over Chamaedorea elegans in match 1.20 was never in doubt, though. Its votes have outnumbered Chamaedorea's by about a 2-to-1 margin since the poll opened, and it's won with more or less the same proportions, 69 to 40.

Sansevieria cylindrica and Araucaria heterophylla will also square off on October 9, in match 2.10.

And now the new matches for the day.

Match 1.33
Dionaea muscipula (venus flytrap) vs. Pilea mollis 'Moon Valley'

(Both Dionaea muscipula.)


(Both Pilea mollis 'Moon Valley.')






Match 1.34
Ardisia crenata (coral berry) vs. Aeschynanthus spp. (lipstick plant, goldfish plant)

(All are Ardisia crenata.)


Clockwise from top: Aeschynanthus lobbianus or A. radicans, A. longicaulis, A. speciosus.






Match 1.35
Aechmea fasciata (silver vase plant) vs. Rhapis excelsa (lady palm)

Top left: Aechmea fasciata emerging inflorescence. Others: non-blooming plants.


(Both Rhapis excelsa.)






Match 1.36
Coffea arabica (coffee plant) vs. Spathiphyllum cvv. (peace lily)

Coffea arabica, same plant when about 1-2 years old (L) and 4-5 years old (R).


Center and left top: Spathiphyllum NOID, possibly 'Golden Glow.' Bottom left: NOID, possibly 'Domino.' Top right: NOID, possibly 'Sensation' or 'Mauna Loa.' Bottom right: NOID.






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1 I'm deciding according to a hypothetical situation in which all of my houseplants are gone, as are all the other houseplants of the world, except for one producer/supplier/retailer. Said person is offering to restock me with one or the other of the plants in question but refuses to give me both. Which one would I choose?


5 comments:

Long Haired Lady Rider said...

Wow, the palm is getting crushed *sniff*

mr_subjunctive said...

Long Haired Lady Rider:

True, but the Ardisia's getting it even worse.

Long Haired Lady Rider said...

Oh, well, that's because it's up against a Gesneriad, which is perfectly understandable, if lamentable.

phantom_tiger said...

I'm still getting pictures in my head of plant political campaigns and maybe a signs on my lawn saying "Vote Coffee Plant" or "Coffea arabica is the plant that works for you."

What does the winning plant get anyway? Will we all have to buy one? (if we don't already have one or maybe even if we do)

mr_subjunctive said...

phantom_tiger:

The campaign-signs idea amuses me.

I've been thinking of them more like a sporting event, though. Football or boxing[1] or whatever.

As for what the winning plant actually "wins," well, pretty much nothing, though I suppose it gets bragging rights as the "best" houseplant. If you want to buy one of whatever it turns out to be, though, I won't try to stop you.

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[1] The mental association with boxing was probably unavoidable, because of the tournament's name.