Also known as the port wine banksia or the strawberry banksia, the firewood banksia is a flowering plant species in the genus, Banksia. It is actually either a gnarled up tree that stands 10 metres tall, or a shrub that spreads about 1 to 3 metres in the northern parts of its distribution range. It
Stephanotis is a genus which is originally from Africa. Its name derives from the Greek words, ‘stephanos’ (crown) and ‘otis’ (ear). Although this may sound strange, this actually refers to how the stamens in each flower are supposedly shaped. There are about 5-15 species in this genus, which are all evergreen and woody-stemmed climbers from
Although Jasmine is from the Old French word, Jasminum, it actually derives from the Persian word ‘yasmin’, which means “Gift from God”. It is a type of vine and shrub from the olive family, and there are about 200 species of jasmine around the world that are native to warm temperate and tropical regions of
Also known as a courgette, the zucchini is a type of small summer squash that is part of the Cucurbita pepo. Zucchinis are yellow or green, and look similar to a cucumber. However, there are some varieties that look round or bottle-shaped. The zucchini, like all other summer squahes, had its original ancestors from the
The Rafflesia refers to a specific genus of plants found only in South-East Asia, specifically the Malay Peninsula, Borneo, Sumatra and in the Philippines. Named after Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, leader of the expedition that found it which also happens to be the founder of Singapore. The Rafflesia is the biggest flower in the world
The prickly pear cactus are actually members of the Opuntia genus and grow in the deserts of North America and can be found in South America deserts as far south as the southern part of Argentina. The size ranges from a few inches to over one hundred feet in height. Like most of the cacti
(Trifolium repens) White clover is a type of clover that is native to most of Europe, Great Britain, North Africa as well as North America. White Clover is a perennial, self seeding. It grows low to the ground, with white coloredflowers that very often have tints of pink or cream colored on their ends. The
The buttercup species is home to more than three hundred species of plants, most of them flowering. Some grow on land, some in water and the vast majority of them are wildflowers, not normally cultivated by man. Being one of the first bright yellow spring flowers, the midwestern eyes are always happy to see it
Before the cultivated pansy was developed the wild pansy was the progenitor for the domesticated flowers that we know and plant today. . Known also as the Johnny-jump-up; love-lies-bleeding; banwort and bull weed, the viola was brought to North America from Europe where it is a common weed and was in some places considered noxiious
The Trailing arbutus is one of the best known, and best loved of Eastern American Wildflowers, and was said to be the first flower that the Pilgrims found when they stepped on the shore of the new world. It is a white or whitish pink blossom, and is quite rare in how it function in
May Apple is known by many different names, Indian apple, Racoonberry, wild lemon, hog apple and American mandrake. It is a perennial herb that can be found growing in moist loamy woodland soils on the East coast of North America from the Southern parts of Maine to Florida and may be found as far West
The Mountain Laurel is the state flower of several states in the US, among them Connecticut and Pennsylvania, and grows in mountainous regions from Maine to Montana. It reaches about 15 feet in height; however most trees, particularly those in very mountainous harsher regions do not achieve that reach, but will be about 8-10 feet
The desert Lupine is native to the Mojave, to the deserts of California and Nevada as well as New Mexico, Arizona and parts of Texas. It does not like higher altitudes but will grow along the road in the desert as well as on slopes and even the tops of the mesa. It has a
