Touch-me-not (Mimosa pudica)

The Touch-me-not or Sensitive plant (Mimosa pudica) is a creeping annual or perennial herb often grown for its curiosity value: the compound leaves fold inward and droop when touched, re-opening within minutes. Mimosa pudica is native to Brazil, but is now a pan tropical weed. It is grown for its curiosity value- the fern like leaves close up and droop when touched, usually re-opening within minutes.

It has prickly stems and small, fluffy, ball shaped pink flowers in summer. It grows to a height of 5 ft and spreads around 3 ft- a perennial plant, it grows to a height of 0.5m with a spread of 0.3m. In some areas this plant is becoming a noxious weed. The stem is erect, slender and branching. The leaves are bipinnate, fern like and pale green- closing when disturbed. The flowers are pale lilac pink, occurring in globose heads and appearing in summer. Indigenous to the northern hemisphere, it is adaptable to most soils in an open, sunny position, and is drought and frost tender. Due to its ability to fix nitrogen from the air it does well on poor soils. “Sensitive Plant” folds up its leaves when touched or exposed to a flame. This plant requires a medium light exposure, an evenly moist soil, and temperatures between 60 and 85 degrees. One should use caution when handling seedlings because the plant dislikes root disturbance. Mimosa may be difficult to grow and is sensitive to over watering.

Taxonomy:

Kingdom : Plantae
Division : Magnoliophyta
Class : Magnoliopsida
Order : Fabales
Family : Fabaceae
Subfamily : Mimosoideae
Genus : Mimosa
Species : Mimosa pudica

Pronunciation/Meaning:

• Mimosa (mim-MOH-suh) - From the word for mimic, because the movement of the leaves.
• pudica (pud-EE-kuh) - Shrinking, closing, modest.

Common Names:

• Touch-me-not, Sensitive Plant, Humble Plant, Tickle Me Plant, Shame Plant, Sleeping Grass, Prayer Plant (English)
• Chui-mui, Lajwanti (Hindi)
• Lajjalu, Namaskari, Rakta Paadi (Sanskrit)
• Thottaccurungi (Tamil)
• Tintarmani (Malayalam)
• Nilajban (Assamese)
• Lajjabati (Bengali)
• Kangphal, Kangphal ikaithabi (Manipuri)

Links:

• Flowers of India - Touch-Me-Not
• University of Miami : Dept of Biology - Touch-Me-Not
• BBC h2g2 - Touch-Me-Not

Winged-Stem Passion Flower (Passiflora alata)

The Winged-stem passion flower (Passiflora alata) is a vine which bears an edible type of passion fruit. It is native to the Amazon region of Brazil. The native peoples living in areas where the plant thrives refer to it as “ouvaca,” meaning “red star” due to the appearance of its flower. The fruit it bears is also highly prized by locals and is said to be delectable.

The leaves are oval or oblong, 10-15 cm long and 1-10 wide. The 7-10 cm (2.8-3.9 in.) wide flower is fragrant. It usually blooms around late summer or early fall, needing full sun exposure. P. alata attracts bees, butterflies and birds, and is suitable for growing indoors.

The fruit is an egg shape, yellow to bright orange, 8-15 cm (3.1-5.9 in) long and 5-10 cm (2-3.9 in) in diameter. It weighs from about 90 up to 300 g. This fruit is cultivated in some parts of Brazil and is a highly prized fruit there, because of the few blossoms borne on the plant.

Taxonomy:

Kingdom : Plantae
Division : Magnoliophyta
Class : Magnoliopsida
Order : Malpighiales
Family : Passifloraceae
Genus : Passiflora
Species : Passiflora alata

Pronunciation/Meaning:

• Passiflora (pass-iff-FLOR-uh) - Passion flower.
• alata (a-LAY-tuh) - Winged.

Common Names:

• Winged-stem Passion Flower, Fragrant Granadilla, Passionflower

Links:

• Cool Exotics - Winged-stem Passion Flower

Bleeding Heart (Dicentra spectabilis)

Bleeding heart (Dicentra spectabilis) is a perennial herbaceous plant native to eastern Asia from Siberia south to Japan. This species of bleeding heart can grow to 60-140 cm tall and has ternately compound leaves (leaflets that come in threes). The flowers are pendulous, shaped much like hearts, produced in a raceme bearing 3-15 individual flowers, each one 2-3 cm long, with pink outer petals and white inner petals. The flowering season is from early spring to mid summer.

It is a popular ornamental plant for flower gardens in temperate climates, and is also used in floristry as a cut flower. It can be a full sun plant if in a cool area but in a warm climate, prefers semi-shaded areas. It needs to be kept moist and prefers neutral to alkaline soil with good drainage although these plants can tolerate heavy clay soil as well.

It is prone to aphids, slugs and snails, which cause damage to its leaves. Propagation is by sowing the seeds when fresh. It can also be divided, preferably in the late fall or early spring. However, contact with the plant can cause skin irritation because the entire plant is toxic, so should be handled with gloves and long sleeves.

Several cultivars have been selected, including ‘Alba’, with pure white flowers, and ‘Goldheart’, a relatively new cultivar developed at Hadspen Garden in England and introduced in 1997 with fuchsia-coloured flowers that drop from the stem in a row, and yellow foliage that turns lime green

Taxonomy:

Kingdom : Plantae
Division : Magnoliophyta
Class : Magnoliopsida
Order : Ranunculales
Family : Fumariaceae
Genus : Dicentra
Species : Dicentra spectabilis

Pronunciation/Meaning:

• Fumariaceae (foo-mar-ee-AY-see-ay) - The Fumaria (fumitory) family; the name means earth smoke.
• Dicentra (dy-SEN-truh) - From the Greek dis, (twice) and kentron, (spur); referring to the flower shape.
• spectabilis (speck-TAB-ih-liss) - Spectacular.

Common Names:

• Bleeding Heart, Venus’ Car, Lyre Flower.

Links:

• Mr. Grow - Bleeding Heart
• WebIndia123 Gardening - Bleeding Heart
• How To Grow Bleeding Heart
• Flickr Clusters - Bleeding Heart

Calla Lily (Zantedeschia aethiopica)

Calla Lily (Zantedeschia aethiopica syn. Calla aethiopica, Richardia aethiopica, Colocasia aethiopica) is a herbaceous ornamental plant in the Araceae family.Also commonly known as the Arum lily, although the plant is neither a true Arum (genus Arum) nor a lily (genus Lilium), but so named as the flowers resemble those of the Arums.

Naturally occurring forms are white. Although normally deciduous in summer and early autumn this species can stay evergreen if it receives enough moisture. It can also be grown in water up to 6-12in deep. The plant reaches 24-36in in height and spread, with large clumps of broad, arrow shaped dark green leaves. The large flowers, produced in spring, summer and autumn, are pure white with a yellow spathe.

Taxonomy:

Kingdom : Plantae
Division : Magnoliophyta
Class : Liliopsida
Order : Alismatales
Family : Araceae
Genus : Zantedeschia
Species : Zantedeschia aethiopica

Pronunciation/Meaning:

• Araceae (a-RAY-see-ay) - The Aroid or Arum family.
• Zantedeschia (zan-te-DES-kee-uh) - Named for Professor Francesco Zantedeschi, 19th century Italian priest and scientist or Named for Dr. Giovanni Zantedeschi, 19th century Italian botanist and physician.
• aethiopica (ee-thee-OH-pik-uh) - Africa (especially South Africa); name derived from Aethiops, an African and son of Vulcan, the Greek God of metalworking and fire.

Common Names:

• Calla Lily, Lily of the Nile, Arum Lily

Links:

• Flowers of India - Calla Lily
• Plantz Africa - Calla Lily
• BBC Gardening - Calla Lily

African Daisy (Dimorphotheca sinuata)

African Daisy (Dimorphotheca sinuata syn. Dimorphotheca aurantiaca) is an ornamental plant native to the South Africa. African daisies are one of the loveliest garden plants. Selected forms of African daisies are available in a variety of shades such as orange, cream, yellow and salmon. The striking daisy shaped flowers attract butterflies into the garden. Bees love this plant as they collect the nectar from the flowers. African daisy is an annual that grows up to 1 ft tall. The leaves are light green when mature with shallowly lobed margins. They are slender, spoon-shaped, reaching up to 8 cm long. The stems are reddish in colour and are often covered by the masses of leaves around them.

African daisy is a particularly attractive species of the genus Dimorphotheca, with remarkably big orange flowers that have orange centres. They need full sun to open and they always face the sun. Around the centre at the bottom of the petals is a narrow, greenish mauve ring. The flowering time is mid-winter to mid-autumn. The flowers are up to 8 cm across and are borne singularly at the tip of each branch.

Taxonomy:

Kingdom : Plantae
Division : Magnoliophyta
Class : Magnoliopsida
Order : Asterales
Family : Asteraceae
Genus : Dimorphotheca
Species : Dimorphotheca sinuata

Pronunciation/Meaning:

• Asteraceae (ass-ter-AY-see-ay) - The Aster (daisy) family; formerly Compositae.
• Dimorphotheca (dy-mor-foh-THEE-kuh) - From the Greek dimorph (two forms) and theke, (ovary) meaning a plant with two different types of fruit.
• sinuata (sin-yoo-AY-tuh) - With a wavy margined.

Common Names:

• African Daisy, Cape Marigold, Glandular Cape Marigold, Namaqualand Daisy, Sun Marigold

Links:

• Flowers of India - African Daisy
• Wildflower Information - African Daisy
• Plantz Africa - African Daisy