Nature enthusiasts displaying the T. caput-medusae, a type of air plant that requires no soil or water directly, at the Biodiversity Park in Visakhapatnam. | Photo Credit: C.V.Subrahmanyam. more-in Imagine creating a vertical garden where the plants grow without any soil, just in the atmosphere? One of the botanical oddities of the plant world, air or sky plants - as they are referred to - is making a big splash in the gardening scene worldwide. These are one the most amazing plants in nature that require no soil or water directly. Green house A little corner in the green house of the Biodiversity Park located at RCD Hospital premises in the city houses these wonders. Hailing from the wilds of Central and South America, the Southern United States and West Indies, these plants in the genus Tillandsia have the remarkable ability to absorb all the water and nutrients they need from the air. Six species of these rare and interesting plants were recently procured from Kalimpong and Kozhikode. Clustered on rocky surfaces and a few clinging on to vertical wooden poles at the Biodiversity Park, these plants instantly arrest the eye and would make you wonder how on earth plants can thrive in the air! “They are epiphytes, a species that live on other trees but are not parasites and non-invasive. These plants develop roots only for attachment on other surfaces,” said M. Rama Murty, founder and president of Dolphin Nature Conservation Society, an environmental organisation maintaining the park in association with the Visakhapatnam Urban Development Authority. Here, the four plant species are Tillandsia stricta, T. usenoides (spanish moss), T. juncea, T. bulbosa, T. ionantha and T. caput-medusae. These perennial exotic flowering plants live in the forests, mountains and deserts and have naturally been established in diverse environments such as equatorial tropical rain forests, high elevation Andes mountains, rock dwelling (saxicolous) regions, and Louisiana swamps, such as Spanish Moss (T. usneoides), a species that grows atop tree limbs. “In our Biodiversity Park, we are rearing them in the green house with filtered sunlight and periodically misting or spraying RO water, simulating forest environment with at least 60-70 % humidity,” Mr Murty said. Among the six species at the park, the Tillandsia caput-medusae is one of the most beautiful, unusual plants with an obvious bizzare and fuzzy look. “It is commonly called as octopus plant or Medusa head, named after the Greek mythological monster. It has thick tapering twisted leaves, project up and out from a bulbous base,” he said. “It’s a low maintenance plant. The sky is the limit when it comes to placing them creatively at home. And when it blooms, it’s an eye catcher,” says Ram Murty. It’s easy to clean them up and play with fresh placement without a speck of dirt to clean up later.

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