Quick! Can you name a beautiful ornamental succulent plant that somehow belongs in the same family as hyacinth and asparagus? Our choice is Beaucarnea recurvata, a uniquely constructed tree native to arid parts of southeastern Mexico. In those areas, Beaucarnea can reach 30 ft. high after many years, but in cultivation it tends to stay shorter. It starts life as…
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About 40 years ago, a Miami couple fresh from a long trip to Asia brought seeds of an attractive Indian evergreen tree to Fairchild Tropical Garden. Over time this species, Polyalthia longifolia (a/k/a P. longifolia var. pendula), has proven to be a very successful introduction to the landscape of southern Florida. Commonly known as the Mast Tree –– ship…
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Once in a while we come across a plant species whose exact origin is unknown. A well-known example is the Coconut Palm, because its fruit, or seednut, is capable of both floating in ocean water and resisting salt’s toxic effects, allowing it to spread to many tropical and subtropical locales. But in most other cases a plant’s origin is unknown because humans living…
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As you know, we are surrounded by weird things. In your case, at this very moment the closest weird thing is probably your neighbor’s teenage son, who thinks he is the next Justin Bieber, but more closely resembles an offkey cyclops. In the plant world, one of the weirder things is the Baobab tree, but, unlike your neighbor’s kid, the Baobab has…
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This week we take a look at a very interesting group of Florida native plants known collectively as stoppers. All stoppers are members of the Myrtaceae, an enormous family that also includes the genus Eucalyptus. Some grow as shrubs and some as trees. Each of the five described below not only has ornamental value, but also has proven…
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