Plant Profile: Thinleaf Sunflower (Helianthus decapetalus)
Karen Also called rough sunflower and ten-petal sunflower, this herbaceous perennial is native to the woodlands and forests of Eastern and Central US. It is a member of the daisy family,…
Plant Profile: Java Glorybower (Clerodendrum speciosissimum)
This tropical evergreen shrub is also known as pagoda flower and giant salvia and is native to Java where it grows in forest clearings in the low mountains. It is…
Plant Profile: Rose Glory Bower (Clerodendrum bungei)
Also called, Mexican hydrangea, this suckering deciduous shrub is native to China, Vietnam, and Taiwan where it grows along roadsides and on mountainous slopes of mixed forests. It is a…
Plant Profile: Common Sunflower (Helianthus annus)
Although there are many perennial sunflowers there is only one annual that is garden worthy but that one has dozens of cultivars and is very popular. A native of western…
Plant Profile: Japanese Spurge (Pachysandra terminalis)
Native to Japan and north-central China, this evergreen herbaceous perennial also called carpet box, is a member of the boxwood family, Buxaceae. It grows 8-12″ tall from a rhizomateous root…
Plant Profile: Rubber Rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus nauseosus aka Ericameria nauseosus)
Rubber rabbitbrush is a deciduous shrub and a member of the aster family, Asteraceae, that also includes daisies, yarrow, and lettuce. It is naive to the western third of the…
Plant Profile: Pineleaf Beardtongue (Penstemon pinifolius)
Native to southern New Mexico and Arizona, this long-lived evergreen perennial or subshrub is a member of the plantain family, Plantaginaceae, that also includes snapdragon, turtlehead, and foxglove. The compact…
Plant Profile: Four Angled Sundrop (Oenothera tetragona)
This short-lived perennial is native to eastern North America where it is found in open places and along woodsides. It is a member of the willowherb familiy, Onagraceae, that also…
Book Review: A Journalist’s Book of Wildflowers
Karen Meyers Laura C. Martins’s book, A Naturalists Book of Wildlflowers, provides a fresh, new look at wildflowers. Written to resemble the author’s field journals, the book includes notes, sketches, ideas and…
Plant Profile: Hybrid Japanese Anemone (Anemone x hybrida)
Hybrid Japanese anemone is a herbaceous perennial often sold as A, japonica. It is a member of the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae, that also includes delphinium, clamatis, and hellebore. Plants form…