Friday, October 14, 2011

Rumble Among the Jungle, Matches 2.29-2.32

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.


Match 2.13 to 2.16 results:

No huge surprises here. This set was 3/4 about pretty and colorful plants advancing past plants that are less pretty and colorful. In 2.13, Platycerium spp. beat Gynura aurantiaca 77 to 42, probably because when it comes right down to it, Gynura is just not a very popular plant. (It only made it into the second round because it was paired with Hypoestes phyllostachya, which people really hate, in the first.)
I'd worried about 2.14, but Schlumbergera cvv. did defeat Aloe vera like I'd hoped, and by a wider margin than I expected. The score was 78-46.

So Platycerium spp. goes against Schlumbergera cvv. in match 3.7; voting begins 18 October.

Cordyline fruticosa cvv. advances to the third round past Pachira aquatica, in match 2.15. It wasn't even close: 76 to 34.
Finally, in match 2.16, Hibiscus rosa-sinensis clobbered Mimosa pudica (sorry, Liza), 86 to 30.

On 18 October, Cordyline fruticosa cvv. will battle Hibiscus rosa-sinensis for a ticket to round 4.

And now, today's end-of-the-second-round matches.

Match 2.29
Aeonium spp. vs. Euphorbia milii (crown of thorns)

Clockwise from top: Aeonium 'Kiwi,' 'Irish Bouquet,' A. arboreum atropurpureum 'Zwartkop.'


(All Euphorbia milii cvv.)






Match 2.30
Tillandsia spp. (air plants) vs. Dieffenbachia cvv. (dumb cane)

Left side, top to bottom: Tillandsia xerographica, T. capitata 'Peach.'
Center, top to bottom: NOID, NOID, T. ionantha 'Druid.'
Right side, top to bottom: NOID, T. abdita Mexican form.


Clockwise from top left: Dieffenbachia 'Sterling,' 'Panther,' 'Camille' or 'Tropic Marianne' or something similar, 'Camouflage,' NOID.






Match 2.31
Hippeastrum cvv. (amaryllis) vs. Agave spp.

L-R: Hippeastrum NOID, Hippeastrum NOID (probably 'Apple Blossom?'), Hippeastrum NOID.
Left picture donated by Tigerdawn. Right picture is from Arpingstone, via Wikimedia Commons.


Clockwise from top left: Agave victoriae-reginae, A. americana medio-picta alba, NOID (maybe A. desmettiana?), A. marmorata.






Match 2.32
Opuntia spp./cvv. (prickly pear cactus) vs. Calathea spp./cvv.

Various unidentified Opuntia spp.; the top left and bottom right plants might be O. microdasys. Center bottom plant might be too, but a different variety.


Clockwise from top left: Calathea ornata, C. roseo-picta 'Medallion' (?), C. makoyana, C. insignis, C. zebrina.






-

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:

Joseph said...

Come on AGAVE! Get those spines out and slash those stupid hippeastrum to pieces!

Unknown said...

Wow, for once I was in the majority for everything. Maybe I am normal... maybe.

Paul said...

Hmm, methinks Joseph may be in need of counciling......

At the moment, all of my picks are leading -- how odd.

mr_subjunctive said...

Andrew Abelnas & Paul:

Well, statistically, that ought to happen once out of every sixteen times, even if your choices are completely unrelated to the final outcome. And since they are related, it should happen more often than that.

phantom_tiger said...

Gynura is very sad. Being purple and fuzzy isn't enough for you people?