Trippy Travel Photo #20 is of a ‘golden chicken fern’–aka, Cibotium Barometz–and was shot in West Sumatra, Indonesia. There were two winners of the game this time, who followed these steps in order to guess successfully.
1. Look at the Photo/Study the Details
Golden Chicken Fern
2. Guess what/where!
- What is this thing?
- And is it simply what it is–or does it have some sort of purpose?
- Where was I traveling when I saw it?
To win, you must answer all 3 questions or come really close! (Feel free to get ideas from others’ comments.) And if you have no idea, it’s OK to make up silly answers. That’s fun, too!
3. Check back later!
- Post your guesses here in the Comments Section (tweets and FB comments don’t count–sorry)
- Keep checking and guessing as the guessing gets good…
- See who won…maybe it will be you!
*Note: Facebook friends who may have seen this photo (if I posted it at some point) are disqualified from playing. If you share the game with other friends, I’d greatly appreciate it!
The prize?
A mention of your name and a link to your site from within this post (which is good for Google/SEO, etc.)
The winners are…
Mark G, whose Flicker page can be found here and Rick W, owner of a great B &B in Bali–link here. Normally, there’s just one winner, but this time, we had two.
The answer: Golden Chicken Fern (Cibotium Barometz)–West Sumatra, Indonesia
Unusual, isn’t it? And really hard to figure out. I was actually happy when Mark guessed what it was since I was having trouble googling my own darn photo! Anyway, according to forestferns.co.uk, cibotium means ‘a small box often used to hold medical remedies’ and barometz means ‘lamb’ and refers to the woolly rhizome.
It’s an interesting plant because up above, it’s a fern and down below, it’s this mass of pseudo chicken hair.
Can’t get enough?
Enjoy viewing visually unique/disorienting photos? And learning about various destinations around the world? Here are all of the Trippy Travel Photos–guesses and winners–on one page for your convenience. Enjoy!
Well, to begin with the “What?” I haven’t got a clue but my wife looked at it and said, “Oh, it’s a type of cactus plant.”
“Where?” I will guess the North American continent
Hello, Robert. Cool to see you playing again. You’re definitely one of the ‘regulars.’
Please tell your wife that her guess is quite good! Yes, this is some sort of plant. It might be a cactus. Believe it or not, I’m not sure yet. I’ve been working hard to find out what kind it is. Anyway, I will let you know when I learn more…
Meanwhile, the only part of the answer that’s wrong is the location. Keep trying?
Hi, Robert. Turns out this unique plant is actually the lower part of a fern. It does seem a bit cactus-like. Would you believe that I had a hard time figuring it out? Fortunately, when one of the players guessed it, I googled his answer and got confirmation. This was hard for everyone!
Anyway, check back soon and I’ll have a complete explanation of what the heck it really is!
It looks like a lock of a lady’s hair?? Am I right??
Great guess, but…no.
Try again? 
I believe It’s a golden chicken fern (Cibotium Barometz), Not sure if it’s pot grown in that pic, if so then I would assume you are in your garden. If you have gone to where it is native then you are either in Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan or China!
Hi, Mark. Thanks for playing! Your answer re: ‘what’ is, I believe, correct (even I wasn’t 100% sure)! That is not the location, however. I was in Indonesia. Still, you got half of it, so I’m going to declare you one of two winners caught in a tie! Congratulations!
I believe it is some sort of a chicken fern and am guessing
Sumatra only because I know your recent travels as depicted in your blog. Credit to Mark for his guess for the plant but I am confident he missed it on location.
Hi, Rick. Congratulations–you are officially one of two winners (caught in a tie)!! It is some sort of chicken fern and the photo was taken in Sumatra. Thanks for playing!!
I was going to guess some kind of wool but I’m seeing now that it’s cactus. I find that kind of crazy. That is one trippy cactus.
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Hi, Ava. I agree–it’s crazy. It’s actually a fern that seems a tiny bit cactus-like. Anyway, the full answer is coming soon, with winners listed. Thanks for playing!
It looks like a lock of goat hair, is it?