Now I got Weeds of a Different Sort
 

I almost choked on my bubble gum when I looked up and saw this, a weed Bromeliad, yeah that's right.
http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...ps9qvu3k3e.jpg

A closer look confirms the ID.
http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...ps0k23m9hy.jpg
I'm beginning to wonder what other kinds of weeds I'm going to find around here.[other than the usual kinds of weeds that are of little interest]

It's pretty big.
My eyeball guess is that it's over 2' across.

Ok this is just not fair! Enjoy your jungle, that thing looks beautiful.

Cool! The previous owner could have stuck that up there for you to find, also.

What a delight of a discovery!

Ya' Kno' I was wondering the same because of its color being brownish rather than green
I assume that it is a hybrid not a species plant, or maybe the progeny of a hybrid. They did plant many bromeliads in many locations on the ground around the property.

I've discounted the possibility that the previous owner or the neighbor put it the tree for several reasons.

1. This is the only Brom I've found mounted in a tree except for the ones that I have mounted.

2. A while back I saw the previous owner and walked her around the property pointing out the multitude of weed orchids. I asked her if she had started them. She was absolutely amazed. She didn't know they were there. Everything she obviously did put in, orchids, tillandsias, etc. are easliy accessible from the leveled and maintained areas.

3. The tree is about 20' or more into the uncleared area. It would have needed to be put in place from a 10 to 12' step ladder to put it where it is out on that limb. The ground is rough uneven lava with a thin covering of soil, not enough to smooth it out, too uneven for the use of a step ladder.

4. Using an extension ladder against the tree you'd need to shimmy out that long thin branch to put it in place. I don't think so.

5. It is pretty close, but I think that tree is actually on the neighbor's property, just over the property line. His side is even more difficult to access that tree from. Plus, he never works out in his yard. Once every year or two he hires someone to come in and clear the weed growth from the leveled area. Basically, his house sits on a moonscape.


In spite of all that, I will ask her about it the next time I see her around. It is possible that she did put it in.

It's a volcanic island. How did life start there?

And that's the way that Bromeliad got up there, possibly. A bird pooped out a seed or carried a seedling on it's feathers. Storm winds picked it up from Hilo and dropped it on that tree.

Years and years ago, I was strolling around Villeneuve-lès-Avignon when I saw an ancient looking grape vine climbing a stone wall. I'd like to think a bird pooped a grape seed from the vineyards of the near-by Châteauneuf-du-Pape.