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Home » Plant Care » “Skeleton Flowers” Become Transparent When It Rains

“Skeleton Flowers” Become Transparent When It Rains

Published : August 11, 2015

30 Comments

“The “Skeleton Flower” (Diphelleia grayi), is a white woodland blossom that turns transparent when it gets wet.

The "Skeleton Flower"

source: RocketNews24

This plant can be found in three parts of the world. The plant grows on moist, wooded mountainsides in colder regions of Japan, China and the Appalachian Mountains in the United States, and it’s very easy to spot by its large, umbrella-like leaves.

The "Skeleton Flower"

source: RocketNews24

The "Skeleton Flower"

source: RocketNews24

Once it’s dry…  it turns back to white.

Watch these awesome flowers in the video below…

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Comments

  1. Cheryl Collins says

    August 16, 2018 at 7:16 am

    Are these plants sun, shade or combination lovers

    Reply
    • Mike says

      August 16, 2018 at 8:26 am

      Cheryl,

      I don’t really know, this is an article that somebody else submitted to us.

      Reply
  2. Karen [email protected] says

    August 16, 2018 at 2:50 am

    I sure hope I can find skeleton flowers that grow in the Chicagoland area. Since we have moved here from the Columbus OH place known as Canal Winchester, the number of plants I can successfully grow has completely discouraged me. Our growing season is seriously two months long, most of it seriously hot!

    Reply
    • Irene says

      August 16, 2018 at 10:49 am

      If you think it’s hot in OHIO you should stick around in GA for the summer. It lasts for about 5 months. It is a problem to be outside in 100 degree temps so the flower bed suffers. I need to find some plants that take care of themselves.

      Reply
  3. Connie says

    August 12, 2015 at 5:33 pm

    I found an article that said the Skeleton Flower grows native in Japan and the United States in the Appalachians.
    Does anyone know if they have very large leaves?

    Thanks,
    CA

    Reply
    • Deb says

      August 15, 2018 at 10:17 pm

      Also known as the Umbrella Plant, Skeleton Flowers are related to Mayapples and Fairy Wings. I could not find a nursery that carries them at this time, but I find several that had a wait list for folks to be contacted when they were back in stock.

      Reply
    • louise haddaway says

      August 16, 2018 at 12:01 am

      yes he said it had very large leaves, re-read the article it might have some tip to find that I missed.

      Reply
  4. Pati says

    August 12, 2015 at 12:53 pm

    if anyone can find these flowers the skeleton flower please let me know, I am not getting anywhere as I am looking for them.

    Reply
    • Sharon says

      August 12, 2015 at 2:45 pm

      It appears the flower is only in China and Japan. Probably not able to get it in the USA

      Reply
      • Anonymous says

        August 19, 2015 at 9:15 pm

        Mike said you can get them in the Smoky Mountain

        Reply
    • Anonymous says

      August 12, 2015 at 6:49 pm

      The article says it can be found in colder regions of Japan, China and the Appalachian Mountains in the United States, and it’s very easy to spot by its large, umbrella-like leaves.

      Reply
    • Alex says

      August 15, 2018 at 10:45 pm

      They are native to the Southern Appalachians but are the species D. cymosa. The one from Southeast Asia is D. grayi..
      D. cymosa is rather rare in the Smokies, and you can’t “get” them there, as they are very much protected there.

      Reply
    • Cheryl Collins says

      August 16, 2018 at 7:11 am

      Amazon has them

      Reply
    • Darrel says

      August 17, 2018 at 4:03 pm

      You can purchase them through Amazon.com

      Reply
  5. Catese Chaffee says

    August 12, 2015 at 9:10 am

    Can you tell us where we might buy one – I’ve looked for 2 years and when I have found them at an online nursery they always say “unavailable” just point me in the right direction!

    Thank you,
    Catese

    Reply
    • Mike says

      August 13, 2015 at 6:58 am

      Catese,

      At this point we don’t have a source for them, but if we find one, or somebody else does, we’ll post the source here.

      Reply
  6. Gill says

    August 11, 2015 at 11:52 pm

    wood love to have one . How can I get one . I live in zone 8

    Reply
    • Mike says

      August 12, 2015 at 6:50 am

      Gill,

      Try searching online.

      Reply
  7. chris says

    August 11, 2015 at 10:39 pm

    – where do you get them?

    Reply
  8. kathy says

    August 11, 2015 at 4:54 pm

    Pretty cool! These resemble what we call May Apple here in Tennessee. Only flowers grow beneath the leaves and a little green “apple” is the fruit. Squirrels like them.

    Reply
  9. alice lux says

    August 11, 2015 at 2:27 pm

    How beautiful. The wet petals look like they are made of ice. Will they grow in zone 7 or zone 9? I’d love to grow some.

    Reply
    • Sharon says

      August 11, 2015 at 2:45 pm

      Diphylleia will die back in winter. If you live in zones 4 to 9, it should survive freezing temperatures with a light layer of mulch. Plants grown in USDA zones below 4 should container garden the plants and bring them indoors at the end of summer to overwinter. Wintering pots need less water during their dormant period. Increase watering as spring approaches and acclimate the plant over several days before installing outdoors full time.

      In most cases, caring for skeleton flower plants is low maintenance. They will benefit from a diluted plant food in early spring and dead foliage should be cut off to allow new leaves to unfurl unimpeded.

      Reply
      • Donna says

        August 12, 2015 at 8:48 pm

        Thanks for the great post Sharon! I looked up Diphylleia and found nurseries that offer it for sale and learned more about the plant.

        Reply
  10. Kim wolfe says

    August 11, 2015 at 1:50 pm

    🙂

    Reply
  11. JC says

    August 11, 2015 at 12:56 pm

    Mike are there any “Skeleton Flowers” Become Transparent When It Rains left, I’d love to have one. Thanks, JC

    Reply
    • Sharon says

      August 11, 2015 at 2:43 pm

      Helo JC,
      We do not sell Skeleton Flowers

      Reply
      • Sheryl Hartnett says

        August 12, 2015 at 2:22 am

        I know you said you do not sell them, but do you know of any place we can buy them??

        Thanks!!

        Sheryl
        Southern Illinois

        Reply
        • Mike says

          August 12, 2015 at 6:50 am

          Sheryl,

          Sorry, I do not, you’ll have to search online.

          Reply
        • Darrel says

          August 17, 2018 at 4:02 pm

          Sheryl you can purchase Skeleton Flowers from Amazon.com

          Reply
  12. Trinity says

    August 11, 2015 at 12:20 pm

    Thank you for having this website! It is awesome! : )

    Reply

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