Chinese Wisteria (Wisteria sinensis)

Chinese Wisteria (Wisteria sinensis) is a woody, deciduous, perennial climbing vine in the genus Wisteria, native to China. It is a really beautiful twining deciduous vine. In springtime it leafs out and flowers with large, drooping, grape like clusters of purple-blue, fragrant flowers. This tough woody vine often climbs high into tree canopy when grown in mild winter climates.

The leaves are compound and consist of 7 to 13 leaflets to about 3 in in length. The flowers are followed by attractive velvety pods 6 in in length. In winter, wisteria is a tangled mass of naked woody stems that may or may not be picturesque depending on culture and circumstance. It is usually very long lived and trunks can become quite large and attractively gnarly with age.

Taxonomy:

Kingdom : Plantae
Division : Magnoliophyta
Class : Magnoliopsida
Order : Fabales
Family : Fabaceae
Subfamily : Faboideae
Tribe : Millettieae
Genus : Wisteria
Species : Wisteria sinensis

Pronunciation/Meaning:

• Fabaceae (fab-AY-see-ay) - The Faba (broad bean) family, (formerly Leguminosae).
• Wisteria (wis-TEER-ee-uh) - Named for Caspar Wistar, 18th century American professor of anatomy.
• sinensis (sy-NEN-sis) - Of or from China.

Common Names:

• Chinese Wisteria

Links:

• Floridata - Chinese Wisteria
• Flowers of India - Chinese Wisteria
• BBC Gardening : Plant Finder - Chinese Wisteria

Golden Cane Palm (Dypsis lutescens)

Golden Cane Palm (Dypsis lutescens) is a species of palm, native to Madagascar. It is clump-growing with ringed, bamboo-like stems and yellow leaf-ribs. The foliage is evergreen, of fine texture and yellow-green in color. Pinnate, 6 to 8 pale green leaves per stem, 80 to 100 leaflets, to 8 feet long. Yellow if grown with enough light, 2 feet long. Yellow male and female flowers on the same inflorescence. Flower stalk coming from below the leaves. Fruit is yellow to purple, 2 cm, oval in shape.

This is one of the most useful Palms of the tropics the world around. It is grown as an ornamental plant in gardens in tropical and subtropical regions, and elsewhere indoors.

Taxonomy:

Kingdom : Plantae
Division : Magnoliophyta
Class : Liliopsida
Order : Arecales
Family : Arecaceae
Genus : Dypsis
Species : Dypsis lutescens

Pronunciation/Meaning:

• Arecaceae (ar-ek-AY-see-ay) - The Palm family (formerly Palmae).
• Dypsis (DIP-sis) - Of unknown derivation.
• lutescens (loo-TESS-enz) - Yellowish.

Common Names:

• Golden Cane Palm, Areca Palm, Butterfly Palm, Madagascar Palm

Links:

• Flowers of India - Golden Cane Palm
• Floridata - Golden Cane Palm

Image Courtesy of Shaista Ahmad.

Cornflower (Centaurea cyanus)

Cornflower (Centaurea cyanus) is a small annual flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, native to Europe. It is an annual plant growing to 40-90 cm tall, with grey-green branched stems. The leaves are lanceolate, 1-4 cm long. The flowers are most commonly an intense blue colour, produced in flower heads 1.5-3 cm diameter, with a ring of a few large, spreading ray florets surrounding a central cluster of disc florets.

The annual blue cornflower is a slender plant of great charm. Its rich shades of blue are much sought after, both for garden decoration and for flower arrangements. It is grown as an ornamental plant in gardens, where several cultivars have been selected with varying pastel colours, including pink and purple. In herbalism a decoction of cornflower is effective in treating conjunctivitis, and as a wash for tired eyes.

Taxonomy:

Kingdom : Plantae
Division : Magnoliophyta
Class : Magnoliopsida
Order : Asterales
Family : Asteraceae
Genus : Centaurea
Species : Centaurea cyanus

Pronunciation/Meaning:

• Asteraceae (ass-ter-AY-see-ay) - The Aster (daisy) family; formerly Compositae.
• Centaurea (sen-TAR-ee-uh) - Latin, referring to the Centaur Chiron who discovered the medicinal uses of the plant that came to be known as Centaury.
• cyanus (SY-an-us) - Blue.

Common Names:

• Cornflower, Bachelor’s Button, Basket Flower, Bluebottle, Boutonniere Flower, Hurtsickle

Links:

• Plants for a future - Cornflower
• BBC Gardening : Plant Finder - Cornflower

Image Courtesy of refmo.

One-sided Bottlebrush (Calothamnus quadrifidus)

One-sided Bottlebrush (Calothamnus quadrifidus) is a shrub from the south-west of Western Australia. Its common name is the One-sided Bottlebrush which alludes to the arrangement of the stamens of its inflorescence which line up on one side of the stem. It usually grows to around 2.5 metres in height and width and it flowers from mid-winter to early summer.

It has red, white and yellow flower forms, with the red flowered form most commonly seen in cultivation. The leaves are linear, about 30 mm long and 1-2 mm wide. Flowers occur in one-sided clusters in spring and are usually bright red but yellowish forms are known. Flowers are followed by woody seed capsules which retain the seed for many years. Propagation is easy from seed and presumably from cuttings.

Taxonomy:

Kingdom : Plantae
Division : Magnoliophyta
Class : Magnoliopsida
Order : Myrtales
Family : Myrtaceae
Genus : Calothamnus
Species : Calothamnus quadrifidus

Pronunciation/Meaning:

• Myrtaceae (mir-TAY-see-ay) - The Myrtle family.
• Calothamnus (kal-oh-THAM-nus) - From the Greek kalos (beautiful) and thamnos (shrub).
• quadrifidus (kwad-RIF-ee-dus) - Four clefts; split into 4 parts.

Common Names:

• One-sided Bottlebrush, Australian Net Bush

Links:

• Association of Societies for Growing Australian Plants (ASGAP) - One-sided Bottlebrush

Image Courtesy of Van Swearingen.

Black-Eyed Susan Vine (Thunbergia alata)

Black-Eyed Susan Vine (Thunbergia alata) is a twining perennial vine, which is used like an ornamental plant. The leaves are heart or arrow-shaped, softly hairy and sometimes toothed. Many flowers are borne singly in leaf axils with a small calyx enclosed in 2 large, ridged bracts. The corolla is obliquely trumpet-shaped and is usually bright orange in wild plants. The inside of the tube is a striking dark maroon or purplish black. Nurseries also have variants with white, cream- or peach-coloured, yellow to deep orange or nearly red flowers. The fruit is like a bird’s head with a spherical base and a long ‘beak’.

This plant flowers all summer but can continue all year in warmer areas. They are a great plant for hanging baskets or for trellises. They are fast growers and bloom quickly from seed. They are native to tropical Africa.

Taxonomy:

Kingdom : Plantae
Division : Magnoliophyta
Class : Magnoliopsida
Subclass : Asteridae
Order : Lamiales
Family : Acanthaceae
Genus : Thunbergia
Species : Thunbergia alata

Pronunciation/Meaning:

• Acanthaceae (ah-kanth-AY-see-ay) - The Acanthus family (from the Greek ákantha, meaning thorn, spine, or spike).
• Thunbergia (thun-BER-jee-uh) - Named for Carl Peter Thunberg, 19th century Swedish botanist.
• alata (a-LAY-tuh) - Winged.

Common Names:

• Black-Eyed Susan Vine

Links:

• Plantz Africa - Black-Eyed Susan Vine
• Missouri Botanical Garden : Plant Finder - Black-Eyed Susan Vine
• Plant of the week - Black-Eyed Susan Vine