String of Hearts
Ceropegia woodii
We may be in the midst of winter, but there are still plenty of plants in Crawfordsville worth getting excited about. String of hearts is a tropical vine that makes a great greenhouse (or house) plant. Stop by Hays Hall and check it out! Named for its heart-shaped dangling leaves, this member of the milkweed family is currently producing its tiny but very interesting flowers. Flies are attracted by the flowers' scent and are lured down the mauve-colored tube formed by the petals. The tube is lined with downward-pointing hairs that trap the fly until they wither, at which point the insect has invariably come into contact with clumps of pollen. Compliant flies will fall into the same trap on another plant, facilitating cross-pollination.