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Plants Glossary A-Z:

Achillea, Yarrow

Achillea millefolium (yarrow or common yarrow) is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, which is grown in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. In New Mexico and southern Colorado, it is called plumajillo, or "little feather", for the shape of the leaves.

Fun fact: Stories about yarrow feature in traditional Chinese culture. For example, it is said to grow around the grave of Confucius.

Ageratum, Floss Flower

Ageratum houstonianum (flossflower, bluemink, blueweed, pussy foot, Mexican paintbrush) syn. Ageratum mexicanum Hort. is a cool-season annual plant often grown as bedding in gardens. The plant grows to 0.3–1 m high, with ovate to triangular leaves 2–7 cm long, and blue flowers (sometimes white, pink, or purple). The flower heads are borne in dense corymbs. The ray flowers are threadlike, leading to the common

Alyssum, Sweet

Lobularia maritima syn. Alyssum maritimum, common name sweet alyssum or sweet alison, also commonly referred to as just alyssum (from the genus Alyssum in which it was formerly classified) is a species of low-growing flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae.

The genus name Lobularia comes from the a Greek word meaning "small pod", referring to the shape of the fruits. The name of the species

Amaryllis

Amaryllis is a small genus of flowering bulbs, with two species. The better known of the two, Amaryllis belladonna, is a native of South Africa, particularly the rocky southwest region near the Cape. For many years there was confusion amongst botanists over the generic names Amaryllis and Hippeastrum, one result of which is that the common name "amaryllis" is mainly used for cultivars of the genus Hippeastrum,

Antirrhinum majus

Antirrhinum majus (common snapdragon; often - especially in horticulture - simply "snapdragon") is a species of flowering plant belonging to the genus Antirrhinum. It is native to the Mediterranean region, from Morocco and Portugal north to southern France, and east to Turkey and Syria. The common name "snapdragon", originates from the flowers' reaction to having their throats squeezed, which causes the "mouth" of the flower to snap open like a dragon's mouth.

It is an herbaceous perennial plant, growing to 0.5–1 m tall, rarely up to 2 m. The leaves are spirally arranged, broadly lanceolate, 1–7 cm long and 2-2.5 cm broad. The flowers are produced on a tall spike, each flower is 3.5-4.5 cm long, zygomorphic, with two 'lips' closing the corolla tube; wild plants have pink to purple flowers, often with yellow lips. The fruit is an ovoid capsule 10–14 mm diameter, containing numerous small seeds. The plants are pollinated by bumblebees, and the flowers close over the insects when they enter and deposit pollen on their bodies.

Though perennial, the species is often cultivated as a biennial or annual plant, particularly in colder areas where it may not survive the winter. Numerous cultivars are available, including plants with lavender, orange, pink, yellow, or white flowers, and also plants with peloric flowers, where the normal flowering spike is topped with a single large, symmetrical flower.

Aster

Aster (syn. Diplopappus Cass.) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. The genus once contained nearly 600 species in Eurasia and North America, but after morphologic and molecular research on the genus during the 1990s, it was decided that the North American species are better treated in a series of other related genera. After this split there are roughly 180 species within the genus, all but one being confined to Eurasia.

Fun fact: The Hungarian revolution of 31 October 1918, became known as the "Aster Revolution" due to protesters in Budapest wearing this flower.

Article excerpt is from Wikipedia.org under the Creative Commons License.

Astilbe

Astilbe is a genus of 18 species of rhizomatous flowering plants, within the family Saxifragaceae, native to mountain ravines and woodland in Asia and North America. Some species are commonly known as false goat's beard, and false spirea.

These hardy herbaceous perennials are cultivated by gardeners for their large, handsome, often fern-like foliage, and dense, feathery plumes of

Azalea

Azaleas (pron.: /əˈzeɪliə/) are flowering shrubs comprising two of the eight subgenera of the genus Rhododendron, Tsutsuji (evergreen) and Pentanthera (deciduous). Azaleas bloom in spring in the Northern hemisphere and in winter in the Southern hemisphere, their flowers often lasting several weeks. Shade tolerant, they prefer living near or under trees.

Azaleas differ from rhododendrons in being generally smaller and having one blossom per stem rather than blossom clusters. They have more seeds in the fruit.

Plant enthusiasts have selectively bred azaleas for hundreds of years. This human selection has produced over 10,000 different cultivars which are propagated by cuttings.[citation needed] Azalea seeds can also be collected and germinated.

Aztec marigold

Tagetes erecta, the Mexican marigold, also called Aztec marigold, is a species of the genus Tagetes native to Mexico and Central America. Despite its being native to the Americas, it is often called African marigold. In Mexico, this plant is found in the wild in the states of San Luis Potosí, Chiapas, State of México, Puebla, Sinaloa, Tlaxcala, and Veracruz. This plant reaches heights of between 50–100 cm (20–39 in). The Aztecs gathered the wild plant as well as cultivating it for medicinal, ceremonial and decorative purposes. It is widely cultivated commercially with many cultivars in use as ornamental plants.

Its flower, the cempasúchil is also called the flor de muertos ("flower of the dead") in Mexico and is used in the Día de los Muertos celebration every 2nd of November. The word cempasúchil (also spelled cempazúchil) comes from the Nahuatl term for the flower zempoalxochitl, literally translated as "twenty flower". In Thai language it is called DaoRuang, literally translated as "star glittering".[citation needed] Water infused with the fragrant essential oil of the flower was used to wash corpses in Honduras, and the flower is still commonly planted in cemeteries.

Since prehispanic times, this plant has been used for medicinal purposes. The Cherokee used it as a skin wash and for yellow dye. Scientific study shows that thiophenes, natural phytochemicals that include sulfur-containing rings, may be the active ingredients. They have been shown to kill gram negative and gram positive bacteria in vitro.[citation needed] This marigold may help protect certain crop plants from nematode pests when planted in fields. It is most effective against the nematode species Pratylenchus penetrans.

Balloon Flower

Platycodon grandiflorus is a species of herbaceous flowering perennial plant of the family Campanulaceae, and the only member of its genus. This species is known as platycodon or Chinese bellflower. Depending upon the region, it is also referred to as the Japanese bellflower, common balloon flower, or balloon flower (referring to the balloon-shaped flower buds).

Basil, Sweet

Basil, or Sweet Basil, is a common name for the culinary herb Ocimum basilicum, of the family Lamiaceae (mints), sometimes known as Saint Joseph's Wort in some English-speaking countries.

Basil, originally from India, but thoroughly familiar to Theophrastus and Dioscurides, is a half-hardy annual plant, best known as a culinary herb prominently featured in Italian cuisine, and also plays a major

Bee Balm

Monarda didyma (crimson beebalm, scarlet beebalm, scarlet monarda, Oswego tea, or bergamot) is an aromatic herb in the family Lamiaceae, native to eastern North America from Maine west to Ohio and south to northern Georgia.

Its odor is considered similar to that of the bergamot orange (the source of bergamot oil used to flavor Earl Grey tea). The scientific

Begonia, Tuberous

Tuberous begonias (Begonia × tuberhybrida Voss) are a group of Begonia cultivars, regarded as some of the most spectacular of the genus.

One of the first hybrids produced was B. x sedenii in 1870, a cross between B. boliviensis, collected by botanist Richard Pearce and a species from the Andes. Another species from Peru, B.davisii (named after Walter Davis), was also used in early breeding.

Black-Eyed Susan

Rudbeckia hirta, the Black-eyed Susan, with the other common names of: Brown-eyed Susan, Brown Betty, Brown Daisy (Rudbeckia triloba), Gloriosa Daisy, Golden Jerusalem, Poorland Daisy, Yellow Daisy, and Yellow Ox-eye Daisy. It is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is an upright annual (sometimes biennial or perennial) native to most of North America, and is one of a number of plants with the common name

Blazing Star, Gayfeather

Liatris spicata, the dense blazing star or prairie gay feather, is an herbaceous perennial plant native throughout most of eastern North America.

It is commonly grown in gardens for its showy purple flowers (pink or white in some cultivars). All spikes of purple flowers appear in July and August.

Bleeding Heart

Lamprocapnos spectabilis (formerly Dicentra spectabilis); also known as old-fashioned bleeding-heart, Venus's car, Lady in a bath, Dutchman's trousers, or Lyre-flower is a rhizomatous perennial plant native to eastern Asia from Siberia south to Japan. It is a popular ornamental plant for flower gardens in temperate climates, and is also used in floristry as a cut flower for Valentine's Day. It usually has red

Brassica oleracea

Brassica oleracea is the species of plant that includes many common foods as cultivars, including cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, Brussels sprouts, savoy, and Chinese kale. In its uncultivated form it is known as wild cabbage. It is native to coastal southern and western Europe. Its tolerance of salt and lime and its intolerance of competition from other plants typically restrict its natural occurrence to limestone sea cliffs, like the chalk cliffs on both sides of the English Channel.

Wild B. oleracea is a tall biennial plant, forming a stout rosette of large leaves in the first year, the leaves being fleshier and thicker than those of other species of Brassica, adaptations to store water and nutrients in its difficult growing environment. In its second year, the stored nutrients are used to produce a flower spike 1 to 2 metres (3–7 ft) tall bearing numerous yellow flowers.

B. oleracea has become established as an important human food crop plant, used because of its large food reserves, which are stored over the winter in its leaves. It is rich in essential nutrients including vitamin C. Although it is believed to have been cultivated for several thousand years, its history as a domesticated plant is not clear before Greek and Roman times, when it was a well-established garden vegetable. Theophrastus mentions three kinds of rhaphanos (ῤάφανος): a curly-leaved, a smooth-leaved, and a wild-type. He reports the antipathy of the cabbage and the grape vine, for the ancients believed cabbages grown near grapes would impart their flavour to the wine. It has been bred into a wide range of cultivars, including cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and more, some of which are hardly recognisable as being members of the same genus, let alone species. The historical genus of Crucifera, meaning four-petalled flower, may be the only unifying feature beyond taste.

Buddleja davidii

Buddleja davidii (spelling variant Buddleia davidii), also called summer lilac, butterfly-bush, or orange eye, is a species of flowering plant in the family Scrophulariaceae, native to Sichuan and Hubei provinces in central China, and also Japan. It is widely used as an ornamental plant, and many named varieties are in cultivation. B. davidii, named for the Basque explorer in China, Father Armand David, who first noticed the shrub, was found near Ichang by Dr Augustine Henry about 1887 and sent to St Petersburg. Another botanist-missionary in China, Jean-André Soulié, sent seed to the French nursery Vilmorin, and B. davidii entered commerce in the 1890s.

B. davidii is a vigorous shrub with an arching habit, growing to 5 m (16 ft) in height. The pale brown bark becomes deeply fissured with age. The branches are quadrangular in section, the younger shoots covered in a dense indumentum. The opposite lanceolate leaves are 7 – 13 cm long, tomentose beneath when young. The honey-scented lilac to purple inflorescences are terminal panicles, < 20 cm long. Flowers are perfect (having both male and female parts), hence are hermaphrodite rather than monoecious (separate male and female flowers on the same plant) as is often incorrectly stated. 2n = 76.

Buddleja davidii cultivars are much appreciated worldwide as ornamentals, but perhaps more so for the value of their flowers as a nectar source for many species of butterfly. However, this species is not able to survive the harsh winters of northern or montane climates, being killed by temperatures below about -15 to -20 °C (5 to -4 °F). Even if not killed to the ground, the shrub is usually hard-pruned to just above the lowest pair of leaf buds, ie. to within 15 – 25 cm of the ground, in spring once frosts have finished, as the younger wood is more floriferous. Deadheading is also of great value, in extending a flowering season otherwise limited to about 6 weeks, although the flowers of the second and third flushes are invariably smaller; the practice also reduces the nuisance of self-seeding. USDA zones 5 – 9.

Bugloss, Siberian

Brunnera macrophylla (Siberian bugloss, heartleaf) is a species of flowering plant in the family Boraginaceae, native to the Caucasus. It is a hardy, rhizomatous, herbaceous perennial, with basal, simple leaves on slender stems. Sprays of blue flowers, similar to forget-me-nots (a related species), are borne in Spring.

The plant is valued as groundcover in shady areas, with clumps of large

Butterfly Weed

Asclepias tuberosa is a species of milkweed native to eastern North America. It is a perennial plant growing to 0.3–1 metre (10 in–3 ft 3 in) tall, with clustered orange or yellow flowers from early summer to early fall. The leaves are spirally arranged, lanceolate, 5–12 cm long and 2–3 cm broad.

This plant favors dry, sand or gravel soil, but has also been reported

Buxus sempervirens

Buxus sempervirens (common box, European box, or boxwood), is a species of flowering plant in the genus Buxus, native to western and southern Europe, northwest Africa, and southwest Asia, from southern England south to northern Morocco, and east through the northern Mediterranean region to Turkey. Buxus colchica of western Caucasus and B. hyrcana of northern Iran and eastern Caucasus are commonly treated as synonyms of B. sempervirens.

Buxus sempervirens is an evergreen shrub or small tree growing to 1–9 m (3 ft 3 in–29 ft 6 in) tall, with a trunk up to 20 centimetres (7.9 in) in diameter (exceptionally to 10 m tall and 45 cm diameter. Arranged in opposite pairs along the stems, the leaves are green to yellow-green, oval, 1.5–3 cm long, and 0.5–1.3 cm broad. The hermaphrodite flowers are inconspicuous, greenish-yellow, with no petals, and are insect pollinated; the fruit is a three-lobed capsule containing 3-6 seeds.

The species typically grows on soils derived from chalk, limestone, usually as an understorey in forests of larger trees, most commonly associated with Fagus sylvatica forests, but also sometimes in open dry montane scrub, particularly in the Mediterranean region. Box Hill, Surrey is named after its notable box population, which comprises the largest area of native box woodland in England.

Caladium

Caladium is a genus of flowering plants in the family Araceae. They are often known by the common name elephant ear (which they share with the closely related genera Alocasia, Colocasia, and Xanthosoma), Heart of Jesus, and Angel Wings. There are over 1000 named cultivars of Caladium bicolor from the original South American plant.

The genus Caladium includes seven species, which are indigenous to

Callicarpa americana

Callicarpa americana (American beautyberry) is an open-habit, native shrub of the Southern United States which is often grown as an ornamental in gardens and yards. American beautyberries produce large clusters of purple berries, which birds and deer eat, thus distributing the seeds.

The raw berries, while palatably sweet, are suitable for human consumption only in small amounts, because they are astringent; they are also used in jellies. The roots are used to make herbal tea. As a folk remedy it has been claimed that "fresh, crushed leaves of American beautyberry, Callicarpa americana . . . helped keep biting insects away from animals such as horses and mules." An isolated plant compound, callicarpenal, has reportedly been proven effective in tests as a mosquito repellent.

The native range of C. americana extends from Maryland to Florida, west to Texas and Arkansas, and also Mexico, Bermuda, the Bahamas and Cuba.

Calluna vulgaris

Calluna vulgaris (known as common heather, ling, or simply heather) is the sole species in the genus Calluna in the family Ericaceae. It is a low-growing perennial shrub growing to 20 to 50 centimetres (7.9 to 20 in) tall, or rarely to 1 metre (39 in) and taller,[2] and is found widely in Europe and Asia Minor on acidic soils in open sunny situations and in moderate shade. It is the dominant plant in most heathland and moorland in Europe, and in some bog vegetation and acidic pine and oak woodland. It is tolerant of grazing and regenerates following occasional burning, and is often managed in nature reserves and grouse moors by sheep or cattle grazing, and also by light burning.

Referred to as Erica in all the old references, Calluna was separated from the closely related genus Erica by Richard Anthony Salisbury, who devised the generic name Calluna from the Greek kallunein, "to sweep up", in reference to its traditional use in besoms. The specific epithet vulgaris is Latin for 'common'. Calluna is differentiated from Erica by its corolla and calyx each being in four parts instead of five. Calluna has small scale-leaves (less than 2–3 mm long) borne in opposite and decussate pairs, whereas those of Erica are generally larger and in whorls of 3-4, sometimes 5. The flowers emerge in late summer; in wild plants these are normally mauve, but white-flowered plants also occur occasionally. Unlike Erica, Calluna sometimes sports double flowers. Calluna is sometimes referred to as Summer (or Autumn) heather to distinguish it from Erica (Winter (or Spring) heather).

Despised until the 19th century for its associations with the most rugged rural poverty, heather's growth in popularity may be paralleled with the vogue for alpine plants. It is a very popular ornamental plant in gardens and for landscaping, in lime-free areas where it will thrive, but has defeated many a gardener on less acid soil. There are many named cultivars, selected for variation in flower colour and for different foliage colour and growing habits.

Canna

Canna (or canna lily, although not a true lily) is a genus of nineteen species of flowering plants. The closest living relations to cannas are the other plant families of the order Zingiberales, that is the Zingiberaceae (gingers), Musaceae (bananas), Marantaceae, Heliconiaceae, Strelitziaceae, etc.

Canna is the only genus in the family Cannaceae. Such a family has

Cardinal Flower

Lobelia cardinalis (syn. L. fulgens, cardinal flower) is a species of Lobelia native to the Americas, from southeastern Canada south through the eastern and southwestern United States, Mexico and Central America to northern Colombia.

It was introduced to Europe in the mid 1620s, where the name cardinal flower was in use by 1629, likely due to the similarity of the flower's

Carnation, Clove Pink

Dianthus caryophyllus (Clove Pink) is a species of Dianthus. It is probably native to the Mediterranean region but its exact range is unknown due to extensive cultivation for the last 2,000 years. It is the wild ancestor of the garden carnation.

It is a herbaceous perennial plant growing to 80 cm tall. The leaves are glaucous greyish green to blue-green, slender, up to 15 cm long. The

Caryopteris

Caryopteris (bluebeard;) is a genus of 16 species of flowering plants in the family Lamiaceae (formerly often placed in the family Verbenaceae), native to eastern and southern Asia.

They are herbaceous plants or small shrubs growing to 1–4 m tall. The leaves are opposite, simple ovate to lanceolate, with an entire or crenate margin; they are often aromatic. The blue or white flowers are pollinated by butterflies and bumblebees. The fruit is a four-valved capsule containing four seeds.

Though several Caryopteris species are grown in botanical gardens, as ornamental plants the species have largely been superseded in gardens by the hybrid Caryopteris × clandonensis (C. incana × C. mongholica). The accidental cross that produced it occurred in the garden of Arthur Simmonds at Clandon, near Guildford, Surrey. In 1930, wishing to propagate C. mongholica, he gathered seeds from a plant that was growing near C. mastacanthus. When the seedlings eventually flowered in their second year, hybrids appeared. The final selection, however, was made of a self-sown volunteer that appeared under C. mastacanthus, and eventually smothered it. It began winning Royal Horticultural Society medals in 1933. This small, deciduous, aromatic shrub has grey-green leaves and produces masses of blue flowers in late summer. There are several cultivars with flowers in shades of blue or white, including 'Blue Mist', 'Heavenly Blue', 'Longwood Blue', 'Dark Knight', 'Summer Sorbet' and 'Pershore'.

Catharanthus roseus

Catharanthus roseus, commonly known as the Madagascar periwinkle, is a species of Catharanthus native and endemic to Madagascar. Other English names occasionally used include Cape periwinkle, rose periwinkle, rosy periwinkle, and "old-maid".

It is an evergreen subshrub or herbaceous plant growing to 1 m tall. The leaves are oval to oblong, 2.5–9 cm long and 1–3.5 cm broad, glossy green, hairless, with a pale midrib and a short petiole 1–1.8 cm long; they are arranged in opposite pairs. The flowers are white to dark pink with a darker red centre, with a basal tube 2.5–3 cm long and a corolla 2–5 cm diameter with five petal-like lobes. The fruit is a pair of follicles 2–4 cm long and 3 mm broad.

In the wild, it is an endangered plant; the main cause of decline is habitat destruction by slash and burn agriculture. It is also however widely cultivated and is naturalised in subtropical and tropical areas of the world.

Catmint, Siberian Catnip

Nepeta is a genus, with the common name catmints, of about 250 species of flowering plants in the family Lamiaceae. The genus name is reportedly in reference to the city of Nepete, an ancient Etruscan city.

The genus is native to Europe, Asia, and Africa, and has also naturalized in North America.

Some members of this group are known as catnip or catmint because of

Celosia, Plume

Celosia argentea, commonly known as plumed cockscomb, is a plant of tropical origin, and is known for its very bright colors.

Celosia argentea (Syn. C. plumosa, C. argentea var. plumosa) is a tender annual that is often grown in gardens. It is propagated by seeds. The seeds are extremely small, up to 43,000 seeds per ounce.

The Century cultivars are usually taller (1–2 feet), and are bright

Chaenomeles speciosa

Chaenomeles speciosa (commonly known as flowering quince or Japanese quince or as mugua[citation needed] in traditional Chinese medicine) is a thorny deciduous or semi-evergreen shrub native to eastern Asia. It is taller than another commonly cultivated species, C. japonica, usually growing to about 2 m (6 ft 7 in). The flowers are usually red, but may be white or pink, and the fruit is a fragrant but hard pome that resembles a quince.

This plant is widely cultivated in temperate regions for its twining habit and its showy flowers which appear early in the season - occasionally even in midwinter. It is frequently used as an informal low hedge. Numerous cultivars with flowers in shades of white, pink and red have been selected.

The fruit has been part of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for thousands of years, used to treat arthritis, leg edema, and cramping in the calf muscle.

Chamaedaphne

The Leatherleaf (Chamaedaphne calyculata) is a shrub in the plant family Ericaceae and the only species in the genus Chamaedaphne. It has a wide distribution throughout the cool temperate and subarctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere.

It is a low-growing shrub up to 1.5 m tall. The leaves are alternately arranged on the branch and elliptical to oblong shaped, 3–4 cm long, thick and leathery, with minute scales and lighter coloration on the underside, and an entire or irregularly toothed margin. They are evergreen but often turn red-brown in winter. The flowers are small (5–6 mm long), white, and bell-like, produced in panicles up to 12 cm long. The species site is restricted to bogs, where they naturally form large clonal colonies.

The name Chamaedaphne comes from the Greek for "ground laurel"; the common name comes from its tough, leather-like leaf.

Chives, Flowering Onion

Chives is the common name of Allium schoenoprasum, the smallest species of the edible onions. A perennial plant, it is native to Europe, Asia and North America. A. schoenoprasum is the only species of Allium native to both the New and the Old Worlds. The name of the species derives from the Greek skhoínos (sedge) and práson (leek). Its English name, chives, derives from the French word cive, from cepa, the Latin word for

Chrysanthemum, Garden Mum

Chrysanthemums, often called mums or chrysanths, are perennial flowering plants of the genus Chrysanthemum in the family Asteraceae which are native to Asia and northeastern Europe. About 30 species have been described. Florists sometimes abbreviate the spelling to "xants".

Yellow or white chrysanthemum flowers of the species C. morifolium are boiled to make a sweet drink in some parts of Asia. The resulting

Cistaceae

The Cistaceae are a small family of plants (rock-rose or rock rose family) known for their beautiful shrubs, which are profusely covered by flowers at the time of blossom. This family consists of about 170-200 species in eight genera, distributed primarily in the temperate areas of Europe and the Mediterranean basin, but also found in North America; a limited number of species are found in South America. Most Cistaceae are subshrubs and low shrubs, and some are herbaceous. They prefer dry and sunny habitats. Cistaceae grow well on poor soils, and many of them are cultivated in gardens.

They often have showy yellow, pink or white flowers, which are generally short-lived. The flowers are bisexual, regular, solitary or borne in cymes; they usually have five, sometimes three, petals (Lechea). The petals are free, usually crumpled in the bud, and sometimes in the open flower (e. g. Cistus incanus). It has five sepals, the inner three of which are distinctly wider, and the outer two are narrow and sometimes regarded as bracteoles. The sepal arrangement is a characteristic property of the family.

The stamens are numerous, of variable length, and sit on a disc; filaments are free. The ovary is superior, usually with three carpels; placentation is parietal, with two or more ovules on each placenta. The fruit is a capsule, usually with five or ten valves (three in Helianthemum). The seeds are small, with a hard, water-impermeable coating, weighing around 1 mg.

Clematis

Clematis is a genus of about 300 species within the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. Their garden hybrids have been popular among gardeners, beginning with Clematis × jackmanii, a garden standby since 1862; more hybrid cultivars are being produced constantly. They are mainly of Chinese and Japanese origin. Most species are known as clematis in English, while some are also known as traveller's joy, a name invented

Clethra alnifolia

Clethra alnifolia (sweet pepperbush, Anne Bidwell or summersweet), is a species of flowering plant in the genus Clethra of the family Clethraceae, native to eastern North America from southern Nova Scotia and Maine south to northern Florida, and west to eastern Texas.

It is a deciduous shrub growing to 1.5–3 m (4 ft 11 in–9 ft 10 in) tall. The leaves are obovate to oblong, 4-10 cm long and 2-4 cm broad, with a serrated margin; they are green turning yellow-golden during the autumn. The flowers are white or very pale pink, 5-10 mm in diameter, and have a sweet, somewhat cloying fragrance, the flowers attractive to bumblebees; they are produced in racemes up to 15 cm long and 2 cm broad in late summer, depending on the cultivar. The "pepper" part of the common name derives from the mature fruits, capsules which have a vague resemblance to peppercorns, however, with no element of spiciness.

It grows in wet forests, pine flatwoods, wetlands, bogs and can be seen alongside woodland streams. It prefers a neutral to acid soil. The Nova Scotia population is small and endangered.

Coleus

Solenostemon scutellarioides is a species of perennial plant. Common names include Coleus or Painted Nettle.

The Coleus plant has very colorful foliage and is popular as a houseplant and in gardens. Its geographic origin is Southeast Asia and Malaysia. The plant has various names, including "Coleus blumei".

The Coleus are very easy to propagate by cuttings, and they like partial

Columbine

Aquilegia (Columbine) is a genus of about 60-70 species of perennial plants that are found in meadows, woodlands, and at higher altitudes throughout the Northern Hemisphere, known for the spurred petals of their flowers.

They are used as food plants by some Lepidoptera (butterfly and moth) caterpillars. These are mainly of noctuid moths – noted for feeding on

Coneflower, Purple

Echinacea purpurea (eastern purple coneflower or purple coneflower) is a species of flowering plant in the genus Echinacea of the family Asteraceae. Its cone-shaped flowering heads are usually, but not always, purple in the wild. It is native to eastern North America and present to some extent in the wild in much of the eastern, southeastern and midwest United States.

Coral Bells

The genus Heuchera includes at least 50 species of herbaceous perennial plants in the family Saxifragaceae, all native to North America. Common names include alumroot and coral bells. They have palmately lobed leaves on long petioles, and a thick, woody rootstock. The genus was named after Johann Heinrich von Heucher (1677–1746), an 18th century German physician. Alumroot species grow in varied habitats, so some species

Cornflower

Centaurea cyanus (Cornflower, Bachelors button, Bluebottle, Boutonniere flower, Hurtsickle, Cyani flower) is a small annual flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, native to Europe. "Cornflower" is also used for chicory, and a few other Centaurea species; to distinguish C. cyanus from these it is sometimes called Common Cornflower. It may also be referred to as basketflower, though the term also refers to the

Cornus sericea

Cornus sericea, syn. C. stolonifera, Swida sericea, (red osier dogwood) is a species of flowering plant in the family Cornaceae, native throughout northern and western North America from Alaska east to Newfoundland, south to Durango and Nuevo León in the west, and Illinois and Virginia in the east. Other names include red willow, redstem dogwood redtwig dogwood, red-rood, American dogwood, creek dogwood, and western dogwood.

In the wild, it commonly grows in areas of damp soil, such as wetlands. It is a medium to tall deciduous shrub, growing 1.5–4 m tall and 3–5 m wide, spreading readily by underground stolons to form dense thickets. The branches and twigs are dark red, although wild plants may lack this coloration in shaded areas. The leaves are opposite, 5–12 cm long and 2.5–6 cm broad, with an ovate to oblong shape and an entire margin; they are dark green above and glaucous below; fall color is commonly bright red to purple. The flowers are small (5–10 mm diameter), dull white, in clusters 3–6 cm diameter. The fruit is a globose white berry 5–9 mm diameter. Cultivation

Cornus sericea is a popular ornamental shrub that is often planted for the red coloring of its twigs in the dormant season. The cultivar 'Flaviramea' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

Cosmos

Cosmos bipinnatus, commonly called the garden cosmos or Mexican aster, is a medium-sized flowering herbaceous plant native to Mexico. The species and its varieties and cultivars are popular as an ornamental plant in temperate climate gardens. It can also be found in natural areas in much of North America, where it is a garden escape (introduced species) and in some habitats becoming a weed.

Cotinus coggygria

Cotinus coggygria, syn. Rhus cotinus (Eurasian smoketree, smoke tree, or smoke bush) is a species of flowering plant in the family Anacardiaceae, native to a large area from southern Europe, east across central Asia and the Himalayas to northern China.

It is a multiple-branching shrub growing to 5–7 m (16–23 ft) tall with an open, spreading, irregular habit, only rarely forming a small tree. The leaves are 3-8 cm long rounded ovals, green with a waxy glaucous sheen. The autumn colour can be strikingly varied, from peach and yellow to scarlet. The flowers are numerous, produced in large inflorescences 15–30 cm (5.9–12 in) long; each flower 5-10 mm diameter, with five pale yellow petals. Most of the flowers in each inflorescence abort, elongating into yellowish-pink to pinkish-purple feathery plumes (when viewed en masse these have a wispy 'smoke-like' appearance, hence the common name) which surround the small (2-3 mm) drupaceous fruit that do develop.

It is commonly grown as an ornamental plant, with several cultivars available. Many of these have been selected for purple foliage and flowers.

Cotoneaster adpressus

Cotoneaster adpressus is a species of flowering plant in the genus Cotoneaster of the family Rosaceae, native to western China. It is a prostrate, dense, deciduous shrub growing to 2 m (6 ft 7 in) wide. It has masses of tiny rounded leaves, with white flowers followed by bright scarlet berries. It is cultivated as groundcover in gardens in temperate regions.

This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

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Cranesbill, Geranium

Geranium sanguineum, commonly called bloody cranesbill or bloody geranium, is a species of hardy flowering herbaceous perennial plant in the genus Geranium, Geraniaceae family. It is also the county flower of Northumberland and equally the county's affiliated ship, HMS Northumberland.

The flowers are hermaphrodite and pollinated by insects (entomophily).

Crocus, Dutch

Crocus vernus (Spring Crocus, Giant Crocus) is a species in Family Iridaceae. Its cultivars and those of Crocus flavus (Dutch Crocus) are used as ornamental plants. The Dutch Crocusses are larger than the other cultivated crocus species (e.g., Crocus chrysanthus). Depending on the year, Crocus vernus starts flowering about the same time or up to 2 weeks after Crocus chrysanthus (Snow Crocus) starts flowering. Height:

Daffodil

Narcissus is a genus of mainly hardy, mostly spring-flowering, bulbous perennials in the Amaryllis family, subfamily Amaryllidoideae. Various common names including daffodil, narcissus, and jonquil are used to describe all or some of the genus. They are native to meadows and woods in Europe, North Africa and West Asia, with a center of distribution in the Western Mediterranean. The number of distinct species varies widely

Dahlia

Dahlia is a genus of bushy, tuberous, herbaceous perennial plants native to Mexico, Central America, and Colombia. A member of the Asteraceae or Compositae, dicotyledonous plants, related species include the sunflower, daisy, chrysanthemum and zinnia. There are at least 36 species of dahlia, with hybrids commonly grown as garden plants. Flower forms are variable, with one head per stem; these can be as small as 2

Daisy, Shasta

Leucanthemum × superbum is a commonly grown flowering herbaceous perennial plant with the classic daisy appearance of white petals (ray florets) around a yellow disc, similar to the oxeye daisy Leucanthemum vulgare Lam but larger. Formerly classified in the genus Chrysanthemum, these daisies were transferred to their own genus of Leucanthemum because they lack some traits of true Chrysanthemums. Shasta daisies are

Daphne

Daphne (pron.: /ˈdæfniː/; Greek: Δάφνη, meaning "laurel") is a genus of between 50 and 95 species of deciduous and evergreen shrubs in the family Thymelaeaceae, native to Asia, Europe and north Africa. They are noted for their scented flowers and poisonous berries.

The leaves are undivided, mostly arranged alternately (although opposite in D. genkwa). The flowers lack petals and have four (rarely five) petaloid sepals, tubular at the base with free lobes at the apex. The flowers are grouped, either in clusters in the leaf axils towards the end of the stems or in terminal heads. They range in colour from greenish-yellow to white, bright pink and purple; most of the evergreen species have greenish flowers, while the deciduous species tend to have pink flowers. Many species flower in late winter or very early spring. The fruits are one-seeded drupes, which in some species are fleshy and berry-like, in others dry and leathery.

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Dasiphora fruticosa

Dasiphora fruticosa (shrubby cinquefoil; syn. Potentilla fruticosa L., Pentaphylloides fruticosa (L.) O.Schwarz) is a species of hardy deciduous flowering shrub in the genus Dasiphora (formerly Potentilla) of the family Rosaceae, native to the cool temperate and subarctic regions of the northern hemisphere, often growing at high altitudes in mountains.

It grows to 0.1–1 m tall, rarely up to 1.5 m. The habit is variably upright to sprawling or prostrate, but stems are often ascending especially those stems with many long branches. The bark of older stems is shreddy with long thin strips. The plants are densely leafy, the leaves divided into five or seven (occasionally three or nine) pinnate leaflets. The leaflets are linear-oblong, 3–20 mm long, with entire margins and more or less acute ends. The foliage (both leaves and young stems) is pubescent, variably covered in fine silky, silvery hairs about 1 mm long. The flowers are produced terminally on the stems and are 2–3 (–4) cm across, buttercup-shaped, with five petals and 15–25 stamens; the petals are pale to bright yellow (orange to reddish in some western Chinese populations). The fruit is a cluster of achenes covered with long hairs. The species is variably dioecious or bisexual; flowering is typically from early to late summer. It is normally found growing in moisture-retentive soils in swamps and rocky areas.

There are two subspecies:

Daylily

Daylily is the general nonscientific name of a species, hybrid or cultivar of the genus Hemerocallis Daylily cultivar flowers are highly diverse in colour and form, as a result of hybridization efforts of gardening enthusiasts and professional horticulturalists. Thousands of registered cultivars are appreciated and studied by local and international Hemerocallis societies. Hemerocallis is now placed in

Deutzia

Deutzia (pron.: /ˈdjuːtsiə/ or /ˈdɔɪtsiə/) is a genus of about 60 species of flowering plants in the family Hydrangeaceae, native to eastern and central Asia (from the Himalayas east to Japan and the Philippines), and Central America and also Europe. By far the highest species diversity is in China, where 50 species occur.

The species are shrubs ranging from 1–4 m (3 ft 3 in–13 ft 1 in) in height. Most are deciduous, but a few subtropical species are evergreen. The leaves are opposite, simple, with a serrated margin. The flowers are produced in panicles or corymbs; they are white in most species, sometimes pink or reddish. The fruit is a dry capsule containing numerous small seeds. Identification of the species is very difficult, requiring often microscopic detail of the leaf hairs and seed capsule structure.

Deutzia is named after the 18th century Dutch patron of botany, Johann van der Deutz.

Euonymus alatus

Euonymus alatus, known variously as winged spindle, winged euonymus or burning bush, is a species of flowering plant in the family Celastraceae, native to central and northern China, Japan, and Korea. This deciduous shrub grows to 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) tall, often wider than tall. The stems are notable for their four corky ridges or "wings". The word alatus (or alata, used formerly) is Latin for "winged", in reference to the winged branches. These unique structures develop from a cork cambium deposited in longitudinal grooves in the twigs' first year, unlike similar wings in other plants. The leaves are 2–7 cm long and 1–4 cm broad, ovate-elliptic, with an acute apex. The flowers are greenish, borne over a long period in the spring. The fruit is a red aril enclosed by a four-lobed pink, yellow or orange capsule.

The common name "burning bush" comes from the bright red fall color.

It is a popular ornamental plant in gardens and parks due to its bright pink or orange fruit and attractive fall color. The species and the cultivar 'Compactus' have both gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

Fescue, Blue

Festuca glauca, commonly known as blue fescue, is a species of flowering plant in the grass family, Poaceae. It is a commonly cultivated evergreen or semi-evergreen herbaceous perennial.

Festuca glauca, commonly known as blue fescue, is a species of flowering plant in the grass family, Poaceae. It is a commonly cultivated evergreen or semi-evergreen herbaceous perennial.

Forget-Me-Not

Myosotis scorpioides (syn. Myosotis palustris), the Water Forget-me-not or True Forget-me-not, is a herbaceous perennial plant of the genus Myosotis. It is native to Europe and Asia, but can be found elsewhere, including much of North America, as an introduced species and sometimes a noxious weed. It grows in bogs and wet places and beside streams and rivers. It is an erect plant which ranges in height from 6 in. to two

Forsythia suspensa

Forsythia suspensa (Chinese: 连翘; pinyin: liánqiào) is a flowering plant native to Asia. It is one of the 50 fundamental herbs used in traditional Chinese medicine Pinoresinol is a lignan found in F. suspensa.

Forsythia suspensa is a large to very large shrub, can be grown as a weeping shrub on banks, and has paler flowers. Many named garden cultivars can also be found. It belongs to spring flowering shrubs, with yellow flowers. And, it is grown and prized for being tough, reliable garden plants

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Fothergilla major

Fothergilla major (mountain witch alder) is a species of flowering plant in the Hamamelidaceae family, native to woodland and swamps in the Allegheny Mountains of southeastern United States. It is a deciduous shrub growing to 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) with fragrant white bottlebrush flowers appearing along with, or before, the glossy leaves. The leaves often turn brilliant shades of red and orange in autumn.

This plant is named for John Fothergill (physician). It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

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Foxglove

Digitalis purpurea (foxglove, common foxglove, purple foxglove or lady's glove), is a species of flowering plant in the genus Digitalis, in the family Scrophulariaceae, native and widespread throughout most of temperate Europe. It is also naturalised in parts of North America and some other temperate regions. The plants are well known as the original source of the heart medicine digoxin, (also called digitalis or

Gardenia jasminoides

Gardenia jasminoides, (common gardenia, cape jasmine or cape jessamine) is an evergreen flowering plant of the family Rubiaceae. It originated in Asia and is most commonly found growing wild in Vietnam, Southern China, Taiwan, Japan and India. With its shiny green leaves and heavily fragrant white summer flowers, it is widely used in gardens in warm temperate and subtropical climates, and as a houseplant in temperate regions. It has been in cultivation in China for at least a thousand years, and was introduced to English gardens in the mid 18th century. Many varieties have been bred for horticulture, with low growing, and large- and long-flowering forms.

Gardenia jasminoides is a shrub with greyish bark and dark green shiny evergreen leaves with prominent veins. The white flowers bloom in spring and summer and are highly fragrant. They are followed by small oval fruit.

Evidence of Gardenia jasminoides in cultivation in China dates to the Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD), where both wild and double-flowered forms have been depicted in paintings, such as those of the Song Emperor Huizong, and the Tenth century artist Xu Xi. The Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368) saw it on lacquerware, and the Ming Dynasty on porcelain (1368–1644).[5] Gardenias were seen in nurseries in Guangzhou in 1794 by English statesman Sir John Barrow.

Glossy Abelia

Abelia × grandiflora (Glossy Abelia) is a hybrid Abelia, raised by hybridising Abelia chinensis with A. uniflora. It is a deciduous or semi-evergreen multi-stemmed shrub with rounded, spreading, or gracefully arching branches to 1-1.8 m tall. The leaves are ovate, glossy, dark green, 2–6 cm long. The flowers are produced in clusters, white, tinged pink, bell-shaped, to 2 cm long. Unlike most flowering shrubs in cultivation, the Glossy Abelia blooms from late summer to well into the autumn.

Abelia × grandiflora was first raised in 1886 at the Rovelli nursery at Pallanza (now Verbania), on Lake Maggiore in Italy. It is used as an ornamental plant in specimen plantings in gardens, or in a mixed border with other shrubs. Propagation is by cuttings. Variegated forms are also available commercially.

Synonyms include Abelia rupestris Hort., Linnaea pringiana Graebn., and L. spaethiana Graebn.

Goat's Beard

Aruncus dioicus (Walt.) (goat's beard or bride's feathers) is a flowering herbaceous perennial plant in the family Rosaceae, and is the type species of the genus Aruncus. It has alternate, pinnately compound leaves, on thin, stiff stems, with plumes of feathery white or cream flowers borne in summer. This plant can be found in moist woodland, often at higher altitudes, throughout temperate areas of Europe, Asia,

Hamamelis vernalis

Hamamelis vernalis is a species of Witch-hazel native to the Ozark Plateau in central North America, in Missouri, Oklahoma, and Arkansas.

It is a deciduous large shrub growing to 4 m tall, spreading by stoloniferous root sprouts. The leaves are oval, 7–13 cm long and 6.7–13 cm broad, cuneate to slightly oblique at the base, acute or rounded at the apex, with a wavy-toothed or shallowly lobed margin, and a short, stout petiole 7–15 mm long; they are dark green above, and glaucous beneath, and often persist into the early winter. The flowers are deep to bright red, rarely yellow, with four ribbon-shaped petals 7–10 mm long and four short stamens, and grow in clusters; flowering begins in mid winter and continues until early spring (the Latin word vernalis means spring-flowering). The fruit is a hard woody capsule 10–15 mm long, which splits explosively at the apex at maturity one year after pollination, ejecting the two shiny black seeds up to 10 m distant from the parent plant. Although often occurring with the related Hamamelis virginiana, it does not intergrade, and can be distinguished by its flowering in late winter (December to March in its native range), not fall.

H. vernalis is valued in cultivation for its strongly scented flowers appearing in late winter, when little else is growing. Several cultivars have been selected, mainly for variation in flower color, including 'Carnea' (pink flowers), 'Red Imp' (petals red with orange tips), and 'Squib' (vivid yellow flowers). The cultivar 'Sandra' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

Heliotrope

The Garden Heliotrope (Heliotropium arborescens) is a highly fragrant perennial plant, originally from Peru. It is especially notable for its intense, rather vanilla-like fragrance. Common names include cherry pie and "common heliotrope". Note that the common name "garden heliotrope" may also refer to Valerian (herb).

During the Victorian era in England this plant gained great recognition, often appearing in gardens and the herbaceous borders of parks. Its popularity may have become less in more modern times, but hardy and colourful varieties, such as 'Princess Marina', have ensured that this plant still regularly appears in seed catalogues and garden centres. Other popular varieties include, 'Mary Fox', the highly scented 'White Lady' or 'White Queen' and a taller variety 'Florence Nightingale'. A vanilla-scented heliotrope was laid on the coffin of Emily Dickinson.

Article excerpt is from Wikipedia.org under the Creative Commons License.

Hibiscus syriacus

Hibiscus syriacus is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae, native to much of Asia (though not, as Linnaeus thought, Syria, in spite of the name he gave it). Common names include Rose of Sharon (especially in North America), rose mallow (United Kingdom) and St Joseph's rod (Italy).

H. syriacus is a hardy deciduous shrub. It is upright and vase-shaped, reaching 2–4 m (7–13 ft) in height, bearing large trumpet-shaped dark pink flowers with prominent yellow-tipped white stamens. Individual flowers are short-lived, lasting only a day. However, numerous buds are produced on the shrub's new growth, which provides prolific flowering over a long summer blooming period. Shoots make interesting indoor vase cuttings, as they stay green for a long time. In the vase some new flowers may open from the more mature buds. The species has naturalized very well in many suburban areas, and might even be termed slightly invasive, so frequently does it seed around.

Hibiscus syriacus has been a garden shrub in Korea since time immemorial; its leaves were brewed for a tisane and its flowers are eaten. It was grown in Europe from the 16th century, though as late as 1629 John Parkinson thought it was tender and took great precautions with it, thinking it "would not suffer to be uncovered in the Winter time, or yet abroad in the Garden, but kept in a large pot or tubbe in the house or in a warme cellar, if you would have them to thrive." By the end of the 17th century, some knew it to be hardy: Gibson, describing Lord Arlington's London house noted six large earthen pots coddling the "tree hollyhock", as he called it, "that grows well enough in the ground". By the 18th century the shrub was common in English gardens and in the American colonies, known as Althea frutex and "Syrian ketmia".

Holly

Ilex (pron.: /ˈaɪlɛks/), or holly, is a genus of 400 to 600 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. The species are evergreen and deciduous trees, shrubs, and climbers from tropics to temperate zones worldwide.

The genus Ilex is widespread throughout the temperate and subtropical regions of the world. It includes species of trees, shrubs, and climbers, with evergreen or deciduous foliage and inconspicuous flowers. Its range was more extended in the Tertiary period and many species are adapted to laurel forest habitat. It occurs from sea level to more than 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) with high mountain species. It is a genus of small, evergreen trees with smooth, glabrous, or pubescent branchlets. The plants are generally slow-growing with some species growing to 25 m (82 ft) tall. The type species is the European holly Ilex aquifolium described by Linnaeus.

Plants in this genus have simple, alternate glossy leaves, typically with a spiny toothed, or serrated leaf margin. The inconspicuous flower is greenish white, with four petals. They are generally dioecious, with male and female flowers on different plants, although there are exceptions.

Holly, Meadow

Ilex decidua (Meadow Holly, also called "possumhaw", "deciduous holly" or "swamp holly") is a species of holly native to the United States.

Distinguishing features of this species are crenate leaf margins and fruiting pedicels that are 2–8 mm long. Its "distinctive leaf shape... is less variable than other species of holly". Leaves are obovate,[3] simple, alternating, deciduous, and grow to 2.5-7.5 cm long.

Drupe fruits are red (or rarely yellow), shiny, and globose (spherical, or nearly so), with a diameter of 4–8 mm. The pulp is bitter; they contain 3-5 seeds and mature in autumn.

Hosta, Plantain Lily

Hosta is a genus of about 23–45 species of plants commonly known as hostas, plantain lilies (particularly in Britain) and occasionally by the Japanese name giboshi. Hostas are widely cultivated as shade-tolerant foliage plants. The genus is currently placed in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Agavoideae, and is native to northeast Asia. Like many "lilioid monocots", the genus was once classified in the

Hyacinth

Hyacinthus orientalis (common hyacinth, garden hyacinth or Dutch hyacinth), is a perennial flowering plant, native to southwestern Asia, southern and central Turkey, northwestern Syria, Lebanon and northern Israel. It was introduced to Europe in the 16th century. It is widely cultivated everywhere in the temperate world for its strongly fragrant flowers which appear exceptionally early in the season, and frequently

Hyacinth, Grape

Muscari armeniacum is a bulbous plant of the genus Muscari with basal, simple leaves and short, flowering stems. It is one of a number of species and genera known as Grape Hyacinth, in this case Armenian Grape Hyacinth. The flowers are purple, blue (with a white fringe), or white and the plants are usually 15 centimetres (6 in) tall. M. armeniacum blooms in mid-Spring (April or May in the Northern Hemisphere) for 3-4

Hydrangea macrophylla

Hydrangea macrophylla is a species of flowering plant in the family Hydrangeaceae, native to China and Japan. It is a deciduous shrub growing to 2 m (7 ft) tall by 2.5 m (8 ft) broad with large heads of pink or blue flowers in summer and autumn. Common names include bigleaf hydrangea, french hydrangea, lacecap hydrangea, mophead hydrangea, penny mac and hortensia. It is widely cultivated in many parts of the world in many climates. It is not to be confused with H. aspera 'Macrophylla'.

The term macrophylla means large- or long-leaved. The opposite leaves can grow to 15 cm (6 in) in length. They are simple, membranous, orbicular to elliptic and acuminate. They are generally serrated.

The inflorescence of Hydrangea macrophylla is a corymb, with all flowers placed in a plane or a hemisphere or even a whole sphere in cultivated forms. Two distinct types of flowers can be identified: central non-ornamental fertile flowers and peripheral ornamental flowers, usually described as "sterile". A study of several cultivars showed that all the flowers were fertile but the non-ornamental flowers were pentamers while the decorative flowers were tetramers. The four sepals of decorative flowers have colors ranging from pale pink, red fuchsia purple to blue. The non-decorative flowers have five small greenish sepals and five small petals. Flowering lasts from early summer to early winter. The fruit is a subglobose capsule.

Impatiens balsamina

Impatiens balsamina (Garden Balsam, Rose Balsam, Touch me Not) is a species of Impatiens native to southern Asia in India and Myanmar.It is called kamantigue in the Philippines. This species of Kalamantigue are used in teas. Boil the seeds after drying and you will get a tea.

The ripe seed pods explosively burst when touched, giving rise to the name "Touch me Not".

It is an annual plant growing to 20–75 cm tall, with a thick, but soft stem. The leaves are spirally-arranged, 2.5–9 cm long and 1–2.5 cm broad, with a deeply toothed margin. The flowers are red, pink, purple, or white, and 2.5–5 cm diameter; they are pollinated by bees and other insects, and also by nectar-feeding birds.

Ipomoea purpurea

Ipomoea purpurea, the Purple, Tall, or Common Morning Glory, is a species in the genus Ipomoea, native to Mexico and Central America. Like all morning glories the plant entwines itself around structures, growing to a height of 2–3 m tall. The leaves are heart-shaped and the stems are covered with brown hairs. The flowers are trumpet-shaped, predominantly blue to purple or white, 3–6 cm diameter.

The plant is predisposed to moist and rich soil, but can be found growing in a wide array of soil types. It is naturalized throughout warm temperate and subtropical regions of the world. Although it is often considered a noxious weed, Ipomoea purpurea is also grown for its beautiful purple and white flowers and has many cultivars. Common cultivars include I. purpurea 'Crimson Rambler' (red-violet blossoms with white throats); 'Grandpa Ott's,' 'Kniola's Black Knight,' and 'Star of Yelta' (blossoms in varying shades of deep purple with white or pale pink throats); and 'Milky Way' (white blossoms with mauve accents).

The triangular seeds have some history of use as a psychedelic; they, like Ipomoea tricolor contain LSA. Effects are reported to be somewhat similar to those of LSD.

Iris, Bearded

Iris germanica, the German Iris, is a species in the genus iris. The Iris Germanica grows up to 90 cm high and 10 cm wide. The roots can go up to 10 cm deep. It is an outdoors plant that blooms most in May-August, but planting it would be best in February-April.

It is a European hybrid, rather than a true wild species.

Article excerpt is from

Iris, Dutch

Iris xiphium, commonly known as the Spanish Iris, is an iris native to Spain and Portugal.

It is bulbous and bears handsome blue and yellow flowers, though they are not so large as those of I. xiphiodes. This species is also known as the Small Bulbous-rooted Iris. The Spanish Iris is favoured by florists for its striking colour combinations. This species has several varieties

Iris, Siberian

Iris sibirica, the Siberian Iris, is a flowering plant in the genus Iris, native to northern Asia and eastern and central Europe.

It is an herbaceous perennial plant growing to 50-120 cm tall. The leaves are glaucous green, narrow and fairly rigid, blade-shaped, 40-80 cm long and 2-4 cm broad. The flowers are typical of an iris, borne in late spring or early summer on unbranched or sparsely-branched stems

Joe Pye Weed

Eutrochium purpureum (Eupatorium purpureum (Linnaeus) E. E. Lamont), Kidney-root, Sweetscented Joe-Pie weed, Sweet Joe-Pye weed, Gravel Root or Trumpet weed is a herbaceous perennial plant native to northwest, eastern and central North America.

E. Purpureum is a clump forming plant that grows to 1.5 – 2.4 meters (5 – 8 feet) tall and about 1.2 meters (4 ft) wide. Plants are found

Kalmia latifolia

Kalmia latifolia, commonly called mountain-laurel, calico-bush, or spoonwood, is a species of flowering plant in the blueberry family, Ericaceae, that is native to the eastern United States. Its range stretches from southern Maine south to northern Florida, and west to Indiana and Louisiana. Mountain-laurel is the state flower of Connecticut and Pennsylvania. It is the namesake of the city of Laurel, Mississippi (founded 1882).

It is an evergreen shrub growing to 3–9 m tall. The leaves are 3–12 cm long and 1–4 cm wide. Its flowers are round, ranging from light pink to white, and occurring in clusters. There are several named cultivars today that have darker shades of pink, near red and maroon pigment. It blooms in May and June. All parts of the plant are poisonous. Roots are fibrous and matted.

The plant is naturally found on rocky slopes and mountainous forest areas. It thrives in acidic soil, preferring a soil pH in the 4.5 to 5.5 range. The plant often grows in large thickets, covering great areas of forest floor. In North America it can become tree sized on undeveloped mountains of the Carolinas but is a shrub farther north. The species is a frequent component of oak-heath forests.

Kerria japonica

Kerria japonica, the sole species in the genus Kerria, is a deciduous shrub in the rose family Rosaceae, native to China, Japan and Korea. It is named after William Kerr, who introduced the cultivar 'Pleniflora'. The scientific genus name is also used as a common name Kerria.

It grows to 1–3 m tall, with weak arching stems often scrambling over other vegetation or rocks. In the wild it grows in thickets on mountain slopes. The leaves are alternate, simple, 3–10 cm long, with a sharply serrated margin. The flowers are bright yellow, with five petals. The fruit is a dry single-seeded achene 4-4.5 mm long.

Kerria is valued in gardens for its bright yellow flowers which appear in Spring. Two cultivars have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit, K. japonica 'Golden guinea' and K. japonica 'Pleniflora'.

Kolkwitzia amabilis

Kolkwitzia amabilis (pron.: /kɒlˈkwɪtsi.ə əˈmæbɨlɪs/) is a species of flowering plant in the family Caprifoliaceae, the only known species in the monotypic genus Kolkwitzia. It is a deciduous shrub known by the common name beauty bush. The Latin amabilis means "lovely".

The plant is an arching, spreading shrub, with light brown flaky bark and graceful arching branches, which can grow higher than eight feet tall. It is usually as wide as it is tall. The plant blooms in late spring. Its light pink flowers, dark pink in the bud, are about one-inch long and bell-shaped ("tubular campanulate"); they grow in pairs, as with all Caprifoliaceae, and form showy, numerous sprays along ripened wood. Its leaves are opposite, simple, and ovate, from .5 to 3 inches long, entire or with a few sparse shallow teeth. Its fruit is a hairy, ovoid capsule approximately .25 inches long.

The plant originated in Central China, where it was twice discovered, once by the Jesuit missionary Giuseppe Giraldi in Shensi and then in western Hubei province, by E.H. 'Chinese' Wilson who was collecting for Veitch Nurseries, who introduced it into horticulture. It was named for Richard Kolkwitz, a professor of botany in Berlin. Wilson sent plant material to his sponsors Veitch Nurseries, Exeter, in 1901; the shrub flowered there for the first time in 1910. It received a Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit (AGM) in 1923 for Nymans Gardens, Sussex. The shrub became very popular in the eastern United States following World War I, almost a defining shrub in American gardens made between the World Wars.

Lamb's Ear

Stachys byzantina (syn. S. lanata; Lamb's Ear) is a species of Stachys, native to Turkey, Armenia, and Iran.= It is cultivated over much of the temperate world as an ornamental plant, and is naturalised in some locations as an escape from gardens. Plants are very often found under the synonym Stachys lanata or Stachys olympica. Lamb's Ear flowers in late spring and early summer, plants produce tall spike-like stems with

Larkspur, Delphinium

Delphinium is a genus of about 300 species of perennial flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae, native throughout the Northern Hemisphere and also on the high mountains of tropical Africa.

The common name "larkspur" is shared between perennial Delphinium species and annual species of the genus Consolida. Molecular data shows that Consolida, as well as another segregate genus, Aconitella, are both

Lavatera

Lavatera is a genus of about 25 species of flowering plants in the family Malvaceae, native to the Mediterranean region, central and eastern Asia, North America (California and Mexico) and Australia. A number of species are naturalized in North America.

Many Lavatera species have now been transferred to the related genus Malva. Lavatera species are known as tree mallows, or rather ambiguously as rose mallows, royal mallows or annual mallows.

The genus includes annual, biennial and perennial herbaceous plants and soft-wooded shrubs, growing from 1–3 m tall. The leaves are spirally arranged, and palmately lobed. The flowers are conspicuous, 4–12 cm diameter, with five white, pink or red petals; they are produced in terminal clusters.

Lavender, English

Lavandula angustifolia (lavender or English lavender, though not native to England; also common lavender, true lavender, narrow-leaved lavender), formerly L. officinalis, is a flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae, native to the western Mediterranean, primarily the Pyrenees and other mountains in northern Spain.

It is a strongly aromatic shrub growing as high as 1 to 2 metres (3.3 to

Lily of the Valley

Convallaria majalis, commonly known as the Lily of the Valley, is a poisonous woodland flowering plant native throughout the cool temperate Northern Hemisphere in Asia, Europe and in the southern Appalachian Mountains in the United States.

It is possibly the only species in the genus Convallaria (or one of two or three, if C. keiskei and C. transcaucasica are recognised as separate

Lily, Asiatic

Lilium (members of which are true lilies) is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large prominent flowers. Lilies are an important group of flowering plants and are important in culture and literature in much of the world. Most species are native to the temperate northern hemisphere, though their range and extends into northern subtropics. Many other plants have "lily" in their common name

Lilyturf

Liriope muscari is a species of low, herbaceous flowering plants from East Asia. Common names in English include big blue lilyturf, lilyturf, border grass, and monkey grass. It is a perennial with grass-like evergreen foliage and lilac-purple flowers which produce single-seeded berries on a spike in the fall.

The roots, which often have fleshy tubers near their tip, are used in

Lindera benzoin

Lindera benzoin (wild allspice, spicebush, common spicebush, northern spicebush or Benjamin bush) is a flowering plant in the family Lauraceae, native to eastern North America, ranging from Maine to Ontario in the north, and to Kansas, Texas and northern Florida in the south.

Spicebush is a medium-sized deciduous shrub growing to 5 m tall, typically found only in the understory of moist thickets. The leaves are alternate, simple, 6–15 cm long and 2–6 cm broad, oval or obovate and broadest beyond the middle of the leaf. They are very aromatic when crushed, hence the common names and the specific epithet "benzoin." The flowers grow in showy yellow clusters that appear in early spring, before the leaves begin to grow. The fruit is a berrylike red drupe about 1 cm long and is highly prized by birds. It has a peppery taste and scent, and contains a large seed. Spicebush is dioecious (plants are either male or female), so that both sexes are needed in the garden if one wants berries with viable seed.

Spicebush is a favorite food plant of two handsome lepidopterous insects: the spicebush swallowtail Papilio troilus, and the promethea silkmoth, Callosamia promethea. The larvae of the spicebush swallowtail are easily found inside leaves that have been folded over by the application of silk; small larvae are brown, resembling bird droppings, mature larvae are green, with eyespots resembling the head of a snake. Since there are typically several broods (generations) of spicebush swallowtails each year, spicebush is a useful plant for the butterfly garden, since the egglaying females are strongly attracted to it. Promethea moth cocoons, if present, can be found in the winter, resembling dead leaves still hanging from the twigs. Neither of these insects is ever present in sufficient quantities to defoliate a spicebush of medium to large size, although very small specimens may suffer even from a single caterpillar.

Lobelia erinus

Lobelia erinus (Edging Lobelia, Garden Lobelia or Trailing Lobelia) is a species of Lobelia native to southern Africa, from Malawi and Namibia south to South Africa.

It is a prostrate or scrambling herbaceous perennial plant growing to 8–15 cm tall. The basal leaves are oval, 10 mm long and 4-8 mm broad, with a toothed margin; leaves higher on the stems are slender and sometimes untoothed. The flowers are blue to violet in wild plants, with a five-lobed corolla 8–20 mm across; they are produced in loose panicles. The fruit is a 5–8 mm capsule containing numerous small seeds.

Lobelia erinus is a very popular edging plant in gardens, especially for hanging baskets and window boxes. It has a particularly long flowering period, from mid spring to early autumn. It is perennial in subtropical climates, but often grown as an annual plant in colder areas. It is widely available in Spring as a young plant, but must be kept indoors until all danger of frost has passed. Numerous cultivars have been selected, either with a bushy or a trailing habit, in a wide range of flower colours, including white, pink, red, pale to dark blue, and purple, often with a prominent white eye. Some of the better known cultivars include 'Blue Moon', 'Gracilis', 'Crystal Palace', 'Sapphire', 'Rosamund' and 'Riviela Rose'

Loosestrife, Gooseneck

Lysimachia clethroides, common name Gooseneck Loosestrife, is a species of flowering plant, traditionally classified in the family Primulaceae, but belonging to the family Myrsinaceae, according to a molecular phylogenetic study.

Lysimachia clethroides can reach heights of 60–100 centimetres (24–39 in). This hardy herbaceous perennial resembles a tall

Lupine

Lupinus polyphyllus (Large-leaved Lupine, Big-leaved Lupine, or, primarily in cultivation, Garden Lupin) is a species of lupine (lupin) native to western North America from southern Alaska and British Columbia east to Alberta and western Wyoming, and south to Utah and California. It commonly grows along streams and creeks, preferring moist habitats.

Mahonia pinnata

Mahonia pinnata (syn. Berberis pinnata) is a species of shrub in the barberry family. Common names include California barberry, wavyleaf barberry, and shinyleaf mahonia. It is similar to the Oregon-grape (Mahonia aquifolium), and is sometimes called the California Oregon-grape.

It is native to the west coast of North America from British Columbia to Baja California, where it occurs in forest, woodland, chaparral, and other habitat.

Mahonia pinnata is a dark green bush which resembles holly with its serrated leaves. It has one to two inch long clusters of small yellow flowers. The fruit is a sour but edible purple berry with many seeds.

Mallow, Rose

Hibiscus moscheutos (Swamp-rose Mallow or Rose mallow) is a cold-hardy perennial wetland plant that can grow in large colonies. The hirsute leaves are of variable morphology, but commonly found as deltoidal in form and sometimes having up to three lobes. It is found in wetlands and along the riverine systems of the southeastern United States from Texas to the Atlantic states, its territory extending northward to southern

Maltese Cross

Lychnis chalcedonica (Burning Love, Dusky Salmon, Flower of Bristol, Jerusalem Cross, Maltese Cross, Nonesuch; syn. Silene chalcedonica) is a flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae, native from central and eastern European Russia east to Kazakhstan, Mongolia and northwestern China.

It is a herbaceous perennial plant growing to 35-100 cm tall with

Malus

Malus (pron.: /ˈmeɪləs/[3] or /ˈmæləs/), apple, is a genus of about 30–55 species of small deciduous trees or shrubs in the family Rosaceae, including the domesticated orchard apple (M. domestica). The other species are generally known as crabapples, crab apples, crabs, or wild apples.

The genus is native to the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere.

Apple trees are typically 4–12 m (13–39 ft) tall at maturity, with a dense, twiggy crown. The leaves are 3–10 cm (1.2–3.9 in) long, alternate, simple, with a serrated margin. The flowers are borne in corymbs, and have five petals, which may be white, pink or red, and are perfect, with usually red stamens that produce copious pollen, and a half-inferior ovary; flowering occurs in the spring after 50–80 growing degree days (varying greatly according to subspecies and cultivar).

Matthiola incana

Matthiola incana (stock) is a species of flowering plant in the genus Matthiola. The common name "stock" usually refers to this species, though it may also be applied to the whole genus. The common name "night-scented stock" or "evening-scented stock" is applied to Matthiola longipetala (syn. bicornis). M. incana is also known in the USA by the common names hoary stock and tenweeks stock. It is a common garden flower, available in a variety of colours, many of which are heavily scented and also used in floristry.

Some stocks are grown as annuals (the "Ten-week Stocks"). These varieties are sown in spring (generally from March onwards in colder areas, earlier in regions with mild winters). They give a good summer flower display. Other varieties take longer to develop and are treated as biennials. These are often referred to as "Brompton stocks". In cool temperate regions they are generally sown in summer (June and July) to flower in the following spring. The extra trouble of overwintering the plants is compensated for by the showy spring floral display. In hard winters there may be some mortality and a well-drained sheltered site suits them best.

Intermediate varieties (sometimes called "East Lothian" stocks as they originated in southern Scotland) may be treated either as annuals or biennials. If treated as annuals they give a fine late summer and autumn display.

Meadowsweet

Dropwort (Filipendula vulgaris), also known as Fern-leaf Dropwort, is a perennial herb of the family Rosaceae closely related to Meadowsweet. It is found in dry pastures across much of Europe and central and northern Asia.

It has finely-cut, radical leaves, fern-like in appearance, and an erect stem 20–50 centimetres (8–20 in) tall bearing a loose terminal

Mistletoe

Mistletoe is the common name for obligate hemi-parasitic plants in several families in the order Santalales. These plants grow attached to and penetrating within the branches of a tree or shrub by a structure called the haustorium, through which they absorb nutrients from the host plant.

Mistletoe plants grow on a wide range of host trees, and commonly reduce their growth and can kill them with heavy infestation. Viscum album can parasitise more than 200 tree and shrub species. All mistletoes are hemi-parasites, bearing evergreen leaves that do some photosynthesis, and using the host mainly for water and mineral nutrients. Mistletoe first sprouts from bird feces on the trunk of the tree and in its early stages of life it takes nutrients from this source. Species more or less completely parasitic include the leafless quintral, Tristerix aphyllus, which lives deep inside the sugar-transporting tissue of a spiny cactus, appearing only to show its tubular red flowers, and the genus Arceuthobium (dwarf mistletoe; Santalaceae) which has reduced photosynthesis; as an adult, it manufactures only a small proportion of the sugars it needs from its own photosythesis but as a seedling it actively photosynthesizes until a connection to the host is established.

Article excerpt is from Wikipedia.org under the Creative Commons License.

Montbretia, Crocosmia

Crocosmia aurea, common name Falling Stars, Valentine Flower, or Montbretia, is a perennial flowering plant belonging to the family Iridaceae.

The genus name is derived from the Greek words krokos, meaning "saffron", and osme, meaning "odor", as dried leaves of these plants, when immersed in hot water, emit a strong smell similar to saffron. The

Nandina domestica

Nandina domestica (pron.: /nænˈdiːnə dəˈmɛstɨkə/ nan-DEE-nuh) commonly known as nandina, heavenly bamboo or sacred bamboo, is a species of flowering plant in the family Berberidaceae, native to eastern Asia from the Himalayas to Japan. It is the only member of the monotypic genus Nandina.

Despite the common name, it is not a bamboo but an erect evergreen shrub up to 2 m (7 ft) tall by 1.5 m (5 ft) wide, with numerous, usually unbranched stems growing from ground level. The glossy leaves are sometimes deciduous in colder areas, 50–100 cm (20–39 in) long, bi- to tri-pinnately compound, with the individual leaflets 4–11 cm (2–4 in) long and 1.5–3 cm broad. The young leaves in spring are brightly coloured pink to red before turning green; old leaves turn red or purple again before falling. The flowers are white, borne in early summer in conical clusters held well above the foliage. The fruit is a bright red berry 5–10 mm diameter, ripening in late autumn and often persisting through the winter.

All parts of the plant are poisonous, containing hydrocyanic acid, and could potentially be fatal if ingested. The plant is placed in Toxicity Category 4, the category "generally considered non-toxic to humans," however, the berries are considered toxic to cats and grazing animals. The berries also contain alkaloids such as nantenine, which is used in scientific research as an antidote to MDMA. Birds are generally not affected by these toxins and will disperse the seeds through their droppings. However, excessive consumption of the berries will kill birds such as Cedar Waxwings.

Nerium oleander

Nerium oleander (pron.: /ˈnɪəriəm ˈoʊliː.ændər/) is an evergreen shrub or small tree in the dogbane family Apocynaceae, toxic in all its parts. It is the only species currently classified in the genus Nerium. It is most commonly known as oleander, from its superficial resemblance to the unrelated olive Olea.[Note 1] It is so widely cultivated that no precise region of origin has been identified, though southwest Asia has been suggested. The ancient city of Volubilis in Morocco took its name from the old Latin name for the flower. Oleander is one of the most poisonous of commonly grown garden plants.

Oleander grows to 2–6 m (6.6–20 ft) tall, with erect stems that splay outward as they mature; first-year stems have a glaucous bloom, while mature stems have a grayish bark. The leaves are in pairs or whorls of three, thick and leathery, dark-green, narrow lanceolate, 5–21 cm (2.0–8.3 in) long and 1–3.5 cm (0.39–1.4 in) broad, and with an entire margin. The flowers grow in clusters at the end of each branch; they are white, pink to red,[Note 2] 2.5–5 cm (0.98–2.0 in) diameter, with a deeply 5-lobed fringed corolla round the central corolla tube. They are often, but not always, sweet-scented.[Note 3] The fruit is a long narrow capsule 5–23 cm (2.0–9.1 in) long, which splits open at maturity to release numerous downy seeds.

Theophrastus in his Enquiries into Plants of ca. 300 BCE described among plants that affect the mind a shrub he called onotheras, which modern editors render oleander; "the root of onotheras [oleander] administered in wine," he alleges, "makes the temper gentler and more cheerful."

Nicotiana alata

Nicotiana alata is a species of tobacco. It is called Winged Tobacco, Jasmine Tobacco, tanbaku, and sometimes Persian Tobacco, though the latter name is also used for Nicotiana persica.

Unlike the latter species, which is of some commercial importance in the production of Iranian Tobacco Company cigarettes, N. alata is mainly grown as an ornamental plant; numerous cultivars and hybrids are derived from it. In Iran, narghila tobacco is sometimes produced from N. alata; it is not chopped like cigarette tobacco, but broken up by hand.

Has a lovely fragrance in the evening to night. Most varieties bloom late-afternoon to evening. Seedlings do best when gradually introduced to outdoor environment over the course of a week. Plants tend to self-sow. (Color may be the original or occasionally several colors on one plant). Deadhead spent flower stalks for best blooming results.

Pansy

The pansy is a group of large-flowered hybrid plants cultivated as garden flowers. Pansies are derived from viola species Viola tricolor hybridized with other viola species, these hybrids are referred to as Viola × wittrockiana or less commonly Viola tricolor hortensis. Some unrelated species, such as the Pansy Monkeyflower, also have "pansy" in their name.

Pasque Flower

Pulsatilla vulgaris (pasque flower, pasqueflower, common pasque flower, Dane's blood) belongs to the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae), found locally on calcareous grassland in Europe. It used to be considered part of the Anemone genus, to which it is closely related.

This is an herbaceous perennial plant. It develops upright rhizomes, which function as food-storage organs. Its leaves and stems are long,

Peony

Paeonia (peony or paeony) is a genus of flowering plants, the only genus in the family Paeoniaceae. They are native to Asia, Southern Europe and Western North America. Boundaries between species are not clear and estimates of the number of species range from 25 to 40.

Most are herbaceous perennial plants 1.5 - 5 feet (0.5 - 1.5 metres) tall, but some resemble trees up to 5 - 10 feet (1.5 – 3 metres) tall.

Petunia

Petunia is genus of 35 species of flowering plants of South American origin, closely related to tobacco, cape gooseberries, tomatoes, deadly nightshades, potatoes and chili peppers; in the family Solanaceae. The popular flower of the same name derived its epithet from the French, which took the word petun, meaning "tobacco," from a Tupi–Guarani language. Most of the varieties seen in gardens are hybrids (Petunia × hybrida)

The origin of P. × hybrida is thought to be by hybridisation between P. axillaris (the large white or night-scented petunia) and P. integrifolia (the violet-flowered petunia). P. axillaris bears night-fragrant, buff-white blossoms with long, thin tubes and somewhat flattened openings. The species was first sent from South America to Paris in 1823. P. integrifolia has a somewhat weedy habit, spreading stems with upright tips, and small lavender to purple flowers. It was discovered in South America by the explorer James Tweedie, after whom the genus Tweedia is named, who sent specimens to the Glasgow Botanical Garden in 1831. Many open-pollinated species are also gaining popularity in the home garden. A wide range of flower colours, sizes, and plant architectures are available in both the hybrid and open-pollinated species

Some botanists place the plants of the genus Calibrachoa in the genus Petunia. In botanical classification, tobacco, tomato, potato, and petunia are all in the family Solanaceae.

Phlox drummondii

Phlox drummondii (commonly Annual Phlox or Drummond's Phlox) is a flowering plant in the genus Phlox. This plant is native to Texas, but is widely distributed in the southeastern United States, especially along public highways. P. drummondii is often used as an ornamental plant. According to J. P. Kelly "the colors have a wide range from white and cream through pinks, lilacs, roses, purples and reds, to almost black".

The said phlox is named after Scottish botanist Thomas Drummond, who sent it and a variety of other plant samples back to Britain following his 1833–1835 expedition to Texas.

The branches of the Phlox drummondii have sharp, pointed, lengthy, ciliated leaves with rounded flowers. The flowers are generally one-inch singles or double, with star shaped petals and a flatness. They have a light fragrance. The flowers mature to 8-10 inches x 8-10 inches. Due to the flower's experience with northern temperate zones, it tolerates cold weather well, but requires healthy watering and dislikes drought, wind and heat.

Phlox, Tall

Phlox paniculata (garden phlox or perennial phlox) is a species of flowering plant in the family Polemoniaceae, native to the eastern United States, but extensively cultivated as an ornamental plant.

Phlox paniculata is an erect herbaceous perennial growing to 120 cm (47 in) tall by 100 cm (39 in) wide, with alternate, simple leaves on slender green stems. The flowers, 1.5–2.5 cm (1–1 in) in diameter,

Physocarpus opulifolius

Physocarpus opulifolius, commonly called common ninebark or Atlantic ninebark, is a species of flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae, native to eastern North America.

It is a mound-shaped deciduous shrub with alternate, simple leaves, on arching stems. It has a height from 3–10 ft (1–3 m) and a spread of 4–6 ft (1–2 m). The leaves vary from 3–12 cm (1–5 in) in length, with palmately veined lobes. It is fast-growing, insect- and disease-resistant, and drought-tolerant. The species is adaptable to a very wide range of soil and site conditions, from moist to dry, acid to alkaline, and gravelly to heavy clay; and can grow in partial shade to full sun. The 5-petaled flowers are 6-8 mm in diameter and form in corymbs. The flowers are white to pinkish, and bloom from May to June in North America. In Missouri the fruits ripen from August to early October and are small, dry pods hanging in drooping, papery clusters. The bark peels off in thin papery strips, resembling the number nine in shape, exposing brown inner bark which is the origin of the common name.

Physocarpus opulifolius is found in eastern North America on rocky hillsides and banks of streams as well as in moist thickets, especially in counties south of the Missouri River. There is also a scarcely distinguishable form in the Rocky Mountain region and the Pacific Northwest. Its native range is from New York to Minnesota and South Dakota, south to Florida, Arkansas and Kansas. But it can be found from Quebec west to Minnesota, South Dakota and Colorado, south to Oklahoma to Georgia and north to New York. The shrub is an escape, or a wild plant formerly cultivated, northeastward.

Pieris japonica

Pieris japonica (Japanese andromeda) is a plant in the heath family, Ericaceae. It is native to eastern China, Taiwan, and Japan where it grows in mountain thickets.

It is also widely cultivated in gardens, and parent to the cultivated hybrid Pieris 'Forest Flame'.

Pieris japonica is a shrub or a small tree (1–4 metres or 3.3–13 feet tall, occasionally up to 10 metres) with alternate, simple leaves on brittle stems. The flowers are white and borne in early spring. The plant is poisonous if consumed by people or animals.

Pink, Cottage

Dianthus is a genus of about 300 species of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae, native mainly to Europe and Asia, with a few species extending south to north Africa, and one species (D. repens) in arctic North America. Common names include carnation (D. caryophyllus), pink (D. plumarius and related species) and sweet william (D. barbatus).

The species are mostly herbaceous perennials, a few are annual or

Plumbago auriculata

Plumbago auriculata (blue plumbago, Cape plumbago or Cape leadwort), syn. P. capensis, is a species of flowering plant in the family Plumbaginaceae, native to South Africa.

It is an evergreen shrub, often grown as a climber, ascending rapidly to 6 m (20 ft) tall by 3 m (10 ft) wide in nature, though much smaller when cultivated as a houseplant. It has light blue to blue flowers and also variations with white (P. auriculata var. alba) or deep blue (P. auriculata 'Royal cape') flowers. The leaves are a glossy green and grow to 5 cm (2 in) long.

The specific epithet auriculata means "with ears", referring to the shape of the leaves.

Poppy, Iceland

The Iceland Poppy (Papaver nudicaule, syn. Papaver croceum, P. miyabeanum, P. amurense, and P. macounii) is a boreal flowering plant. Native to subpolar regions of Europe, Asia and North America, and the mountains of Central Asia (but not in Iceland), Iceland poppies are hardy but short-lived perennials, often grown as biennials, that yield large, papery, bowl-shaped, lightly fragrant flowers supported by hairy,

Poppy, Oriental

Papaver orientale (Oriental poppy) is a perennial flowering plant native to the Caucasus, northeastern Turkey, and northern Iran.

Oriental poppies throw up a mound of finely cut, hairy foliage in spring. After flowering the foliage dies away entirely, a property that allows their survival in the summer drought of Central Asia. Late-developing plants can be placed nearby to fill the developing gap.

Portulaca grandiflora

Portulaca grandiflora (Moss-rose Purslane or Moss-rose), is a flowering plant in the family Portulacaceae, native to Argentina, southern Brazil, and Uruguay.

It is also seen in South Asia and widely spread in most of the cities with old 18th-19th century architecture in the Balkans. In Bangladesh, it is called "Time Fuul", meaning "Time Flower", because the flower has a specific time to bloom. In Vietnam, it is called "Hoa mười giờ" meaning "Ten o'clock flower", because the flower is usually in full bloom at 10 o'clock in the morning.

It is a small, but fast-growing annual plant growing to 30 cm tall, though usually less. However if it is cultivated properly it can easily reach this height. The leaves are thick and fleshy, up to 2.5 cm long, arranged alternately or in small clusters. The flowers are 2.5–3 cm diameter with five petals, variably red, orange, pink, white, and yellow. Cultivation and uses

Pot marigold

Calendula officinalis (pot marigold) is a plant in the genus Calendula of the family Asteraceae. It is probably native to southern Europe, though its long history of cultivation makes its precise origin unknown, and it may possibly be of garden origin. It is also widely naturalised further north in Europe (north to southern England) and elsewhere in warm temperate regions of the world.

Calendula officinalis is widely cultivated and can be grown easily in sunny locations in most kinds of soils. Although perennial, it is commonly treated as an annual, particularly in colder regions where its winter survival is poor, or in hot summer locations where it also does not survive.

Calendula are considered by many gardening experts as among the easiest and most versatile flowers to grow in a garden, especially since they tolerate most soils. In temperate climates, seeds are sown in spring for blooms that last throughout the summer and well into the fall. In areas of little winter freezing (USDA zones 8-11), seeds are sown in autumn for winter color, plants will wither in subtropical summer. Seeds will germinate freely in sunny or half-sunny locations, but plants do best if planted in sunny locations with rich, well-drained soil. Pot marigolds typically bloom quickly from seed (in under two months) in bright yellows, golds, and oranges. Seeds

Primrose, English

Primula vulgaris (syn. P. acaulis (L.) Hill) is a species of Primula native to western and southern Europe (from the Faroe Island and Norway south to Portugal, and east to Germany, Ukraine, the Crimea, and the Balkans), northwest Africa (Algeria), and southwest Asia (Turkey east to Iran). The common name is primrose, or occasionally common primrose or English primrose to distinguish it from other Primula species also

Primrose, Evening

Oenothera caespitosa, known commonly as tufted evening primrose and fragrant evening primrose, is a perennial plant of the genus Oenothera native to much of western and central North America. It produces a rosette of lobed or toothed leaves each up to 36 centimeters long around a woody caudex. There are many subtaxa, referred to as subspecies or varieties. Oenothera caespitosa grows to 10 centimeters (4 inches) tall.

Prunus cerasifera

Prunus cerasifera is a species of plum known by the common names cherry plum and myrobalan plum. It is native to Europe and Asia.

Wild types are large shrubs or small trees reaching 6-15 m tall, with deciduous leaves 4-6 cm long. It is one of the first European trees to flower in spring, often starting in mid-February. The flowers are white and about 2 cm across, with five petals. The fruit is a drupe, 2-3 cm in diameter, and yellow or red in colour. It is edible, and reaches maturity from early July to mid-September.

This species can be found growing wild where it has escaped cultivation and become naturalized, such as in North America.

Prunus subhirtella

Prunus subhirtella (Prunus × subhirtella) sometimes also called Spring cherry, Higan cherry, or Rosebud cherry is a small deciduous flowering tree originating in Japan, but unknown in the wild. It is probably of hybrid origin between Prunus incisa and Prunus spachiana.

P. subhirtella bears white to pink flowers which may emerge intermittently from autumn through to spring, and small black fruit.

Several garden forms are known. The variety 'Jugatsu-zakura' (incorrectly known as Prunus × subhirtella 'Autumnalis') is widely grown for its propensity to flower during mild winter weather.

Pyracantha coccinea

Pyracantha coccinea is the European species of Firethorn that has been cultivated in gardens since the late 16th century. The tree has small white flowers. It produces small, bright red berries. The fruit is bitter and astringent, making it inedible when raw. The fruit can be cooked to make jellies, jams, sauces and marmalade. It ranges from southern Europe to western Asia. It has been introduced to North America and cultivated there as an ornamental plant since the 18th century.

In England its use climbing unsightly walls seems to date from the late 18th century.

About 1874 M. Lalande, a nurseryman in Angers, France, selected from seedlings of P. coccinea an improved form, more freely berrying than the type. A sport has produced a yellow-berried form. These, and further selections, have largely ousted the ordinary form from nursery stock.

Red Hot Poker, Torch Lily

Kniphofia uvaria is also known as Tritoma, Torch Lily, or Red Hot Poker due to the shape and color of its inflorescence. The leaves are reminiscent of a lily, and the flowerhead can reach up to 1.52 m (5.0 ft) in height. There are many varieties of torch lily, and they bloom at different times during the growing season. The flowers are red, orange, and yellow.

Rhododendron

Rhododendron (from Ancient Greek ῥόδον rhódon "rose" and δένδρον déndron "tree") is a genus of over 1000 species of woody plants in the heath family, either evergreen or deciduous. Most species have showy flowers.

Azaleas make up two subgenera of Rhododendron. They are distinguished from "true" rhododendrons by having only five anthers per flower.

The rhododendron is the national flower of Nepal.

Rose

A rose is a woody perennial of the genus Rosa, within the family Rosaceae. There are over 100 species. They form a group of plants that can be erect shrubs, climbing or trailing with stems that are often armed with sharp prickles. Flowers vary in size and shape and are usually large and showy, in colours ranging from white through yellows and reds. Most species are native to Asia, with smaller numbers native to Europe, North America, and northwest Africa. Species, cultivars and hybrids are all widely grown for their beauty and often are fragrant. Rose plants range in size from compact, miniature roses, to climbers that can reach 7 meters in height. Different species hybridize easily, and this has been used in the development of the wide range of garden roses.

The name rose comes from French, itself from Latin rosa, which was perhaps borrowed from Oscan, from Greek ρόδον rhódon (Aeolic βρόδον wródon), itself borrowed from Old Persian wrd- (wurdi), related to Avestan varəδa, Sogdian ward, Parthian wâr.

The leaves are borne alternately on the stem. In most species they are 5 to 15 centimetres (2.0 to 5.9 in) long, pinnate, with (3–) 5–9 (–13) leaflets and basal stipules; the leaflets usually have a serrated margin, and often a few small prickles on the underside of the stem. Most roses are deciduous but a few (particularly from South east Asia) are evergreen or nearly so.

Rose, Lenten

Commonly known as hellebores[pronunciation?], members of the genus Helleborus comprise approximately 20 species of herbaceous or evergreen perennial flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae, within which it gave its name to the tribe of Helleboreae. Many species are poisonous. Despite names such as "Christmas rose" and "Lenten rose", hellebores are not closely related to the rose family (Rosaceae).

Rosemary

Rosmarinus officinalis, commonly known as rosemary, is a woody, perennial herb with fragrant, evergreen, needle-like leaves and white, pink, purple, or blue flowers, native to the Mediterranean region. It is a member of the mint family Lamiaceae, which includes many other herbs. The name "rosemary" derives from the Latin for "dew" (ros) and "sea" (marinus), or "dew of the sea", because in many locations, it needs no

Sage

Salvia officinalis (sage, also called garden sage, or common sage) is a perennial, evergreen subshrub, with woody stems, grayish leaves, and blue to purplish flowers. It is a member of the family Lamiaceae and is native to the Mediterranean region, though it has naturalized in many places throughout the world. It has a long history of medicinal and culinary use, and in modern times as an ornamental garden plant. The

Sage, Meadow

Salvia nemorosa (Woodland sage) is a hardy herbaceous perennial plant native to a wide area of central Europe and Western Asia.

It is an attractive plant that is easy to grow and propagate, with the result that it has been passed around by gardeners for many years. Its wide distribution, long history, and the ease with which it hybridizes have resulted in many cultivars and hybrids—along with problems in

Sage, Russian

Perovskia atriplicifolia, Russian sage, is a flowering herbaceous perennial plant or subshrub that is native to central Asia in an area that includes Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, and Tibet. Despite its common name, Russian sage is not in the same genus as other Salvias, which are commonly called "sage".

The specific epithet atriplicifolia means "with leaves like Atriplex".

Salvia splendens

Salvia splendens (Scarlet Sage, Tropical Sage) is a tender herbaceous perennial that is native to Brazil, growing at 2,000 to 3,000 m (6,600 to 9,800 ft) elevation where it is warm year-round and with high humidity. The native plant, rarely seen in cultivation, reaches 1.3 m (4.3 ft) tall. Smaller selections are very popular as bedding plants, seen in shopping malls and public gardens all over the world.

S. splendens was first described and named in 1822. At that time it was given the common name Lee's Scarlet sage. Before the plant was selected to become dwarf in size, an early Dutch selection named 'Van Houttei' was chosen and is still popular in the horticulture trade.

The native type is rarely used or described, though it grew from 1.5 to 8 m (4.9 to 26 ft) in height. The most common selections are the dwarf sizes that go by names such as 'Sizzler' and 'Salsa', and planted en masse in gardens and malls. 'Van Houttei' reaches 1 to 1.3 m (3.3 to 4.3 ft) in height. The various types typically have red flowers.

Sambucus canadensis

Sambucus canadensis (American Elderberry) is a species of elderberry native to a large area of North America east of the Rocky Mountains, and south through eastern Mexico and Central America to Panama. It grows in a variety of conditions including both wet and dry soils, primarily in sunny locations.

It is a deciduous suckering shrub growing to 3 m or more tall. The leaves are arranged in opposite pairs, pinnate with five to nine leaflets, the leaflets around 10 cm long and 5 cm broad. In summer, it bears large (20–30 cm diameter) corymbs of white flowers above the foliage, the individual flowers 5–6 mm diameter, with five petals.

The fruit is a dark purple to black berry 3–5 mm diameter, produced in drooping clusters in the fall. The berries and flowers are edible, but other parts of the plant are poisonous, containing toxic calcium oxalate crystals.

Sedum, Showy Stonecrop

Hylotelephium spectabile (formerly called Sedum spectabile) is a plant in the stonecrop family, Crassulaceae. Its common names include showy stonecrop, ice plant, and butterfly stone crop. A variety commonly grown is called "Autumn Joy".

Hylotelephium spectabile is a herbaceous plant with alternate, simple leaves, on succuulent stems. The flowers are pink, borne in fall.

Silver Ragwort

Jacobaea maritima (Silver Ragwort) is a perennial plant species in the genus Jacobaea in the family Asteraceae, native to the Mediterranean region. It was formerly placed in the genus Senecio, and is still widely referred to as Senecio cineraria; see the list of synonyms (right) for other names.

It is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant for its white, felt-like tomentose leaves; in horticultural use, it is also sometimes called dusty miller, a name shared with several other plants that also have silvery tomentose leaves; the two most often to share the name are Centaurea cineraria and Lychnis coronaria.

Jacobaea maritima is widely used in horticulture for its silvery foliage. It is winter hardy in USDA Zones 8-10, tolerating winter temperatures down to -12° to -15°C, tolerant of light shade but preferring full sun. In colder areas it is grown as an annual plant. Many cultivars have been selected for particularly dense silvery tomentum, such as 'Cirrus', 'New Look', 'Ramparts', 'Silverdust', 'Silver Filigree', and 'White Diamond', It has been recommended in North America for its fire resistance[10] resistance to browsing by deer, and its salt tolerance.

Solomon's Seal

Polygonatum odoratum, commonly known as Angular Solomon's-seal or Scented Solomon's-seal, is a plant species of the genus Polygonatum. In Britain it is one of three native species of the genus, the others being (Common) Solomon's-seal and Whorled Solomon's-seal.

Polygonatum odoratum is a colonizing herbaceous plant with alternate, simple leaves, on green stems. The flowers are white, borne in spring

Speedwell

Veronica spicata (Spiked Speedwell; syn. Pseudolysimachion spicatum) is a species of the genus Veronica.

It is the county flower of Montgomeryshire in the United Kingdom. Cultivated varieties include blue ('Royal Candles'), red ('Red Fox') and white ('Noah Williams').

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Spiderwort

Tradescantia virginiana (Virginia spiderwort) is a species of Tradescantia (spiderwort) native to the eastern United States. Spiderwort is commonly grown in gardens and many garden spiderworts seem to be hybrids of T. virginiana and other Tradescantia species.

Tradescantia virginiana is a herbaceous plant with alternate, simple leaves, on tubular stems. The flowers are blue, purple, or white, borne

Sunflower

Sunflower (Helianthus annuus) is an annual plant native to the Americas. It possesses a large inflorescence (flowering head), and its name is derived from the flower's shape and image, which is often used to depict the sun. The plant has a rough, hairy stem, broad, coarsely toothed, rough leaves and circular heads of flowers. The heads consist of many individual flowers which mature into seeds, often in the hundreds, on a receptacle base. From the Americas, sunflower seeds were brought to Europe in the 16th century, where, along with sunflower oil, they became a widespread cooking ingredient. Leaves of the sunflower can be used as cattle feed, while the stems contain a fibre which may be used in paper production.

The root of a sunflower reflects its characteristic of being a dicot. Out of the seed, the first root, radicle, pushes through and develops into a taproot. It continues to expand through primary and secondary tissues. Primary roots develop from primary tissues of the apical meristems that increase the length of the plant. While secondary roots, from secondary tissues of the lateral meristems give rise to the girth of the plant. Both structures are vital for the growth and strength of the stem.

The stem of a sunflower matures from the plumule found inside the seed. The plumule is an embryo shoot with a hypocotyl stem structure below the point where the plumule was attached and an epicotyl stem structure above this attachment point. Since a sunflower is a dicot, the cross-section of a stem organizes the vascular bundles in a away to separate the cortex and create a pith. This is opposite of its root structure which does not include a pith. The vascular bundles consisting of xylem and phloem transport water, mainly acquired from the roots, and food, mainly developed in the leaves, throughout the plant.

Sweet William

Dianthus barbatus (Sweet William) is a species of Dianthus native to southern Europe and parts of Asia which has become a popular ornamental garden plant. It is a herbaceous biennial or short-lived perennial plant growing to 30–75 cm tall, with flowers in a dense cluster of up to 30 at the top of the stems. Each flower is 2–3 cm diameter with five petals displaying serrated edges. Wild plants produce red flowers with a

Sweet Woodruff

Galium odoratum syn. Asperula odorata, is a flowering perennial plant in the family Rubiaceae, native to Europe, North Africa and Western Asia.

A herbaceous plant, it grows to 30–50 cm (12-20 ins.) long, often lying flat on the ground or supported by other plants. Its vernacular names include woodruff, sweet woodruff, and wild baby's breath; master of the woods would be a literal translation of the German Waldmeister.

Sweet pea

Sweet pea (Lathyrus odoratus) is a flowering plant in the genus Lathyrus in the family Fabaceae (legumes), native to the eastern Mediterranean.

It is an annual climbing plant, growing to a height of 1–2 meters (nearly six feet and six inches), where suitable support is available. The leaves are pinnate with two leaflets and a terminal tendril, which twines around supporting plants and structures helping the sweet pea to climb. The flowers are purple, 2-3.5 centimeters broad, in the wild plant, larger and very variable in colour in the many cultivars.

The annual species, L. odoratus, may be confused with the everlasting pea, L. latifolius, a perennial.

Syringa vulgaris

Syringa vulgaris (Lilac or Common Lilac) is a species of Syringa in the olive family Oleaceae, native to the Balkan Peninsula in southeastern Europe, where it grows on rocky hills.

It is a large deciduous shrub or multi-stemmed small tree, growing to 6–7 m high, producing secondary shoots ("suckers") with stem diameters of up to 20 cm from the base or roots, which in the course of decades may produce a small clonal thicket. The bark is grey to grey-brown, smooth on young stems, longitudinally furrowed and flaking on older stems. The leaves are simple, 4–12 cm long and 3–8 cm broad, light green to glaucous, oval to cordate, with pinnate leaf venation, a mucronate apex and an entire margin. They are arranged in opposite pairs or occasionally in whorls of three. The flowers have a tubular base to the corolla 6–10 mm long with an open four-lobed apex 5–8 mm across, usually lilac to mauve, occasionally white. They are arranged in a dense, terminal panicle 8-18 cm long. The fruit is a dry, smooth brown capsule, 1–2 cm long, splitting in two to release the two winged seeds.

Lilacs— both Syringa vulgaris and S. × persica, the finer, smaller "Persian Lilac", now considered a natural hybrid— were introduced into European gardens at the end of the sixteenth century, from Ottoman gardens, not through botanists exploring the Balkan habitats of S. vulgaris. The Holy Roman Emperor's ambassador, Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq, is generally credited with supplying lilac slips to Carolus Clusius, about 1562. Well-connected botanists, like the great herbalist John Gerard, soon had the rarity in their gardens: Gerard notes that he had lilacs growing “in very great plenty” in 1597, but lilacs were not mentioned by Shakespeare, and John Loudon was of the opinion that the Persian lilac had been introduced into English gardens by John Tradescant the elder. Tradescant's Continental source for information on the lilac, and perhaps ultimately for the plants, was Pietro Andrea Mattioli, as one can tell from a unique copy of Tradescant's plant list in his Lambeth garden, an adjunct of his Musaeum Tradescantianum; it was printed, though probably not published, in 1634: it lists Lilac Matthioli. That Tradescant's "lilac of Mattioli's" was a white one is shown by Elias Ashmole's manuscript list, Trees found in Mrs Tredescants Ground when it came into my possession (1662): "Syringa alba".

Thuja occidentalis

Thuja occidentalis is an evergreen coniferous tree, in the cypress family Cupressaceae, which is native to the North east of the United States and the South east of Canada, but widely cultivated as an ornamental plant. The species was first described by Carolus Linnaeus in 1753, and the binomial name remains current.

Common names include White cedar (in the United Kingdom), Northern White Cedar, Yellow Cedar, Atlantic White Cedar, Eastern White Cedar, Swamp cedar, Cedrus Lycea, False White Cedar, Hackmatack, Lebensbaum, Thuia du Canada, Techny Arborvitae, American Arborvitae or just Arborvitae) The name Arborvitae is particularly used in the horticultural trade in the United States. The name 'Arbor vitae', is Latin for "tree of life" - due to the supposed medicinal properties of the sap, bark and twigs. Despite its common names it does not belong to the cedar genus, nor is it related to the Australian White cedar, Melia azedarach.

T. occidentalis has fan-like branches and scaly leaves. Unlike the closely related species, Thuja plicata, it is only a small tree, growing to a height of 10–20 metres (33–66 ft) tall with a 0.4 metres (1.3 ft) trunk diameter, exceptionally to 30 metres (98 ft) tall and 1.6 metres (5.2 ft) diameter, the tree is often stunted or prostrate. The bark is red-brown, furrowed and peels in narrow, longitudinal strips. The foliage forms in flat sprays with scale-like leaves 3–5 millimetres (0.12–0.20 in) long. The cones are slender, yellow-green ripening brown, 10–15 millimetres (0.39–0.59 in) long and 4–5 millimetres (0.16–0.20 in) broad, with 6-8 overlapping scales. The branches may take root if the tree falls.

Thyme

Thymus vulgaris or common thyme is a low growing herbaceous plant, sometimes becoming somewhat woody. It is native to southern Europe, where it is often cultivated as a culinary herb.

It typically grows as a sub-shrub, between 15 and 20 cm tall.

Thyme adds a distinctive aromatic flavoring to sauces, stews, stuffings, meats, poultry – almost anything from soup to salad. In medieval

Toad Lily

Tricyrtis hirta (Toad Lily, Hairy Toad Lily) is a hardy perennial in the family Liliaceae that is native to Japan, growing on shaded rocky cliffs and stream banks. The flowers are 2.5 cm (0.98 in) wide with six whitish to pale purple tepals that have dark purple spots.

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Tropaeolum majus

Tropaeolum majus (garden nasturtium, Indian cress or monks cress) is a flowering plant in the family Tropaeolaceae, originating in the Andes from Bolivia north to Colombia. It is of cultivated, probably hybrid origin, with possible parent species including T. minus, T. moritzianum, T. peltophorum, and T. peregrinum. It is not closely related to the genus Nasturtium (which includes watercress).

It is a herbaceous annual plant with trailing stems growing to 1 metre (3 ft 3 in) long or more. The leaves are large, nearly circular, 3 to 15 centimetres (1.2 to 5.9 in) diameter, green to glaucous green above, paler below; they are peltate, with the 5-30 cm long petiole near the middle of the leaf, with several veins radiating to the smoothly rounded or slightly lobed margin. The flowers are 2.5–6 cm diameter, with five petals, eight stamens, and a 2.5–3 cm long nectar spur at the rear; they vary from yellow to orange to red, frilled and often darker at the base of the petals. The fruit is 2 cm broad, three-segmented, each segment with a single large seed 1–1.5 cm long.

It is widely cultivated, both as an ornamental plant and as a medicinal plant.

Tulip

The tulip is a perennial, bulbous plant with showy flowers in the genus Tulipa, of which up to 109 species have been described and which belongs to the family Liliaceae. The genus's native range extends from as far west as Southern Europe, Anatolia (Turkey), Israel, Palestine, North Africa, and Iran to the Northwest of China. The tulip's centre of diversity is in the Pamir, Hindu Kush, and Tien Shan mountains. A number

Verbana, Purple

Verbena bonariensis (Purpletop vervain, Tall verbena, Clustertop vervain, or Pretty verbena) is a member of the verbena family cultivated as a flowering annual or herbaceous perennial plant. In USA horticulture, it is also known by the ambiguous names "purpletop" (also used for the grass Tridens flavus) and "South American vervain" (which can mean any of the numerous species in the genus Verbena occurring in

Viburnum

Viburnum is a genus of about 150–175 species of shrubs or (in a few species) small trees in the moschatel family, Adoxaceae. Its current classification is based on molecular phylogeny. It was previously included in the family Caprifoliaceae.

The member species are native throughout the temperate Northern Hemisphere, with a few species extending into tropical montane regions in South America, Russia and southeast Asia. In Africa, the genus is confined to the Atlas Mountains.

The generic name originated in Latin, where it referred to V. lantana.

Vitex agnus-castus

Vitex agnus-castus, also called Vitex, Chaste Tree, Chasteberry, Abraham's Balm or Monk's Pepper, is a native of the Mediterranean region. It is one of the few temperate-zone species of Vitex, which is on the whole a genus of tropical and sub-tropical flowering plants. Theophrastus mentioned the shrub several times, as agnos (άγνος) in Enquiry into Plants. Vitex, its name in Pliny the Elder, is derived from the Latin vieo, meaning to weave or to tie up, a reference to the use of Vitex agnus-castus in basketry. Its macaronic specific name repeats "chaste" in both Greek and Latin.

Vitex agnus-castus is widely cultivated in warm temperate and subtropical regions for its delicate-textured aromatic foliage and butterfly attracting spikes of lavender flowers in late summer in cooler climates. It grows to a height of 1–5 meters. It requires full sun or partial shade along with well-drained soil. Under ideal conditions it is hardy to USDA Zone 7, on the south shore of Long Island and Nantucket on the East Coast of North America and in the southwest of England.

Vitex, also a traditional plant in Africa, is a little-known fruit plant that has potential to improve nutrition, boost food security, foster rural development and support sustainable landcare.

Weigela

Weigela (pron.: /waɪˈdʒiːlə/)[2] is a genus of between six and 38 species of deciduous shrubs in the family Caprifoliaceae, growing to 1-5 m (3-15') tall. All are natives of eastern Asia. The genus is named after the German scientist Christian Ehrenfried Weigel.

The leaves are 5-15 cm long, ovate-oblong with an acuminate tip, and with a serrated margin. The flowers are 2-4 cm long, with a five-lobed white, pink, or red (rarely yellow) corolla, produced in small corymbs of several together in early summer. The fruit is a dry capsule containing numerous small winged seeds.

The first species to be collected for Western gardens, Weigela florida, distributed in North China, Korea and Manchuria, was found by Robert Fortune and imported to England in 1845. Following the opening of Japan to Westerners, several Weigela species and garden versions were "discovered" by European plant-hunters in the 1850s and 60s, though they may have already been known to locals.

Windflower

Anemone blanda (Grecian Windflower) is a tuberous perennial plant native to southeastern Europe, Turkey, Lebanon, and Syria. It grows to 10cm. It is valued for its daisy-like flowers which appear in early Spring, a time when little else is in flower. The flowers are an intense shade of purple blue, but are also available in shades of pink and white. It grows in any well-drained soil which dries out in summer; hence it is

Xerochrysum bracteatum

Xerochrysum bracteatum, commonly known as the golden everlasting or strawflower, is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to Australia. Described by Étienne Pierre Ventenat in 1803, it was known as Helichrysum bracteatum for many years before being transferred to a new genus Xerochrysum in 1990. It grows as a woody or herbaceous perennial or annual shrub up to a metre (3 ft) tall with green or grey leafy foliage. Golden yellow or white flower heads are produced from spring to autumn; their distinctive feature is the papery bracts that resemble petals. The species is widespread, growing in a variety of habitats across the country, from rainforest margins to deserts and subalpine areas. The golden everlasting serves as food for various larvae of lepidopterans (butterflies and moths), and adult butterflies, hoverflies, native bees, small beetles and grasshoppers visit the flower heads.

The golden everlasting has proven very adaptable to cultivation. It was propagated and developed in Germany in the 1850s, and annual cultivars in a host of colour forms from white to bronze to purple flowers became available. Many of these are still sold in mixed seed packs. In Australia, many cultivars are perennial shrubs, which have become popular garden plants. Sturdier, long-stemmed forms are used commercially in the cut flower industry.

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Yucca gloriosa

Yucca gloriosa is an evergreen shrub of the genus Yucca. Common names include Spanish Dagger, Moundlily Yucca, Soft-tipped Yucca, Spanish Bayonet or Sea Islands Yucca.

Caulescent, 0.5-2.5 m tall, usually with several stems from the base, base thickened in adult specimens, branched above, rhizomatous, leaves straight, very stiff, 0.3-0.5 m long, 2-3.5 cm wide, dark green, light grey-green, margins entire, smooth, rarely fine denticulate, acuminate, with a sharp, brown, terminal spine, underside smooth. Inflorescence paniculate, 0.6-1.5 m tall, partially inferior to the leaves, flowers campanulate to elongate, numerous, pendulous, white, sometimes tinged purple or red, 3.5 cm long, fruits green, when ripe brownish, indehiscent, 5–8 cm long, 2.5 cm wide, obovate, seeds black, thickened.

Yucca gloriosa grows on sand dunes along the coast and barrier islands of the southeastern USA, often together with Yucca aloifolia and a variety formerly called Yucca recurvifolia or Y. gloriosa var. recurvifolia, now Y. gloriosa var. tristis. In contrast to Y. gloriosa var. tristis, the leaves of Y. gloriosa var. gloriosa are hard stiff, erect and narrower. On the other hand, Y. aloifolia has leaves with denticulate margins and a sharp-pointed, terminal spine.

Zinnia

Zinnia is a genus of 20 species of annual and perennial plants of the family Asteraceae. They are native to scrub and dry grassland in an area stretching from the Southwestern United States to South America, with a centre of diversity in Mexico. Members of the genus are notable for their solitary long-stemmed flowers that come in a variety of bright colors. The name honours genus German botanist Johann Gottfried Zinn (1727–59).

Zinnia leaves are opposite and usually stalkless (sessile), with a shape ranging from linear to ovate, and pale to middle green in color. The flowers have a range of appearances, from a single row of petals, to a dome shape, with the colors white, chartreuse, yellow, orange, red, purple, and lilac.

Zinnias are popular garden flowers, usually grown from seed, and preferably in fertile, humus-rich, and well-drained soil, in an area with full sun. They will reseed themselves each year. Over 100 cultivars have been produced since selective breeding started in the 19th century.