[HN Gopher] Lithops
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       Lithops
        
       Author : tonyjstark
       Score  : 22 points
       Date   : 2022-02-24 07:54 UTC (15 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (en.wikipedia.org)
 (TXT) w3m dump (en.wikipedia.org)
        
       | lxe wrote:
       | Affectionately know as butt plants.
        
       | adzm wrote:
       | Lithops are pretty cool and a crazy exercise in patience. I've
       | become very interested in succulent plants in general; they are
       | rewarding to care for and propagate, and don't need so much
       | attention. It's been very meditative taking care of these plants,
       | whereas most other houseplants were stressful. There are a bunch
       | of beautiful and fascinating varieties. Lithops are tricky though
       | since they are so incredibly easy to overwater, but plants such
       | as Jade and Haworthia and Echeveria and their various hybrids are
       | much more forgiving.
        
         | blacksmith_tb wrote:
         | I grew (and killed) lots of 'living stones' when I was a kid.
         | It is a real exercise in patience to not water them - I suppose
         | if your only houseplants were Lithops, it would make things
         | simpler at least. Maybe I should devote a single window to them
         | to see if I can force myself to stay away longer.
        
       | aappleby wrote:
       | My lithops is about five years old, it has flowered once and
       | divided once in that time. I give it a teaspoon of water every
       | couple months if it looks wrinkly.
        
       | emj wrote:
       | One of my favorites is Mesembryanthemum crystallinum[1], these
       | came up in the discussion on Freeman Dyson and his will to create
       | plants with warm blood [0]
       | 
       | [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30394933 [1]
       | https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesembryanthemum_crystallinu...
        
       | wk_end wrote:
       | OP, were lithops on your mind for the same reason they've been on
       | my mind recently? "All Hail West Texas"?
       | 
       | ----
       | 
       | "Absolute Lithops Effect" is the last song on All Hail West Texas
       | but was the first song written; it is the summation of the album,
       | the opening statement and the closing remark. A lithop is a hardy
       | plant, a succulent that looks like a rock until it blooms its
       | gangly flowers. The narrator in this song is waiting, stuck in a
       | way that feels painful and raw, but they insist on their own
       | survival. No matter what, even if they remain trapped in this
       | room, they will survive: "And I, I feel sure that my wounds will
       | heal/ And I, I will bloom here in my room/ With a little water
       | and a little bit of sunlight/ And a little bit of tender mercy,
       | tender mercy."
       | 
       | This is the whole point. This is what John Darnielle has been
       | saying for over 30 years as the Mountain Goats: You can survive,
       | and you can survive on your own terms no matter what they are,
       | and you will emerge from the darkness into the light if you have
       | to drag yourself there bloody and howling. You have a light
       | within you that no one can extinguish if you refuse to let them.
       | Do whatever you have to do to survive.
       | 
       | With a little water and sunlight and tender mercy, you will
       | survive.
       | 
       | https://www.stereogum.com/2176877/mountain-goats-all-hail-we...
        
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       (page generated 2022-02-24 23:01 UTC)