epiphyllum oxypetalum

Epiphyllum oxypetalum (Dutchman's Pipe) is a species of cactus and one of the most cultivated species in the genus. It is also referred to as Night blooming Cereus and often confused with species of Selenicereus.

Description:Stems erect, ascending, scandent or sprawling, profusely branched, primary stems terete, to 2-6 m long, flattened laterally, ligneous at base, secondary stems flat, elliptic-acuminate, to 30 cm x 10-12 cm, thin; margins shallowly to deeply crenate and ± undulate. Flowers produced from flattened portions, to 30 cm long, 12-17 cm wide, nocturnal, very fragrant. The principal odor component in the aroma is benzyl salicylate; pericarpel nude, slightly angled, green, bracteoles short; receptacle 13-20 cm long, 1 cm thick, brownish, arching, bracteoles narrow, ca 10 mm long; outer tepals linear, acute, 8-10 cm long reddish to amber; inner tepals oblanceolate to oblong, acuminate, to 8-10 cm long and 2,5 cm wide, whitish; stamens greenish white or white, slender and weak; style greenish white or white, 4 mm thick, as long as inner tepals, lobes many, pale yellow or white.. Fruit oblong, 12 x 8 cm, purplish red, angled.

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Daffodils

Description:All Narcissus species have a central trumpet-, bowl-, or disc-shaped corona surrounded by a ring of six floral leaves called the perianth which is united into a tube at the forward edge of the 3-locular ovary. The seeds are black, round and swollen with hard coat. The three outer segments are sepals, and the three inner segments are petals. Though the traditional daffodil of folklore, poetry, and field may have a yellow to golden-yellow color all over, both in the wild species and due to breeding, the perianth and corona may be variously colored. Breeders have developed some daffodils with double, triple, or ambiguously multiple rows and layers of segments, and several wild species also have known double variants.

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Camellia

Camellia, the camellias, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. They are native to eastern and southern Asia, from the Himalaya east to Japan and Indonesia. There are 100–250 described species, with some controversy over the exact number. The genus was named by Linnaeus after the Jesuit botanist Georg Joseph Kamel from Brno, who worked on the Philippines. This genus is famous throughout East Asia; camellias are known as cháhuā in Chinese, and as tsubaki in Japanese.

The most famous member – though often not recognized as a camellia – is certainly the tea plant (C. sinensis). Among the ornamental species, the Japanese Camellia (C. japonica) is perhaps the most widely-known, though most camellias grown for their flowers are cultivars or hybrids.

Description: They are evergreen shrubs and small trees 2–20 m tall. The leaves are alternately arranged, simple, thick, serrated, usually glossy, and 3–17 cm long. The flowers are large and conspicuous, 1–12 cm diameter, with (in natural conditions) 5–9 petals; colour varies from white to pink and red, and yellow in a few species. The fruit is a dry capsule, sometimes subdivided into up to 5 compartments, each compartment containing up to 8 seeds.

The genus is generally adapted to acidic soils, and most species do not grow well on chalky or other calcium-rich soils. Most species also have a high rainfall requirement and will not tolerate drought, but some of the more unusual camellias – typically species from karst in Vietnam – can grow without much rainfall.

Camellias have a fast growth rate. Typically they will grow about 30 centimetres a year until mature although this varies depending on variety and location.

Camellia species are used as food plants by the larvae of a number of Lepidoptera species; see List of Lepidoptera that feed on Camellia. Leaves of the Japanese Camellia (C. japonica) are parasitized by the fungus Mycelia sterile

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Bromeliad Flower

The bromeliad family (Bromeliaceae) consists of 51 genera and about 1,500 strictly American species. They grow from the dry deserts of southwestern United States to equatorial tropical rain forests. Based on growth habits and other characteristics, Bromeliaceae is divided into the subfamilies Pitcairnioideae, Tillandsioideae and Bromelioideae.

Members of the subfamily Pitcairnioideae are mainly terrestrial plants with heavy spines on their leaf edges. They grow in soil or on rocks and do not have a leaf rosette that traps water. The genera belonging to this subfamily commonly cultivated are Dyckia, Hechtia, Pitcirnia and Puya.

The subfamily Tillandsioideae contains the least number of genera but the largest number of species, of which many are cultivated. Plants in this group have smooth or entire leaf margins, unusual foliage markings and colors. Some species produce fragrant flowers. Plants in the genera Guzmania, Tillandsia and Vriesea are the more commonly cultivated members of this subfamily.

Bromelioideae, the third subfamily, has the most bromeliad genera grown as garden and interior plants. It encompasses 30 genera with the widest range of plant forms, and accordingly the largest number of cultivated species. Subfamily members are mostly epiphytic, leaf edges are almost all spiny, foliage has attractive markings and patterns, and the leaves are usually arranged in rosettes which may be cup-shaped. Aechmea, Billbergia, Cryptanthus, Neoregelia and Nidularium are the most popular genera of this subfamily.

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Azalea Flower

Azaleas are flowering shrubs making up part of the genus Rhododendron. Originally azaleas were classed as a different genus of plant, but now they are recognised as two of the eight sub-genera of rhododendrons - subgenus Pentanthera (deciduous), and subgenus Tsutsuji (evergreen).

Cultivation:Plant enthusiasts have created azaleas for hundreds of years. This human genetic modification has produced over 10,000 different cultivars which are propagated by cuttings. Azalea seeds can also be collected and germinated.

Azaleas grow best in well-drained soil or in plant pots in a cool, shady position. They are easily damaged by excessive soil moisture and grow best in acidic soil (4.5 - 6.0 pH). Fertilizer is optional, although some species do need regular pruning.

Several commercial nurseries in Semmes, Alabama, a suburb of Mobile, are major national suppliers of azaleas in the U.S.

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Annuals Flower

A true annual is a plant that completes its life cycle in one year. This means it goes from seed to seed and then dies off, during the course of one growing season. The whole mission of an annual is to produce seed and propagate. That's why deadheading or removing spent flowers before the seed matures, produces more flowers and therefore more potential seed.

Some tender perennials are grown as annuals in colder climates. For a perennial to be worth growing as an annual, it must flower profusely in its first year of growth. Pansies, lantana and alyssum are all actually tender perennials.

There are also plants considered to be hardy annuals. This just means that they are able to withstand a little frost without being killed off and will continue to bloom and set seed into the next year, but they will eventually expire. Bachelor Buttons and Salvia Victoria are examples.

Annuals can be further divided into cool season and warm season. Pansies will fade as the summer heats up. Zinnias won't even get moving until the nights stay warm. Read more on this article...

Gaillardia (Blanket flower)

Gaillardia (Blanket flower) is a genus of drought-tolerant annual and perennial plants from the sunflower family (Asteraceae), native to North America. It was named after M. Gaillard de Charentonneau, an 18th-century French magistrate who was a patron of botany. The common name refers to the inflorescence's resemblance to brightly patterned blankets made by native Americans.

These plants form wiry, branched stems with lanceolate to linear basal leaves. The plant grows to 1 1/2 to 2 ft (45 - 60 cm) tall, with bright daisy-like single color and bi-color blooms in shades from buff to red to brown. The flowers bloom in the summer. There are more than two dozen known species of Gaillardia.

They will grow under very harsh and dry conditions, forming mounds, 8 - 18 inches (20 - 45 cm) high, and will even bloom in sand along a seashore.

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African Violet

Saintpaulia, commonly known as African violet, is a genus of 6 species of herbaceous perennial flowering plants in the family Gesneriaceae, native to Tanzania and adjacent southeastern Kenya in eastern tropical Africa, with a concentration of species in the Nguru mountains of Tanzania. The genus is most closely related to Streptocarpus, with recent phylogenetic studies suggesting it has evolved directly from subgenus Streptocarpella. The common name was given due to a superficial resemblance to true violets (Viola, family Violaceae).

Taxonomy

The genus is named after Baron Walter von Saint Paul-Illaire (1860-1910), the district commissioner of Tanga province who "discovered" the plant in Tanganyika (now Tanzania) in Africa in 1892 and sent seeds back to his father, an amateur botanist in Germany. Two British plant enthusiasts, Sir John Kirk and Reverend W.E. Taylor, had earlier collected and submitted specimens to Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in 1884 and 1887 respectively, but the quality of specimens was insufficient to permit scientific description at that time. The genus Saintpaulia, and original species S. ionantha, were scientifically described by J. C. Wendland in 1893.

Saintpaulias grow from 6-15 cm tall and can be anywhere from 6-30 cm wide. The leaves are rounded to oval, 2.5-8.5 cm long with a 2-10 cm petiole, finely hairy, and with a fleshy texture. The flowers are 2-3 cm diameter, with a five-lobed velvety corolla ("petals"), and grow in clusters of 3-10 or more on slender stalks (peduncles). Flower colour in the wild species can be violet, purple, pale blue, or white.

Several of the species and subspecies are endangered, and many more are threatened, due to clearance of their native cloud forest habitat for agriculture.

Revisions of the genus by B.L. Burtt had expanded the genus to approximately 20 species. On the basis of recent studies that showed most of the species to be very poorly differentiated, both genetically and morphologically, the number of species has been reduced to 6, with the majority of former species reduced to subspecies under S. ionantha, in a recent floristic treatment

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