ABC Wednesday

And the letter this week is U.

Believe me, sticking to my theme of flowers I had an Unusually hard time finding a Unique representation of the letter U in plantland.  Well, that's not quite true, the plants I found whose names begin with U were really all quite Unique, - not your usual common  garden variety that you would find in these parts......

I chose to make you acquainted with the Unicorn plant, in case you have not already met.

The Unicorn plant is also known as Devil's Claw and Martynia.

 

 

It is an upright annual herb whose preferred habitat is rich woods, slopes and moist meadows.

 

Heart shaped leaves, up to six inches wide, with large, stout stalks.

 

Flower petals are united into one bell-shaped structure, no more than three inches long and with a crooked stalk that droops laterally.  The flowers are in variable colors but usually pale to dark lavender with a yellow streak arising from the throat.

 

The fruit is edible, being similar to okra with a long beak that extends four to six inches beyond the tip, and drying into a black capsule.

 

 

The curved claw of the fruit splits open when dry, forming two hooks that catch in the fur or ears of livestock, thus the name 'Devil's Claw"

 

 

 

The plant is a medicinal herb and is used in treating health disorders like fibrositis, arthritis, rheumatism, neuralgia, gall bladder disorders, pancreas infections, muscular inflammation and other skin infections.

 

It is also used for curing pain during labour and after childbirth, and externally for treating swollen joints, sores, skin ulcers, arthritic joints and a few other skin infections.

 

Perhaps you know the Unicorn Plant in this form.....

 

All this information I obtained from Sir Google!!!

 

For more interesting tidbits about the letter U visit here, at ABC Wednesday,

with thanks to all who keep this great meme operating.