One of the most reliable plants in southern and central Florida for creating a dense and uniform hedge is Eugenia uniflora, better known as Surinam Cherry. Few other plants stay full from bottom to top as they increase in size and age. This species comes with an interesting story that says something about the nature of plant exploration…
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Jaboticaba is the Brazilian term for four very similar species of Myrciaria that produce one of the more interesting-looking tropical fruit trees in the southern half of Florida. The name of the best-known of those species, M. cauliflora, suggests why: It is cauliflorous, meaning that its flowers and fruits are borne directly on the woody…
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One of the hardiest of vines introduced to the United States is Podranea ricasoliana, the Pink Trumpet Vine. During the fall, winter and spring it bears fragrant pale pink, bell-shaped flowers highlighted by red stripes. The glossy foliage is also attractive. The plant is one of the Bignoniaceae family, which also includes the Jacaranda Tree. The vine…
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Agaves comprise just over 200 species of succulent plants native to the New World, from the southwestern U.S. to northern South America. They are characterized by a rosette of fleshy, stiff leaves capable of withstanding severe heat and drought. Over time, the common name Century Plant has been attached to the genus on the claim that flowering occurs just…
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If you are only passingly familiar with cycads, you’re missing out on one of the most ancient and interesting representatives of the plant kingdom. The first cycads arose somewhere around 280 million years ago, but came into their own in the Jurassic Period, the same time dinosaurs began to dominate, roughly 200 to 145 million years ago. But you can’t say that’s when cycads really flowered, because they’re…
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