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Kardamom's avatar

Can plants be cute?

Asked by Kardamom (33494points) November 27th, 2013

I was at the plant nursery a few weeks ago, and my Mom and my best friend and I kept pointing out certain plants that we thought were cute.

I never really thought about it until today, when I saw some cute oxalis flowers that were closed up tight in my front yard. The blooms normally open up when the sun comes out, and close when it gets dark. I saw them first thing in the morning, and I don’t recall ever seeing them like that before. Oxalis often gets mistaken for clover. They have lovely flowers with cute Leaves. The flowers also look cute rather than pretty, when they’re Closed

I was thinking that people often refer to flowers or leaves or trees as being beautiful or pretty, but I don’t recall anybody else, except the three of us, saying that any plants were cute.

These are some examples of the plants that I thought were cute: Some Kind of Succulent and this Ruby Ball Cactus (the cactus on the left) and these Brass Buttons Flowers and these Mushrooms (technically a fungus rather than a plant) and this Pony Tail Palm

Do any of you think that certain plants are cute? If so, which ones (with pictures please) and why do you think humans would classify certain plants as cute. They don’t look like babies, or puppies or kittens, or do they? Maybe on some subliminal level?

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30 Answers

KNOWITALL's avatar

Of course they can, I LOVE my plants and talk to them. Hubs won’t let me touch them with my black thumb but some are super cute!!

OneBadApple's avatar

Dammit, @Kardamom. Now I’ll be looking out the window for the rest of the day….

thorninmud's avatar

Liverwort has a very UNcute name, but is cute as a bug’s ear.

OneBadApple's avatar

OK, by a show of hands…..“Cute”,..... or “Johnny-don’t-touch-that” scary ??

KNOWITALL's avatar

@thorninmud Awwww, and how about Lily of the Valley, I have a whole side of my house in those and they are so beautiful.

thorninmud's avatar

@KNOWITALL Oh, yeah, very cute! So are Johnny Jump Ups

glacial's avatar

These are my life right now. I think they’re pretty cute.

On the other hand, I also work with these and these, which are downright pornographic. :)

Aster's avatar

I think purple petunias are cute.

Kardamom's avatar

@downtide Those little guys are precious!

@glacial What was the first picture, it was very intriguing? The second picture didn’t seem cute, but rather majestic. The third picture looked pretty like a strawberry.

@Aster I love petunias, and the word petunia is very cute.

@thorninmud I love Johnny jump ups and they are super cute. My Mom always had those in our garden when we lived at our first house. I should get her some. Not sure why we never had them at this place. Those liverwort thingees were kind neat. They almost looked like a Fluther of you know whats!

@OneBadApple do you have oxalis too? I love it. Some people look upon oxalis as weeds, but I think they’re wonderful, mostly because they do look like shamrocks.

@KNOWITALL Lillies of the Valley are beautiful, but I wouldn’t classify them as cute.

OneBadApple's avatar

@Kardamom Oh man, I don’t know….we are in Florida, where everything looks like it could either be a weed, or maybe something you might pay for at the florist shop. I tear them out, she gets mad…..I DON’T tear them out…..she gets mad….

And ‘oxalis’ sounds like some kind of acne medicine…

glacial's avatar

@OneBadApple Oxalis is toxic in very large quantities, but quite tasty – it’s refreshing to pick and eat some while hiking or walking.

@Kardamom The first one was a conifer germinant (a baby Douglas-fir tree). The next ones were spruce seed and pollen cones (the tree’s female and male reproductive organs).

thorninmud's avatar

@glacial Oh, is oxalic acid the toxic element? Is it a relative of sorrel?

OneBadApple's avatar

I think that “toxic in very large quantities, but quite tasty” tells us all we need to know…

glacial's avatar

@thorninmud Yeah, you probably know Oxalis montana as common wood sorrel. But oxalic acid is in a lot of foods which we eat without even thinking about it. You’d have to eat a quite unreasonable amount of sorrel to have any effect.

OneBadApple's avatar

Well now I’M thinking about it, god dammit..

glacial's avatar

Heh heh.

ibstubro's avatar

Of course a plant can be cute. Well, as long as you keep them out of your nose holes.

Kardamom's avatar

@ibstubro I love, love, love those! One of my friends, who is a floral designer, uses those a lot in her arrangements. They are super, super cute!

@glacial I thought they were some type of conifer. I love pine/fir/cedar/evergreen trees. I don’t see them as cute, but something as bigger than myself in a magical/spiritual way. My brother is quite the plant expert and he’s always telling me which kind of evergreen is which, including the common name and the latin name. I honestly don’t know how he can remember all of the information, including how the trees look. He can tell ‘em all apart, when all I can see is Christmas tree!

Since I’m a bit of an artist, I really want to make for him an illustrated guide to conifers and evergreens. I know you can buy ‘em, but I want to illustrate one for him. Even though most of those kinds of trees are magnificent, he’d think my book was sweet and cute. He’d love it. OK now I’m going to try and do that for him. Thanks to all of you, but especially @glacial for inspiring me to think to even attempt to do that. I want to bust out my paints and colored pencils right this minute!

glacial's avatar

I’d love to see it, @Kardamom! Are you going to do the ones local to where he lives? Don’t forget the cones – that’s how I tell most of them apart. ;)

Kardamom's avatar

@glacial Gosh, I don’t know, probably, but the thought of the whole project just popped into my mind when you posted!!! Thank you for such a wonderful inspiration. I hope I can actually do this justice!

OpryLeigh's avatar

Yes. I think pansies are really cute.

Kardamom's avatar

@Leanne1986 And so velvety!

OpryLeigh's avatar

@Kardamom Yes. I prefer pansies to baby feet, it has to be said!!!

OneBadApple's avatar

Well, if nothing else good happens today, at least I learned what pussytoes are.

( and I don’t mind telling you….I was a little tentative while clicking on that link )

glacial's avatar

@OneBadApple It’s the pussynose you really have to be worried about.

OneBadApple's avatar

I am half Italian, so that should worry others more so than me….

Kardamom's avatar

@snowberry Those are really cute. I too hesitated to click the link, thinking I might be getting rickrolled or something : )

snowberry's avatar

Naw, I’m not mean like that.

These are even cuter. And pink.

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