If you haven’t discovered the source of Chanel No. 5 perfume, allow us to introduce you to the Ylang-Ylang Tree. Native from island chains of Southeast Asia into northern Australia, this tropical evergreen produces oils that are steam-distilled from its aromatic flowers to create the world-famous women’s fragrance. The story goes that Russian-born perfumer Ernest…
Read more
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…
Read more
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…
Read more
Despite its name, the ming fern is a flowering plant and not a fern at all. It produces white flowers in the spring to early summer. It is in the same genus as the edible cultivated perennial vegetable, Asparagus officinalis. Ming Ferns do well in full sun as well as shaded locations. A native to…
Read more
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…
Read more