Many traditions have come and gone to mark the arrival of shorter, darker winter days. Halloween is one which celebrates the end of summer, the end of the harvest and the honoring of the dead. Here in Florida, our longer summers bewitch me into easily forgetting that fall is here, but thankfully my neighbors reminded me with their whimsical and ghoulish Hallo-ween displays. Their grinning ghosts, witches and jack-o-lanterns prompted me to explore my yard for haunting signs of Halloween.

Lurking in the corner of my lanai is my potted devil’s backbone shrub aka: Pedilanthus tithymaloide. Despite its name, this 3-foot high succulent with its zig-zag stem and red bracts is easy to grow. It is a relative of the poinsettia and likes full sun to part shade. Where this plant gets its devilish due is with its poisonous white sap. Its beauty will tempt you, but make sure you wear gloves and don’t allow children or pets to eat it.

Another beautiful succulent masquerading as a gentle plant in my yard is the agave desmettiana. It is considered a smooth, dwarf agave that when planted in the ground only grows to 3 or 4 feet unlike the century agave plant which has spiny leaves that can grow to 10 feet. The agave desmettiana is a drought tolerant, light loving plant that blooms only once in its lifetime, sometime between 8 and 10 years. Its ghoulish reputation comes from its gruesome ability to draw blood from even the most cautious of gardeners. Beware the description of its “smooth” leaf margins. This dramatic, eye catching plant is possessed with a sharp, stabbing, red spine at the tip of its leaf which can be exorcised to protect innocent trick-or-treaters passing by.

A visually interesting Halloween plant that I don’t recommend for the Florida garden is the Darth Vader plant, aka Aristolochia salvadorensis, a pipevine native to Brazil. It has been described as a “rambunctious” climbing vine that will require vigorous pruning. Although its blooms resemble the spooky, hooded image of Darth Vader, they only last about a week. In that time, they emit a putrid stench similar to rotting zombie flesh that invites pollinators to fly into its “eyes.” Once captured, they are covered with pollen and finally released to pollinate again.

Instead of the Darth Vader plant, you may want to consider a native species of Aristolochia commonly known as dutchman’s pipe for its flower’s resemblance to a tobacco pipe. The native species: Aristolochia tomentosa Sims and Aristolochia macrophylla Lam are host plants for the beautiful pipeline swallowtail or blue swallowtail butterfly. This butterfly is recognized for its blue iridescent hind wings. Beware confusing the native dutchman’s pipe plant with its exotic cousins who have a dark side; they are toxic and a death trap to the swallowtail larvae. These grim reapers are the Aristolochia gigantic, aka pelican flower; the Aristolchia elegans, aka calico flower, a Category II exotic invasive; and the Aristolochia ringens, aka gaping dutchman’s pipe. They may disguise themselves as Florida friendly but they are true monsters!

So, my phantom readers, in honor of All Hallows’ Eve, explore your enchanted gardens and remember, “In every garden there is a child who believes in the seed fairy.” — Robert Brault

Deborah Haggett is a member of the Garden Club of Cape Coral and a Lee County Master Gardener Volunteer

Sources:

https://gcrec.ifas.ufl.edu/GCREC-Garden/docs/pdf/Devils_Backbone.pdf

https://floridanativegarden.wordpress.com/2017/09/02/florida-native-aristolochia-and-the-exotic-species-to-avoid/