What the heck is this plant bubble thingy?

October 28, 2012 11:03 AM

What the heck is this plant bubble thingy? It's sitting in a vase at a restaurant in Bloomington, Indiana next to some little purple flowers (probably a different plant). It's pale green and purple with little hairs on it. It's about the size of a racquetball.

Here's a picture: link

posted by ErWenn to home & garden (3 answers total)

I don't know what it is, but when it starts to dry, the pod splits open and is filled with tons of feathery, dandelion-like seeds. I received an arrangement with those in it last year, and came home to find my living room filled with fluff. Seriously, those things were every where.
posted by kimdog at 11:27 AM on October 28, 2012

Gomphocarpus. We called them "old man's scrotum" back in my days in the floral biz.
posted by Balonious Assault at 11:27 AM on October 28, 2012 [4 favorites]

Thanks! It took me longer to figure out how to upload a picture from my phone to the public internet than it did for someone to find an answer.
posted by ErWenn at 12:30 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]