Coreopsis lanceolata, the Lance-leaved coreopsis, is a North American species of Tickseed in the sunflower family. It is apparently native to the eastern and central parts of the United States and naturalized in Canada, the western United States, Mesoamerica, South America, South Africa, and eastern Asia.
Description
Coreopsis lanceolata is a perennial plant sometimes attaining a height of over 60 cm (2 feet). The plant produces yellow flower heads in late summer, each head containing both ray florets and disc florets. The plant is useful for pollinator restoration in large urban cities for providing a food source for wildlife as they tend to drink the nectar and/or eat the seed. The plant should not be over watered as it will flop over. Honeybees and butterflies are attracted to this plant and it may be restricted by growing in containers or in lawns that tend to be mowed.
Introduced to Japan and China as an ornamental species and later used extensively in greenification projects, particularly along river banks and railways, Coreopsis lanceolata is now known to be outcompeting native plant life and has since 2006 been labeled an invasive species by the Invasive Alien Species Act. The cultivation, transplantation, sale, or purchase of Coreopsis lanceolata is now prohibited and the plant has become the subject of a nationwide destruction campaign, even earning a spot on the Ecological Society of Japan's 100 Worst Invasive Species list.
Castilleja miniata is a species of Indian paintbrush known by the common name giant red Indian paintbrush. It is native to western North America from Alaska to Ontario to California to New Mexico, where it grows usually in moist places in a wide variety of habitat types.
This wildflower is a perennial herb growing up to about 80 centimeters tall, slender and green to dark purple in herbage color. The lance-shaped leaves are 3 to 6 centimeters long, pointed, and coated in thin hairs. The inflorescence is made up of bright red to pale orange or orange-tipped bracts. Between the bracts emerge the yellow-green, red-edged tubular flowers.
Subspecies:
C. m. ssp. dixonii - limited to the west coast from Alaska to Oregon
C. m. ssp. elata (Siskiyou Indian paintbrush) - rare subspecies limited to the Klamath Mountains in Northern California and Southern Oregon
C. m. ssp. miniata - the common, widespread subspecies
Ipheion uniflorum is a species of flowering plant, related to the onions, so is placed in the allium subfamily (Allioideae) of the Amaryllidaceae. It is known by the common name springstar, or spring starflower. Along with all the species of the genus Ipheion, some sources place it in the genus Tristagma, but research published in 2010 suggested that this is not correct. It is native to Argentina and Uruguay, but is widely cultivated as an ornamental and reportedly naturalized in Great Britain, France, Australia, and New Zealand.
This is a small herbaceous perennial growing from a bulb and producing flat, shiny, green, hairless, grasslike leaves up to 30 cm (12 in) long. The foliage has an onionlike scent when crushed. The stem grows up to 20 cm (8 in) tall and bears a solitary showy flower in spring (hence the Latin name uniflorum - "single flower"). Each honey-scented, star-shaped flower has six pointed lobes up to 3 centimeters long in shades of very pale to deep purple-blue.
Ipheion uniflorum has been grown in the UK since 1820, when bulbs collected from near Buenos Aires arrived in the country. It is recommended for growing in a well-drained position outside or as long-flowering pot plant in an unheated greenhouse. Various named forms are in cultivation, some of which may be hybrids. 'Wisley Blue' is a clear lilac blue; 'Froyle Mill' is a deeper violet blue; 'Album' is white.
The cultivar 'Alberto Castillo', also white, has larger flowers and was collected in the 1980s by Alberto Castillo, the owner of Ezeiza Botanical Garden, from an abandoned Buenos Aires garden. In the USA, the species is stated to be hardy to USDA Zone 5, and is recommended for massing in borders, alpine gardens and other areas, or it can be naturalized in lawns.
Araucaria angustifolia, the Paraná pine, Brazilian pine or candelabra tree (pinheiro-do-paraná, araucária or pinheiro brasileiro), is a species in the conifer genus Araucaria. Although the common names in various languages refer to the species as a "pine", it is not a true pine.
Distribution
Covering an original area of 233,000 square kilometres (90,000 sq mi), it has now lost an estimated 97% of its habitat to logging, agriculture, and silviculture. People also eat the fruit and seeds, which reduces propagation. It is therefore listed as critically endangered.
It is native to southern Brazil (also found in high-altitude areas of southern Minas Gerais, southern Rio de Janeiro and in the east and south of São Paulo, but more typically in the states of Paraná, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul). According to a study made by the Brazilian researcher, Maack, the original area of occurrence represented 36.67% of the Paraná state (73,088 km2 or 28,219 sq mi), 60.13% of the Santa Catarina state (57,332 km2 or 22,136 sq mi), 21.6% of the São Paulo state (53,613 km2 or 20,700 sq mi) and 17.38% of the Rio Grande do Sul state (48,968 km2 or 18,907 sq mi). It is also found in the northeast of Argentina (Misiones and Corrientes) and locally in Paraguay (Alto Paraná), growing in low mountains at altitudes of 500–1,800 metres (1,600–5,900 ft).
Description
It is an evergreen tree growing to 40 m (130 ft) tall and 1 m (3 ft 3 in) diameter at breast height. The leaves are thick, tough and scale like, triangular, 3–6 centimetres (1.2–2.4 in) long, 5–10 millimetres (0.2–0.4 in) broad at the base, and with razor-sharp edges and tip. They persist 10 to 15 years, so cover most of the tree except for the trunk and older branches. It is closely related to Araucaria araucana from further southwest in South America, differing most conspicuously in the narrower leaves.
It is usually dioecious, with the male and female cones on separate trees. The male (pollen) cones are oblong, 6 cm (2.4 in) long at first, expanding to 10–18 cm (4–7 in) long by 15–25 mm (0.6–1.0 in) broad at pollen release. Like all conifers it is wind pollinated. The female cones (seed), which mature in autumn about 18 months after pollination, are globose, large, 18–25 cm (7–10 in) in diameter, and hold about 100–150 seeds. The cones disintegrate at maturity to release the approximately 5 cm (2 in) long nut-like seeds, which are then dispersed by animals, notably the azure jay, Cyanocorax caeruleus.
It prefers well drained, slightly acidic soil but will tolerate almost any soil type provided drainage is good. It requires a subtropical climate with abundant rainfall, tolerating occasional frosts down to about −5 to −20 °C (23 to −4 °F).
The seeds are very important for the native animals. Several mammals and birds eat pinhão, and it has an important ecological role in Araucaria moist forests (a sub-type of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest). The species is widely used in folk medicine
Tridax procumbens, commonly known as coatbuttons or tridax daisy, is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family. It is best known as a widespread weed and pest plant. It is native to the tropical Americas but it has been introduced to tropical, subtropical, and mild temperate regions worldwide. It is listed as a noxious weed in the United States and has pest status in nine states.
The plant bears daisylike yellow-centered white or yellow flowers with three-toothed ray florets. The leaves are toothed and generally arrowhead-shaped. Its fruit is a hard achene covered with stiff hairs and having a feathery, plumelike white pappus at one end. Calyx is represented by scales or reduced to pappus. The plant is invasive in part because it produces so many of these achenes, up to 1500 per plant, and each achene can catch the wind in its pappus and be carried some distance. This weed can be found in fields, meadows, croplands, disturbed areas, lawns, and roadsides in areas with tropical or semi-tropical climates.
Centaurea cyanus, commonly known as cornflower, is an annual flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, native to Europe. In the past it often grew as a weed in cornfields (in the broad sense of the word "corn", referring to grains, such as wheat, barley, rye, or oats), hence its name. It is now endangered in its native habitat by agricultural intensification, particularly over-use of herbicides, destroying its habitat; in the United Kingdom it has declined from 264 sites to just 3 sites in the last 50 years. In reaction to this, the conservation charity Plantlife named it as one of 101 species it would actively work to bring 'Back from the Brink'.
It is also, however, through introduction as an ornamental plant in gardens and a seed contaminant in crop seeds, now naturalised in many other parts of the world, including North America and parts of Australia.
Cornflower is an annual plant growing to 16-35 inches 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 flowerheads (capitula) 1.5–3 cm diameter, with a ring of a few large, spreading ray florets surrounding a central cluster of disc florets. The blue pigment is protocyanin, which in roses is red. It flowers all summer.
It is grown as an ornamental plant in gardens, where several cultivars have been selected with varying pastel colours, including pink and purple. Cornflower is also grown for the cutflower industry in Canada for use by florists. The most common colour variety for this use is a doubled blue variety such as 'Blue Boy' or 'Blue Diadem'. White, pink, lavender and black (actually a very dark maroon) are also used but less commonly. A relative, Centaurea montana, is a perennial plant which is also cultivated as a garden plant. Cornflowers germinate quickly after planting.
Light requirements: full sun. Water requirements: high-average water daily. Soil pH requirements: neutral (6.6-7.5) to mildly alkaline (7.6-7.8).
Cucumis anguria, commonly known as cackrey, maroon cucumber, West Indian gherkin, and West Indian gourd, is a vine that is indigenous to Africa, but has become naturalized in the New World, and is cultivated in many places. It is similar and related to the common cucumber (C. sativus) and its cultivars are known as gherkins.
Cucumis anguria is a thinly stemmed, herbaceous vine scrambling up to 3 meters long. Fruits (4–5 cm × 3–4 cm) are longly stalked, and ovoid to oblong. The surface of the fruits have long hairs covering a surface having warts or spines: The inner flesh is palid to green.
Cucumis anguria is primarily grown (as a crop plant) for its edible fruit, which are used in pickling, as cooked vegetables, or eaten raw. The flavor is similar to that of the common cucumber. C. anguria fruits are popular in the northeast and north of Brazil, where they are an ingredient in the local version of cozido (meat-and-vegetable stew).
Cucumis anguria has been used in folk medicine to treat ailments of the stomach.
Crops are susceptible to attacks by fungi, aphids, and cucumber beetles.
Calochortus nuttallii, with the common name sego lily, is a bulbous perennial which is endemic to the Western United States.
Calochortus nuttallii is cultivated as an ornamental plant for its attractive tulip-shaped flowers and to attract/support native pollinator species. It prefers a deep, sandy soil with good drainage, and is cold-hardy. Plants can be propagated from newly formed bulblets which take two years to flower.
It is the state flower of Utah.
The plant is native to a number of western states including Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico.
Calochortus nuttallii are around 15–45 cm (6–18 inches) in height and have linear leaves.
Plants have 1 to 4 flowers, each with 3 white petals (and 3 sepals) which are tinged with lilac (occasionally magenta) and have a purplish band radiating from the yellow base. A yellow petaled form with deep purple bands is known from Petrified Forest National Park. The plant blooms in early summer, with flowers that can be up to 3 inches across.
Calochortus nuttallii is a species within the genus Calochortus, in a sub-group generally referred to as Mariposa Lilies. The specific epithet nuttallii, named for the English botanist and zoologist, Thomas Nuttall, was ascribed to the species by the American botanists John Torrey and Asa Gray when it was officially described in 1857.
Impatiens capensis, the orange jewelweed, common jewelweed, spotted jewelweed, spotted touch-me-not, or orange balsam, is an annual plant native to North America. It is common in bottomland soils, ditches, and along creeks, often growing side-by-side with its less common relative, Yellow Jewelweed (I. pallida).
Jewelweed plants grow 3 to 5 feet tall and bloom from late spring to early fall. The flowers are orange (or rarely yellow) with a three-lobed corolla; one of the calyx lobes is colored similarly to the corolla and forms a hooked conical spur at the back of the flower. Plants may also produce non-showy cleistogamous flowers, which do not require cross-pollination. The stems are somewhat translucent, succulent, and have swollen or darkened nodes (on only some plants).
The seed pods are pendant and have projectile seeds that explode out of the pods when they are lightly touched, if ripe, which is where the name 'touch-me-not' comes from. The leaves appear to be silver or 'jeweled' when held underwater, which is possibly where the jewelweed name comes from.
Along with other species of jewelweed the juice of the leaves and stems is a traditional Native American remedy for skin rashes, including poison ivy and such use has been supported by at least one peer-reviewed study.
The species name "capensis", meaning "of the cape", is actually a misnomer, as Nicolaas Meerburgh was under the mistaken impression that it was native to the Cape of Good Hope, in southern Africa.
Impatiens capensis was transported in the 19th and 20th centuries to England, France, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Finland, and potentially other areas of northern and central Europe. These naturalized populations persist in the absence of any common cultivation by people.
This jewelweed species is quite similar to Impatiens noli-tangere, an Impatiens species native to Europe and Asia, as well as the other North American Impatiens. No evidence exists of natural hybrids, although the habitats occupied by the two species are very similar.
Pollination
Nectar spurs are tubular elongations of petals and sepals of certain flowers that usually contain nectar. Flowers of Impatiens capensis have these nectar spurs. Nectar spurs are thought to have played a role in plant-pollinator coevolution. Curvature angles of nectar spurs of Impatiens capensis are variable. This angle varies from 0 degrees to 270 degrees.
The angle of the nectar spur is very important in the pollination of the flower and in determining the most efficient pollinator. Hummingbirds are the main pollinators. They remove more pollen per visit from flowers with curved nectar spurs than with perpendicular nectar spurs. But hummingbirds are not the only pollinators of Impatiens capensis. Bees play an important role in pollination as well. Due to hummingbirds and bees, the pollination of Impatiens capensis is very high
Rubus arcticus, the Arctic bramble or Arctic raspberry, (includes Rubus arcticus ssp. acaulis - (Michx.) is a species of slow-growing bramble belonging to the rose family, found in arctic and alpine regions in the Northern Hemisphere. Its dark red fruit is considered a delicacy.
In the Pacific Northwest of western Canada and the northwestern United States, it is sometimes called the nagoon or nagoonberry, a name which derives from the Tlingit neigóon. A measure of the quality of its fruit is expressed in its Russian name княженика knyazhenika, signifying the "berry of princes". It grows in Alaska, northern Scandinavia, Russia, Poland, Belarus, Mongolia, northeastern China, North Korea , Estonia, Lithuania, Canada, and the northern United States as far south as Oregon, Colorado, Michigan, and Maine.
Rubus arcticus grows most often in acidic soils rich in organic matter. It is a thornless perennial up to 30 cm (1 foot) tall, woody at the base but very thin farther above the ground. flowers are in groups of 1-3, the petals pink, red, or magenta. Fruit is deep red or dark purple, with an unusual hardiness to frost and cold weather conditions.
