If your a lover of unusual plants and amazing flowers then you can't go past the amazing Tacca integrifolia, or as it's more commonly known, the 'Giant Bat Plant'. I was in my local 'Bunnings' store last week when the excited garden attendant was almost having conniptions .....grabbing the attention of any passer-by to show off his latest prize possession! I must admit I was pretty excited too, to see this amazing flower in the decidedly 'un-tropical' surrounds of my local hardware store...... so I proceeded to take a couple of photos on my Iphone much to the joy of the proud "Bunnings-boy'.

   

                       
 Also known as the 'White Bat Plant' they are extremely unusual. There are two white bracts held aloft, while the true 'flowers' are like purple buttons hanging below. And just to complement this crazy arrangement are the long, whispy whiskers sprouting from the centre of the flower.

Tacca sp.    are a native of Malaysia so they like it warm and wet, but protected form harsh sun. In NSW it does well in shade houses from Coffs Harbour north, but protect in a shade-house in the colder months. Also be careful with watering as this plant grows from a rhizome. If it's over-watered it will die back to the rhizome completely. In temperate and sub-tropical areas it remains dormant in winter but will not die back.

There are approximately 30 species of 'Bat Plant' but the Giant is the most spectacular. So if you have a lovely shaded outdoor space or maybe a large bathroom with filtered sun this could make quite an impression....certainly more so than a plastic fern!