Plants

From Lostpedia

The Island is home to a wide variety of plants. They have figured directly into the storyline of Lost on several occasions.

Contents 1 Trees 2 Shrubs 3 Flowers 4 Medicinal plants 5 Vegetables 6 Building material 7 Weaponry 8 See also

Trees

• Banyan trees, also known as "strangler figs" (Ficus benghalensis), start their life as an epiphyte when its seeds germinate in the cracks and crevices on a host tree, or on structures like buildings and bridges.
  • Banyan trees have been repeatedly featured, usually as shelter from danger such as polar bears or the Monster. ("Exposé")
  • Karl was hiding in a banyan tree close to the Others' encampment. ("The Man Behind the Curtain")
  • Charlie was hanged by Ethan Rom from a banyan tree. ("All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues")
• Among the vegetation are fruit-bearing mango, papaya, and guava plants. There are also bananas, passionfruit, coconuts, and carambola up on the hill. They all have been used as food by the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815. ("Hearts and Minds")
• A tree was used by Kate, Sayid, and Locke to traverse over the sonar fence. ("Par Avion")
• A tree was marked to indicate Ethan's old drop-off point of medicins. "One of Us".
• Objects have been found overhead in trees, such as the bodies of Seth Norris and Nadine, Charlie's guitar, and Henry Gale's balloon. The plot device used is that the object is nowhere to be seen, but a character has not thought yet to look straight up.

Shrubs

• The entrances to the Arrow, the Staff, and the Swan were covered by an overgrowth of plants.

Flowers

• Ben told Locke that Anthuriums marked the location of the hidden elevator to the Orchid station. ("There's No Place Like Home, Part 1")
  • Dave leads Hurley through a patch of Anthuriums while heading to the cliff. ("Dave")
  • Mr. Eko talked to Yemi in a field of Anthuriums. ("The Cost of Living")
• In 1977, Sawyer surprised Juliet with a bouquet of sunflowers ("LaFleur")

Medicinal plants

• Sun created a garden. ("Hearts and Minds")
  • Sun created a plant remedy of crushed eucalyptus leaves to help Shannon overcome an asthma attack. ("Confidence Man")
  • A notable plant in Sun's garden is the Aloe vera. Sun used aloe plants like toothpaste ("Walkabout") and to treat rashes. ("Solitary") Eko treated cuts with aloe leaves ("...And Found") and Jack applied them on Juliet's mark. Aloe vera, also known as the medicinal aloe, is a species of succulent plant that probably originated in Northern Africa. Aloe vera grows in arid climates and is widely distributed in Africa and other arid areas. The species is frequently cited as being used in herbal medicine. There have been many scientific studies of the use aloe vera, some of it conflicting. Despite these limitations, there is some preliminary evidence that Aloe vera extracts may be useful in the treatment of diabetes and elevated blood lipids in humans. These positive effects are thought to be due to the presence of compounds such as polysaccharides, mannans, anthraquinones and lectins. Also cures falling hair and wounds.("Stranger in a Strange Land")
• Locke's drug that he used to send Boone into a hallucinogenic state was derived from plants. ("Hearts and Minds")

Vegetables

• In 1977, Juliet prepared a meal using carrots, peppers, cucumbers, eggplants, mushrooms, tomatoes, and lettuce. ("LaFleur")

Building material

• The rafts built by Michael were made of bamboo. ("Special")
• Mr. Eko made a stick with Bible verses from a branch on the beach. ("Orientation")
• Sawyer is carried on a makeshift stretcher made of sticks. ("Abandoned")
• Mr. Eko built a church out of logs. ("Fire + Water")

Weaponry

• Ana Lucia killed Goodwin with a stick. ("The Other 48 Days")

See also

• Animals
• Garden