Cute but not so cuddly

Yesterday I posted about the fuzzy purple Salvia leucantha flowers and how I'd like to make slippers out of them. I think I do not want to make slippers out of these:

They're the seedpods of Castor bean, Ricinus communis 'Carmencita'. I typically remove these pods because they are quite heavy and tend to bend or break the branches. The plant is quite tall (about 9') so these are too high to reach easily now, so they remain.

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Although they look quite prickly, they're not too bad since they're a bit soft while still red. Once they dry and turn brown, that's a different story. Plenty prickly at that point.

They're quite beautiful, yet somewhat garish with their nearly flourescent reddish-pink color.

I usually don't like them too much since they're a little too "hot" for my tastes, and I think they detract from the deep, mellow color of the plant's large leaves:

Today though I'm seeing the spiky pods differently. Today I'm looking at them up close and seeing them not for what they contribute to the look of the whole plant, but for what they provide alone.

I have to admit, they're quite nice. I wonder if it's the texture of them that I like today, or the color?

Well, these Datura seed pods are similar:

They do have some appeal for me, but not quite as much as the Castor bean pods. Which is strange because I usually go for the more subdued and earthy colors. (This green is definitely more subdued than flourescent red, wouldn't you agree?)


So maybe it is a combination of the texture and color that I'm attracted to today. These green pods are pretty cool though... this one has burst to release the seeds:

It doesn't seem like it's ready to do this yet. I mean, it's still green! Doesn't it need to ripen in some way or turn brown first? (Can you tell that I haven't grown these before?)

These are much pointier and more painful to hold than the Castor bean pods. Not that I'll be holding either of them very much.

Yeah, as cool as these are I'm definitely not going to be making any slippers out of either of these.