Skip to main content

Posts

Pink trumpet tree (Tabebuia heterophylla)

Pink trumpet tree ( Tabebuia heterophylla ) is a species of plant in the Bignoniaceae family, growing 6–9 meters tall with a cylindrical trunk and brown bark that is often linearly fissured. The leaves are opposite, compound, with five or fewer minor leaflets. T. heterophylla has striking bright red flowers, tubular, five-lobed, and 5–7.5 cm long. The fruit is a cylindrical pod, up to 20 cm long and up to 1 cm wide. The pod stalk is up to 3 cm long. The pod splits along two lines to release numerous thin, light brown seeds, 0.5–2.5 cm long with two white wings. This species is often used as a street tree and shade tree for residential properties. TAXON Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Lamiales Family: Bignoniaceae Genus: Tabebuia Gomes ex DC. in Biblioth. Universelle Genève, n.s., 17: 130 (1838) Species: Tabebuia heterophylla (DC.) Britton in Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 2: 48 (1915) HOMOTYPIC SYNONYMS Tabebuia pallida subsp. he...

Asian palmyra palm (Borassus flabellifer)

Asian palmyra palm ( Borassus flabellifer ) is a species of Arecaceae , palm, sturdy, single-stemmed, cylindrical shape, growing 15-30 meters tall and with a trunk diameter of about 60 cm. The leaves are clustered at the tip of the trunk, forming a rounded crown . The leaf blade resembles a round fan , up to 1.5 meters in diameter. The leaflets are 5-7 cm wide, and the underside is whitish with a waxy coating. The leaf stalk is up to 1 meter long, with a broad, black midrib at the top and a row of two-pointed spines . The inflorescence is borne on a cob, 20-30 cm long, and the stalk is about 50 cm long. The fruits are clustered in clusters of about 20, round, 7-20 cm in diameter, with a brownish-black outer skin and yellow flesh on the inside. The fruit has three seeds in a thick, hard shell. Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Liliopsida Order: Arecales Family: Arecaceae Subfamily: Coryphoideae Tribe: Borasseae Subtribe: Lataniinae Genu...

Sandbox tree (Hura crepitans)

Sandbox tree ( Hura crepitans ) is species in Euphorbiaceae, a tropical tree, growing up to 60 meters tall and with a trunk circumference of up to 13.2 meters, the trunk is covered with long and sharp thorns and exudes a poisonous sap. H. crepitans has large, oval leaves, 15 cm wide and 20 cm long. The petioles are 22 cm long. The flowers are red and lack petals. Male flowers grow on long stalks, while female flowers grow singly in leaf axils. The fruit is a large, flask-shaped capsule, up to 10 cm in diameter, with 12-16 radially arranged carpels. The seeds are flat and about 2 cm in diameter. The capsule bursts when ripe, dividing into segments and ejecting the seeds at a speed of 70 m/s, a distance of 30-100 meters. This tree prefers moist soil and partial shade or partial to full sun, a warm, humid environment. It is often cultivated for shade. The wood is light and used to make canoes. The sap is used to poison fish. TAXON Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angio...

Black potato (Coleus rotundifolius)

Black potato ( Coleus rotundifolius ) is a species of plant in Lamiaceae, herbaceous, fibrous roots and tubers, erect and slightly creeping stems, quadrangular, thick, and slightly odorous. Single leaves, thick, membranous, opposite and alternate. Leaves are oval, dark green and shiny on the upper side, bright green on the lower side. Up to 5 cm long, up to 4 cm wide, slightly hairy and pinnate leaf veins. Leaf stalks up to 4 cm long. Small, purple flowers. Star-shaped petals, lip-shaped crown, dark to light purple with a slightly curved tube shape. Flowering from February-August. Small tubers, brown and white flesh and tuber length 2-4 cm. Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Lamiales Family: Lamiaceae Subfamily: Nepetoideae Tribe: Ocimeae Subtribe: Plectranthinae Genus: Coleus Species: Coleus rotundifolius

Wild durian (Cullenia exarillata)

Wild durian ( Cullenia exarillata ) is a species of plant in the Malvaceae, a tall tree with smooth, greyish-white bark, peeling on older trees, a straight trunk, horizontal branches and often with a series of knob-like tubercles for flower and fruit attachment. C. exarillata has young branches and the underside of the leaves is covered with golden brown peltate or shield-like scales. The leaves are single, alternate, glabrous, glossy green on the upper side and covered with silvery or orange peltate scales on the underside. Hermaphroditic flowers are tubular and also covered with golden brown scales, 4-5 cm long and cream or reddish brown in color. Flowers have no petals, formed of tubular bracteoles and tubular calyxes, 5-lobed. Fruit is round, 10-13 cm in diameter, covered with thorns and clustered along the branches. Many seeds, reddish brown, 4-5 cm long and 2-3 cm wide. The seeds are enclosed by a fleshy, whitish aril. The fruit splits open when ripe and dries to release the s...

Brown-woolly fig (Ficus drupacea)

Brown-woolly fig ( Ficus drupacea ) is a species of plant in the Moraceae, a tropical tree, cylindrical and 10-30 meters tall. The leaves are oval, up to 16 cm long, up to 6 cm wide, with petioles up to 2 cm long. The fruit is round-oval, up to 3 cm long, up to 2 cm wide, young yellow and old red. The fruit is eaten by pigeons, and pollinated by Eupristina belgaumensis. TAXON Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Rosales Family: Moraceae Tribe: Ficeae Genus: Ficus Tourn. ex L. in Sp. Pl.: 1059 (1753) Species: Ficus drupacea Thunb. in Ficus: 11 (1786) HOMOTYPIC SYNONYMS Urostigma drupaceum (Thunb.) Miq. in London J. Bot. 6: 581 (1847) HETEROTYPIC SYNONYMS Ficus aurantiicarpa Elmer in Leafl. Philipp. Bot. 9: 3454 (1937) Ficus chrysochlamys K.Schum. & Lauterb. in Fl. Schutzgeb. Südsee: 274 (1900) Ficus chrysocoma Blume in Bijdr. Fl. Ned. Ind.: 443 (1825) Ficus citrifolia Willd. in Sp. Pl., ed. 4. 4: 1137 (1806) Ficus drupacea var...

Beach spider lily (Hymenocallis littoralis)

Beach spider lily ( Hymenocallis littoralis ) is plant species in Amaryllidaceae, herbaceous perennial, up to 80 cm tall, with bulbs 7-10 cm in diameter and over time developing a neck 4-5 cm in diameter. The leaves are elongated, flat, thick, up to 80 cm long and up to 3 cm wide. The flowers are large, white, vanilla-scented, and in sticky clusters. The flower awns are attached to staminal cups. Each flower tube is up to 17 cm long or longer. TAXON Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Liliopsida Order: Asparagales Family: Amaryllidaceae Subfamily: Amaryllidoideae Tribe: Hymenocallideae Genus: Hymenocallis Salisb. in Trans. Hort. Soc. London 1: 338 (1812) Species: Hymenocallis littoralis (Jacq.) Salisb. in Trans. Hort. Soc. London 1: 338 (1812) HOMOTYPIC SYNONYMS Hymenocallis adnata Herb. in Amaryllidaceae: 215 (1837) Hymenocallis adnata var. littoralis (Jacq.) Herb. (1837) Hymenocallis adnata var. princeps Herb. (1837) Hymenocallis littoralis var. lo...