I mentioned in my last post that not many of the plants in the Palm House at Torre Abbey in Torquay had labels. Of course the one I fell in love with was one of those without identification.
Trouble is, I want it. I really want it.
Any ideas?
It was the sight of those exquisite flowers which first caught my attention. I’ve never seen flowers weeping before.
Now those of you with a delicate disposition had better look away, as I’m about to show you quite the most eye-popping and frankly embarrassing seed capsules I’ve ever seen.
In case you wanted a closer gawp at those…
You can look again now. Here’s a more calming photo of the leaves.
It was about 5ft high or so, and multi-stemmed – a sort of loose clump, I suppose. I am deeply smitten, so if anyone out there knows what it is and can introduce me, I will be eternally grateful.
Sally Nex 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asclepias_physocarpaFrom Africa, so warm temperatures required.
That's it! Thanks Rob! The pics on the Wikipedia entry aren't that convincing but then I looked here: http://www.succulent-plant.com/families/asclepiadaceae/asclepias.htmland if you scroll down to the bottom, there it is.Plus a wierd fact – those seedheads are filled with a silky down. It's too short for weaving, but they used it to fill lifejackets in World War II. Betcha didn't know that.Anyway – now I just have to find someone who will sell it to me…
Interesting stuff! Bet they had a giggle when they were harvesting the silky down.Please inform us when you find a plant, my lifejacket looks like it could do with a bit of extra filling!