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Barringtonia

Hope I can get this out - and any replies - before my $^*(&$ machine
crashes permanently... it's been conspiring against me all week-end.

I paid a well earned visit (long story...) to my favourite garden centre on
Friday, it was filthy weather - typical Scottish November, fog, rain,
wind... so after a hurried look through the outdoor plants, I slipped
through Santa's Grotto, slunk beneath swathes of sleigh bells, crept round
silver Christmas trees and ignored 'I'm Dreaming Of A White Christmas
(don't get me wrong, I love Christmas, just not in the middle of November)
to reach the sanity of the house plant section.  There, amidst the pink
Poinsettias, scarlet Schlumbergeras and crimson cyclamens, I found a most
unusual plant...

It was un-named, so I took it to the information desk, where they did some
research for me - i.e. phoned the Buyer.  He said it was called
Barringtonia and needed to be in bright light and kept dryish.  No more
information was forth coming but I said I would research it and let them
know if I found out anything else.  There is nothing in any of my books -
and I am fairly up to date with my reading.  So I am hoping you might be
able to help...

The plant is growing from a fist sized nut, shaped like a bishop's mitre,
with the form of a coconut - hard outer case filled with a coir like
substance.  The leaves look rather like a fiddle leaf fig (F. Lyrata) about
7" long and the new growth is red.  At the moment the plant is about a foot
tall, but I would imagine it will grow much bigger - it's in a 7" half pot.
 The plant doesn't 'bleed' like a Ficus when the stem is damaged, I know, I
scratched it a little to see, as it does look remarkably like a F.Lyrata in
miniature.

I am really intrigued with it and if any one knows anything about it, you
will be helping at least 6 more people round Scotland!! - There were
another 6 plants left on the stand.

I also picked up another lovely A.V., an un-named red bi-colour, the top
two petals are a deep red, the bottom three are white, flushed red.  Most
unusual.

One other question for you all, why is it that the 3 months between the
Autumn Equinox (September) and the longest day is so much longer than the 3
months between 21st December and the Spring equinox? >vbg<  It is getting
dark here by a quarter to four, hours earlier on days like today (rain,
rain and more rain), don't know that I can manage all those dark days to
come... Even my Abultions are dropping their flowers.  I know just how they
feel!  I wish I could hibernate like my hedgehog does.  My sympathies to
everyone living north of the Tropic of Cancer :-) (think I got the right
one).

Looking forward to your replies to brighten my days.
Liz Bradbury in Blairgowrie, Scotland.
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