Taxus cuspidata

Taxus cuspidata (Japanese Yew or Spreading Yew) is a member of the genus Taxus, native to Japan, Korea, northeast China and the extreme southeast of Russia.
It is an evergreen tree or large shrub growing to 10–18 m tall, with a trunk up to 60 cm diameter. The leaves are lanceolate, flat, dark green, 1–3 cm long and 2–3 mm broad, arranged spirally on the stem, but with the leaf bases twisted to align the leaves in two flattish rows either side of the stem except on erect leading shoots where the spiral arrangement is more obvious.

The seed cones are highly modified, each cone containing a single seed 4–8 mm long partly surrounded by a modified scale which develops into a soft, bright red berry-like structure called an aril, 8–12 mm long and wide and open at the end. The arils are mature 6–9 months after pollination. Individual trees from Sikhote-Alin are known to have been 1,000 years old.

Japanese yew is a broad-columnar needled evergreen tree or multistemmed shrub that is native to Korea, China, Russia and Japan. In its native habitat, it will grow to as much as 30-50’ tall. Cultivated plants will grow much smaller, particularly if regularly pruned. It features linear, spiny-tipped, dark green needles (to 1” long). Leaves are often tinged yellow beneath. Foliage may turn reddish-brown or yellow in winter. Scaly, reddish brown bark. 


Although classified as a conifer, female yews (plants are dioecious) do not produce cones, but instead produce red, ornamentally-attractive, berry-like fruits, each having a single seed almost completely surrounded by a fleshy red aril. ‘Capitata’ is very similar to the species except that its form is more pyramidal. Female plants may produce abundant fruit that is attractive to birds. Specific epithet is in reference to the cuspidate (having a sharp pointed tip) foliage.

Olea europaea

The olive tree is the oldest known cultivated tree in history. Olives were first cultivated in Africa, and then spread to Morocco, Algiers, and Tunisia by the Phoenicians. Olea europaea was first cultivated in Crete and Syria over 5000 years ago. Around 600 BC olive tree cultivation spread to Greece, Italy and other Mediterranean countries.

The olive tree played a huge role in the civilization of the Mediterranean countries. Athens was named after the goddess Athena who brought the olive

tree to the city. Historically it played a very important role in areas such as religion, diet, and art. It is also known as the symbol for peace, wisdom and victory. In the early Olympic games the winners were crowned with wreaths made of olive branches. Holy people were anointed with olive oil, and Moses exempted men who would grow olives from military service.

It isn't accurately known what the botanical ancestor of the modern olive tree is, but it is believed to be Oleaster olea sylvestris, which still grows wild in North Africa, Portugal, Southern France, Italy and areas around the Black and Caspian Seas. Some think that it originated from a tree which covered much of the Sahara Desert before the glaciers.

The olive tree, Olea europaea, is an evergreen tree or shrub native to the Mediterranean, Asia and Africa. It is short and squat, and rarely exceeds 8–15 m (26–49 ft) in height. However, the Pisciottana, a unique variety comprising 40,000 trees found only in the area around Pisciotta in the Campania region of southern Italy often exceeds this, with correspondingly large trunk diameters. The silvery green leaves are oblong, measuring 4–10 cm (1.6–3.9 in) long and 1–3 cm (0.39–1.18 in) wide. The trunk is typically gnarled and twisted.

The small white, feathery flowers, with ten-cleft calyx and corolla, two stamens and bifid stigma, are borne generally on the previous year's wood, in racemes springing from the axils of the leaves.


The fruit is a small drupe 1–2.5 cm (0.39–0.98 in) long, thinner-fleshed and smaller in wild plants than in orchard cultivars. Olives are harvested in the green to purple stage. Canned black olives may contain chemicals (usually ferrous sulfate) that artificially turn them black. Olea europaea contains a seed commonly referred to in American English as a pit or a rock, and in British English as a stone.

Agave americana

Agave americana, common names century plant, maguey or American aloe, is a species of flowering plant in the family Agavaceae, originally native to Mexico, Arizona and Texas but cultivated worldwide as an ornamental plant. It has become naturalized in many regions including the West Indies, parts of South America, the Mediterranean Basin, parts of Africa, India, China, Korea, Thailand, New Zealand, Australia and an assortment of oceanic islands.

Although it is called the century plant, it typically lives only 10 to 30 years. It has a spreading about 4 ft (1.2 m) of gray-green leaves up to 2 ft (0.6 m) long, each with a prickly margin and a heavy spike at the tip that can pierce to the bone. When it flowers, the spike has big yellow flowers and may reach up to 8 ft (2.4 m) tall.

Its common name derives from its semelparous nature of flowering only once at the end of its long life. The plant dies after flowering, but produces suckers or adventitious shoots from the base, which continue its growth.

In the tequila-producing regions of Mexico, agaves are called mezcales. The high-alcohol product of agave distillation is called mezcal; Agave americana is one of several agaves used for distillation. A mezcal and tequila, is produced from Agave tequilana, commonly called "blue agave". There are many different types of mezcal some of which may be flavored with the very pungent mezcal worm.

Mezcal and tequila, although also produced from agave plants, are different from pulque in their technique for extracting the sugars from the heart of the plant, and in that they are distilled spirits. In mezcal and tequila production, the sugars are extracted from the piñas (or hearts) by heating them in ovens, rather than by collecting aguamiel from the plant's cut stalk. Thus if one were to distill pulque, it would not be a form of mezcal, but rather a different drink.

Agave nectar, also called agave syrup, is marketed as a natural form of sugar with a low glycemic index that is due to its high fructose content.

Large Crabgrass

A member of the grass family, large crabgrass (Digitaria sanguinalis) is purplish or green and has very hairy leaves and sheaths. Leaves are 1/4 to 1/3 inch (6 to 8 mm) wide and 2 to 6 inches (5 to 15 cm) long.
Seedling Description

The leaf sheaths of large crabgrass seedlings are tinged purple and are covered with long, stiff hairs. The ligule is membranous, flat at the top, and smooth. Auricles are absent. The first leaf is only about twice as long as it is wide. It is tinged light purple and has a white stripe running down the center and a whitish vein at the margin. Both sides have silky, shiny hairs. Leaves taper to a point and have many veins and rough margins. The youngest leaf is rolled in the bud shoot.

Biology
A member of the grass family, large crabgrass is purplish or green and has very hairy leaves and sheaths. Leaves are ¼ to 1/3 inch (6 to 8 mm) wide and 2 to 6 inches (5 to 15 cm) long. In most areas of the country, large crabgrass is an annual, but in some areas it grows like a perennial-rooting at the nodes and forming mats in moist soils. These mats occasionally grow upright.


Large crabgrass reproduces by tillers and seeds, a single plant producing as many as 700 tillers and 150,000 seeds. Plants can produce seeds at mowing heights as low as ¼ inch (6 mm). If top growth is periodically mowed, two to three seed crops may form in a single growing season.

Solanum americanum

Solanum americanum, commonly known as American nightshade or Glossy nightshade is a herbaceous flowering plant of wide though uncertain native range. The certain native range encompasses the tropics and subtropics of the Americas, Melanesia, New Guinea, and Australia.

The plant is widely naturalised around the Tropical Pacific and Indian Oceans, including Hawaiʻi, Indochina, Madagascar and Africa, possibly via anthropogenic introduction in these locales.

Solanum americanum is one of the most widespread and morphologically variable species belonging to the section Solanum.It can be confused with other black nightshade species in the Solanum nigrum complex.

Solanum nigrum (soLAYnum KNEEgrum, the Black Nightshade) is found in the Old World, Africa to India and beyond. Its leaves are used as a green, boiled twice or more like pokeweed.  In Kenya four varieties of it grow and three are highly sought after. It is the prime potherb. The fourth variety is considered too bitter to eat. Of 61 greens tested in Africa, S. nigrum had the highest amount of vitamin A. In the region of India the plant has many names and is firmly in the human food chain and very popular. It is also in medical use.  Modern Greeks call it “Styfno. They boil the leaves then use them as the basis for a salad.

Actinidia arguta

Actinidia arguta (hardy kiwi) is a perennial vine native to Japan, Korea, Northern China, and Russian Siberia. It produces a small fruit resembling the kiwifruit.

Actinidia arguta, is also known as Hardy kiwifruit, kiwi berry, baby kiwi, grape kiwi, are edible, berry or grape-sized fruit similar to kiwifruit in taste and appearance, but are green, brownish, or purple with smooth skin, sometimes with a red blush. Often sweeter than the kiwifruit, hardy kiwifruit can be eaten whole and need not be peeled. Thin-walled, its exterior is smooth and leathery.typically grown for its attractive foliage and edible fruit. It is native to woodlands, mountain forests, streamsides and moist locations in eastern Asia, China and Japan. It grows to 25-30' or more, but growth is often so rampant that this vine, in its native habitat, may climb to as much as 100' into large trees. Broad-ovate to elliptic deep green leaves (3-5" long) emerge in spring, scented greenish-white flowers (to 3/4" long) bloom in June and edible grape-sized smooth-skinned fruits (to 1 1/4" long) mature in September-October. Species plants are dioecious (separate male and female plants), with at least one male pollinator needed for fruit set on female vines.

It tastes similar to, though slightly sweeter than, its larger-fruited relative, the true kiwi, Actinidia deliciosa, which can not be grown north of Zone 8.

Axonopus compressus

Axonopus compressus, also known as carpet grass is a species of grass in the genus Axonopus. It is often used as a permanent pasture, groundcover, and turf in moist, low fertility soils, particularly in shaded situations. It is generally too low-growing to be useful in cut-and-carry systems or for fodder conservation.

It is widely used as a turf or lawn grass because under perfect growing conditions, carpet grass can develop very striking green and glossy leaves.

Carpetgrass is a creeping, stoloniferous, perennial warm season grass. It is characterized by flat, two-edged runners or stolons; by wide leaves with blunt, rounded tips and by long, slender seedstalks that terminate with two branches, very similar to crabgrass. Stolons are flat, widely branched and root at each node.

Leaf sheaths are strongly compressed with fine hairs along the outer margin and densely pubescent around the nodes. The ligule is very short with a fringe of short hairs. The leaf blade is wide, flat, broadly rounded at the base, blunt at the tip and often fringed with hairs.



The seedstalk is tall, slender and often drooping. It branches at the apex into two slender, one-sided spikes, sometimes with a third spike below. Spikelets are oblong, acute, 2 to 25 mm long, pale green or tinged with purple, solitary on alternate sides of the rachis and forming two rows. The lower glume is absent, the upper as long as the spikelet. The anthers are yellowish white or slightly tinged with purple. Seed are yellowish brown and about 1.25 mm long.

Uses
Carpetgrass is best adapted to the middle and lower southern states. It has about the same cold hardiness as centipedegrass and is well adapted to moist, sandy soils. It thrives in areas too wet for bermudagrass and tolerates more shade than bermudagrass.


The ability of carpetgrass to thrive under low fertility makes it suitable for use on low maintenance areas such as parks, roadsides, airports and golf course roughs. Its most objectionable characteristic, frequent and prolonged production of seedstalks, limits its use on lawns. Frequent mowing with a rotary mower is required to maintain a nice looking carpetgrass lawn.

Establishment: Carpetgrass, like all small seeded grasses, requires a loose, smooth and firm seedbed. In heavier soils, disking or rototilling, dragging and rolling may be necessary to develop a good seedbed.

Carpetgrass can be established from seed or sprigs. Seeding is often easier and less expensive. For a quick cover broadcast two pounds of carpetgrass seed per 1,000 sq. ft. of lawn. Rake the lawn lightly after seeding to help cover the seed. A grass drill can also be used effectively for planting carpetgrass seed. For large plantings, where a quick cover is not critical, plant 15 to 20 pounds of carpetgrass seed per acre. Again, a grass drill is the most effective means of seeding carpetgrass.

Seed carpetgrass after the last expected frost in the spring. Mid-April to May are ideal months for seeding carpetgrass. Do not seed after September 15.

Keep the soil moist, but not wet, for about two weeks after seeding. Continue light, frequent watering until the seedlings are rooted and beginning to spread. After the lawn is established, usually 8 to 10 weeks after seeding, water only as needed to prevent severe drought stress.


Carpetgrass does well on acid soils and on soils with a low fertility. However, establishment is hastened by light applications of a complete fertilizer. Apply a complete fertilizer at one pound of nitrogen per 1000 sq. ft. at planting time and at monthly intervals thereafter until the lawn is covered with carpetgrass. Lime is not necessary unless the soil pH is below 5.0

Carpet grass may develop taller leaves under shady conditions, and is best grown in full sun to slightly shady conditions. They require a little more nutrients and water compared to most grasses. 

Kudzu

Kudzu, also called Japanese arrowroot is a group of plants in the genus Pueraria, in the pea family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae. They are climbing, coiling, and trailing perennial vines native to much of eastern Asia, southeast Asia, and some Pacific Islands. 


The name comes from the Japanese name for the plants, kuzu, which was written "kudzu" in historical romanizations. Where these plants are naturalized, they can be invasive and are considered noxious weeds. The plant climbs over trees or shrubs and grows so rapidly that it kills them by heavy shading. Kudzu is an extremely invasive plant in many asian countries, including Hong Kong.

Reproduction:Kudzu spreads by vegetative reproduction via stolons (runners) that root at the nodes to form new plants and by rhizomes. Kudzu will also spread by seeds, which are formed in pods and mature in the autumn. Three to five seeds are formed in each pod. The hard-coated seeds may not germinate for several years, which can result in the reappearance of the species years after it was thought eradicated at a site.

Major Uses:

Soil improvement and preservation

Kudzu has been used as a form of erosion control and also to enhance the soil. As a fast growing legume, it increases the nitrogen in the soil via a symbiotic relationship with nitrogen-fixing bacteria.Its deep taproots also transfer valuable minerals from the subsoil to the topsoil, thereby improving the topsoil. In the deforested section of the central Amazon Basin in Brazil, it has been used for improving the soil pore-space in clay latosols, thus freeing even more water for plants than in the soil prior to deforestation.


Animal feed

Kudzu can be used by grazing animals, as it is high in quality as a forage and palatable to livestock. It can be grazed until frost and even slightly after. Kudzu had been used in the southern United States specifically to feed goats on land that had limited resources. 

Kudzu hay typically has a 15–18% crude protein content and over 60% total digestible nutrient value. The quality of the leaves decreases, however, as vine content increases relative to the leaf content. Kudzu also has low forage yields despite its rate of growth, yielding around two to four tons of dry matter per acre annually. It is also difficult to bale due to its vining growth and its slowness in shedding water. This makes it necessary to place kudzu hay under sheltered protection after being baled. Kudzu is readily consumed by all types of grazing animals, yet frequent grazing over three to four years can ruin stands. Thus, kudzu only serves well as a grazing crop on a temporary basis.

Invasive species
Ecological damage and roles

Kudzu's environmental and ecological damage results from acting through "interference competition," meaning it out-competes other species for a resource. Kudzu competes with native flora for light, and acts to block their access to this vital resource by growing over them and shading them with their leaves. Plants may then die as a result, from being suffocated.

Control
Crown removal
For successful long-term control of kudzu, it is not necessary to destroy the entire root system, which can be extremely large and deep. It is only necessary to use some method to kill or remove the kudzu root crown and all rooting runners. The root crown is a fibrous knob of tissue that sits on top of the root (rhizome). Crowns form from multiple vine nodes that root to the ground, and range from pea- to basketball-size. The older the crowns, the deeper they tend to be found in the ground, because the root grows deeper with age. Nodes and crowns are the source of all kudzu vines, and roots cannot produce vines. If any portion of a root crown remains after attempted removal, the kudzu plant may grow back.


Mechanical methods of control involve cutting off crowns from roots, usually just below ground level. This immediately kills the plant. Cutting off vines is not sufficient for an immediate kill. It is necessary to destroy all removed crown material. Buried crowns can regenerate into healthy kudzu. Transporting crowns in soil removed from a kudzu infestation is one common way that kudzu "miraculously" spreads and shows up in unexpected locations.

Alexander palm

Archontophoenix alexandrae (Alexander palm, Alexandra palm, King Alexander palm, King palm, is a palm native to Queensland, Australia, and naturalised in Hawaii.

It grows in littoral rainforest, often in locations that are severely inundated during heavy rain events. Their ability to withstand these conditions allow them to become the dominant species.

The palm makes a great Ornamental plant, and unlike some other kinds of palm trees, Alexander palm does not produce messy fibers, and is a tidy tree.

Alexander palm can only grow in subtropical to tropical countries, with minimum temperatures of 6 degrees Celsius for a few weeks. Grows best in wet and humid subtropical countries. 

Adaptable to various kinds of soils.
If you are planning to grow Alexander Palm from seed, start it in a shady area, perhaps under a tree. Otherwise, the seedling's leaves will grow yellow, and the plant will become dormant in growth.

Swiss cheese plant

Monstera deliciosa, the Fruit Salad Plant, is a species of flowering plant native to tropical rainforests of southern Mexico, south to Colombia. It has been introduced to many tropical areas, and has become a mildly invasive species in Hawaii, Seychelles, Ascension Island and the Society Islands. It is also widely grown from ornamental uses in many subtropical countries around the world. 


Aerial roots: This species has aerial roots which are there to support the plant growing. These roots which hang from a stem have to be pushed into the compost and they can be placed on a moss stick (plastic tube with netting filled with peat), if you wish the plant to grow very tall.

How it looks: The monstera deliciosa is primarily grown indoors for the lush green and glossy leaves. Each heart shaped leaf that appears starts of as a full leaf and then begins to form it's slits. These leaves will grow whilst the plant is very young and only a matter of a few inches tall, although they do not produce the slits until it matures more. This species looks similar to a palm tree.


Flowering and fruit: The cheese plant does flower in it's natural habitat or somewhere that mimics it's natural habit very well. It's very rare to see them flower indoors. These flowers are a whitish colored spathe type with a spadix in the center.


The fruit which looks similar to a sweetcorn cone (in shape) are produced after the the flowers have fully bloomed. There is a specific way of knowing these are ready to be eaten, and if they're eaten before they become ripe enough it has been said they can cause mouth irritation. The name deliciosa comes from the fruit being known as tasting delicious. It is also nicknamed the fruit that is a cross between the banana and the pineapple.

Temperature: Temperatures between 65-80 ºF (18-27 ºC) are ideal. Lower than 65ºF (18Cº) will slow down this plants growth and below 50ºF (10ºC) will stop growth.

Light: A fairly bright room or bright with plenty of shade is best. Direct sunlight will damage the leaves and not enough light can slow growth down. Best planted under, or near trees in slightly humid conditions. 
If grown in full sun, make sure that the plant receives alot of water and the plant should be a year old. Seedlings tend to yellow in full sun. 

Watering: Between watering times allow the soil to become dry to the touch within the top couple of inches or so of soil.

Soil: A peat based potting soil mix with perlite or sand is ideal. However, the plant grows well in many kinds of soil including clay soil which is commonly found in the tropics. 

Propagation: Propagate from a mature stem tip cuttings during summer below an aerial root at the node. Place the stem cutting about 1 or 2 inches deep in moist potting soil and water moderately. It should begin rooting within the first couple of weeks or so. 


Displaying and growing: These look fantastic in large rooms, hallways, within offices and anywhere else that can cater for their size and caring needs. To grow them tall they will have to be trained, which is fairly easy when using a moss stick. If you don’t have the time or materials to make a moss pole you can purchase them online or in garden stores which is probably a cheaper method. In the wild this plant grows by climbing (climbing shrub) trees (epiphyte) so it gains it's support and moisture from them - which a moss pole is used to imitate.

Monstera deliciosa is commonly grown for interior decoration in public buildings and as a houseplant. It grows best between the temperatures of 20–30 °C (68–86 °F) and requires high humidity and shade. Growth ceases below 10 °C (50 °F) and it is killed by frost. In the coastal zones of Sicily, especially in the Palermo area, where it is called "zampa di leone" ("lion's paw"), it is often cultivated outdoors. In ideal conditions it flowers about three years after it is planted. Flowering is rare when grown indoors. The plant can be propagated by taking cuttings of a mature plant or by air layering.


Monstera deliciosa and the cultivar 'Variegata' have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

Starfruit

Starfruit, also known as carambola, is the fruit of Averrhoa carambola, a species of tree native to the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. The fruit is popular throughout Southeast Asia, the South Pacific and parts of East Asia. The tree is also cultivated throughout non-indigenous tropical areas, such as in Latin America, the Caribbean, and the southern United States.

The fruit has distinctive ridges running down its sides (usually five, but can sometimes vary); in cross-section, it resembles a star, hence its name. The entire fruit is edible and is usually eaten out of hand. They may also be used in cooking, and can be made into relishes, preserves, and juice drinks.

This evergreen tree is native to Southeast Asia and the Indian Subcontinent.A. carambolais a small tree or shrub that grows 5–12 metres tall, with rose to red-purple flowers. The flowers are small and bell-shaped, with five petals that have whitish edges. The flowers are often produced year round under tropical conditions.

Averrhoa carambola is an attractive, small, slow-growing evergreen tree with a short-trunk or a shrub. The branches are drooping and the wood is white and turns reddish.

It has a bushy shape with many branches producing a broad, rounded crown. The compound leaves are soft, medium-green, they are spirally arranged around the branches in an alternate fashion. The pinnate leaves have a single terminal leaflet and 5 to 11 nearly opposite leaflets, each leaf is 15–20 cm long, and the 3.8–9 cm long leaflets are ovate or ovate-oblong in shape. 
The top sides of the leaves are smooth and the undersides are finely hairy and whitish. The leaflets are reactive to light and tend to fold together at night, they are also sensitive to abrupt shock and when shaken tend to close up also. 

The lilac or purple-streaked, downy, flowers are produced in the axils of leaves at the end of twigs. The flowers are arranged in small clusters on the ends of the branches or sometimes on the larger stems and trunk, each cluster is attached to the tree with red stalks. The bell shaped, perfect flowers, are produced in loose panicles that are much-branched with pedicellate flowers; each flower is around 6 mm wide, with 5 petals that have recurved ends. The fruits are showy with an oblong shape: they are longitudinally 5- to 6-angled and 6.35–15 cm long and up to 9 cm wide. 

The fruits have a thin, waxy skin that is orange-yellow colored. The juicy fruits are yellow inside when ripe and have a crisp texture and when cut in cross-section are star shaped. The fruits have an oxalic acid odor, which varies between plants from strong to mild, the taste also varies from very sour to mildly sweetish. Each fruit may have up to twelve 6-12.5 mm long seeds, which are flat, thin and brown. Some cultivated forms produce fruits with no seeds.

Rhodomyrtus tomentosa

Rhodomyrtus tomentosa also known as Rose Myrtle is a flowering shrub in the family Myrtaceae, native to southern and southeastern Asia, from India, east to southern China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the Philippines, and south to Malaysia and Sulawesi. It grows in grasslands, shrublands, forest edges, besides streams, from sea level up to 2400 m elevation.

Description:
Rhodomyrtus tomentosa is an evergreen shrub growing up to 4 m-12 feet tall. The leaves are opposite, leathery, 5–7 cm long and 2-3.5 cm broad, three-veined from the base, oval, obtuse to sharp pointed at the tip, glossy green above, densely grey or rarely yellowish-hairy beneath, with a wide petiole and an entire margin. The flowers are solitary or in clusters of two or three, 2.5–3 cm diameter, with five petals which are tinged white outside with purplish-pink or all pink.

The fruit is edible, 10–15 mm long, purple, round, three or four-celled, capped with persistent calyx lobes, soft, with 40-45 seeds in a double row in each cell; seed dispersal is by frugivorous birds and mammals. Seed production and germination rates are high.

Luffa aegyptiaca

Smooth Luffa, also know as water gourd in chinese, is a rampant, fast growing annual vine that produces pretty yellow flowers and strange looking fruits that are edible when immature and used as back scrubbers or sponges when fully mature.  Although the fruits are edible, the ridged luffa, also known as the Silk gourd, has a sweeter taste when compared with the smooth luffa.

When fully matured the fruits become a tough mass of fiber that makes a great scrubbing sponge. These natural cellulose fiber wonders of the vegetable world have many uses. They can exfoliate loose cells from your skin and make you squeaky clean or shine up your dirty dishes. 
Loofahs are most excellent in the bath or shower. 

The exfoliating action leaves your skin feeling the cleanest and tightest it could possibly be. Scrubbing your back with a luffa sponge in the bath or shower is an incredibly pleasurable experience. Soap and luffa fibers are a natural cleaning combination resulting in wonderful loofah soap. Home and professional artisan craft soap makers include slices of luffa fiber in their creations to add an extra cleaning boost to their soaps. A loofah section can be placed in a cylindrical mold, filled with soap, cured, and sliced. Shredded or powdered luffa fibers can also be mixed into a soap base before pouring into a mold.

Luffa sponges are great for washing items like large pots and other containers. We use them for cleaning almost everything, including cars, boats, plastic buckets, and anything that needs scrubbed but can't withstand steel wool. Non stick cookware is one example.

A large loofah or a smaller piece on a handle or rope makes a great back scratcher. They can be cut into many shapes for scrubbing pads, padding, and other craft uses. The loofahs can be cut lengthwise with the core removed to make sheets of sponge material. These sheets of luffa material can be sewn into items like table hot pads, sandals, bath mats, hats, or anything else you can imagine.

Growing a Sponge: 
Pick the gourds once they start to turn yellow and are becoming very light in weight. Peal them as soon as possible, the longer the skin stays on, the darker the sponges will get, and where the brown spots are, becomes hard to peel and the sponge beneath is discoloured. 
Cut both ends to begin to peel of the outer skin and gently tug the skin away from the sponge. Inside the spongy gourd is moist and fibrous. 

Squeeze it repeatedly from the middle towards the ends to remove the fleshy substance inside and the wash it thoroughly. 
Plenty of large black seeds will come out – wash, dry and store them somewhere dry and cool for next year.
If the sponge is discoloured, soak it for 5 minutes in warm water with a little bleach. Dry the sponge by either hanging outdoors in fine weather or by placing in an oven at 150 degrees or so. 

Sponges can be cut into sections or left whole. Add a length of hemp rope if you like to hang up your shower sponge. A large crop can yield quite a few Christmas gifts. 

Silk gourd-Luffa acutangula

The Silk Gourd is a hardy, high-yielding gourd mainly grown in Asia as a 

vegetable. 
Also known as the ridged Luffa, the flesh is comparatively sweeter than
the smooth luffa, or Luffa aegyptiaca.

Its fruit slightly resembles a cucumber or zucchini with ridges.

It ranges from central and eastern Asia to southeastern Asia.

It is also grown as a houseplant in places with colder climates.

Young Silk Gourd, ready to be harvested.

The fruit must be harvested when it's still young, as it

develops too much fibers for consumption after this stage. 

The gourd is mainly grown and eaten in China and Vietnam.

Sowing: 

Store seeds until planting time in their packaging in a cool, dark, dry place. 

(Do not refrigerate) Sow indoors at temperatures above 20°C (68°F).

Sow outdoors if you live in a subtropical climate when outdoor temperatures

have reached at least 20 degrees, and is best planted in spring. 

for tropical countries, Silk gourd can be grown year-round.

The plants need a long growing season to get a good crop of sponges. 

Soak seed for two hours in warm water before sowing. Fill small pots 

with a good free draining seed compost. Stand the pots in water until

 the medium is completely moist. Place seed on the surface and 

press into the compost. Cover with a sprinkling of compost or vermiculite.

Bottom heat is helpful, place in a propagator if you have one or

seal the container inside a polythene bag and place in a warm l

ocation out of direct sunlight. Do not exclude light at any stage 

as this is beneficial to germination. 

Germination usually takes 7 to 21 days at 20 to 30°F (68 to 86°F).

Cultivation: 

Plant out in spring(subtropics) or in early summer(USA and Europe,

after all risk of frost has gone. 

The plant can often survive in partial shade with some direct

sunlight but grow better in full sun. In a very hot dry climate

they will need some watering as they tend to wilt if it gets too dry. 

The vines are easy to grow with no insect problems but will 

benefit from the application of a fertiliser with high nitrogen

content once a month after the flowers appear. 

The Luffa plant is a fast-growing, long-season, 

warm-climate vine plant that can climb up to 4½ metres (15ft) high. 

Support the vine on a strong trellis or fence. 

A strong supporting trellis or fence is a must. 

Silk gourds are natural climbers, and do well with trellis.

Pollination: 

Luffa plants need insects to carry out the pollinating process for setting fruits, although most modern day Luffa varieties do not need pollination at all. If the insects or bees are not available in your area, the pollination process can be done manually, by picking up male flowers and transferring pollens to female flowers (by face-to-face touching the center part of flowers). This process should be carried out when flowering is active during the daytime. 

The plant is monoecious, that is, it has both male and female blossoms on the same vine. The male blooms drop, while the females remain attached to the developing fruit.

Once pollinated, the fat portion of the female flower will grow into full size fruit. The vegetables fairly rush toward maturity, growing at the rate of about 4cm (1½in) a day. 

Many varieties could perform relatively poor during the long day season in early summer and perform much better during the late summer and autumn when the shorter daytime season arrives.

Harvest: 

The fruit is edible only when immature. Harvest tender young fruits, 15 to 40cm (6 to 15in) long is ideal for eating, approx 100 days after sowing the seeds and harvest for sponges approx 30 days later. When picked fresh, the green loofah is slightly softer than a cucumber and slightly crispier than an aubergine (eggplant / zucchini).

Culinary Uses:

The Luffa is a very easy to use edible squash. Very young fruit can be sliced and added raw to salads where it gives a mild cucumber-like flavour. When the gourds are gherkin-sized they can be added to stir fry and in soups and sauces because it has the ability to soak up the flavours and add texture. It is also batter dipped and fried. But the real gastronomic utility of this vegetable lies in its ability to substitute for squash or zucchini, or for eggplant in parmigiana. And one especially hearty recipe adapted from a traditional dish using green peppers is for stuffed luffa.

Silk Gourd also makes an excellent vegetable for making soups. 

Iris speculatrix

Habit: Usually grows in mountain slopes and forest edges. Prefers shaded and humid areas with rich and well drained soil with ph 5.0 to 6.0. It grows in small colonies with 

Iris speculatrix is native to Hong Kong and a few areas in southern China.
It is commonly distributed in Cape D'Aguilar, Shek O, Stanley, Tai Tam, Po Toi Island. Often found growing along trail paths among the shrubs. Not found in forest.
A few scarce specimens may be growing in Lantau island and other areas in Hong Kong. 

In Hong Kong, the species is commonly found along the path of Wilson Trail, section 1, and in the slopes of Dragon Back and Shek O.

Flowering: Iris speculatrix flowers from late march to early May. Shape and color varies from plant to plant, with flowering stems 20-25 cm long, 1- or 2-leaved; spathes 2 or 3, green, lanceolate, 5.5-7.5 cm long, 1 or 2-flowered; pedicels 3-5.5 cm long. Flowers violet to light blue, 5.6-6 cm in diameter. Fruits develop from April to June.


This species was first discovered on Hong Kong Island by Hance in 1875. The large and colourful flowers make it an attractive ornamental plant.

Passiflora Miniata

Passiflora Miniata, also know as the Scarlet passion flower, Red passion flower is a fast growing vine, bearing striped, 2 cm passion fruits with edible pulp. Its beautiful dark-red flowers share similarities with those of Passiflora coccinea. It is usually grown by cuttings. 

Native to the Amazon region of Peru, Brazil, and Bolivia as well as Venezuela and the Guianas.
It grows wild in forest, and can grow in elevations from 100m~2000m.

Botanical Name: Passiflora miniata Vanderplank (synonym: Passiflora coccinea hort.)

Note: for decades, it was erroneously known worldwide as P. coccinea Aubl. but found to be a different species from the true P. coccinea by John Vanderplank in 2006 who correctly described and published its new name as P. miniata Vanderplank.
Common Name: Red Granadilla, Red Passion Flower, Scarlet Passion Flower, Passionflower, Passion Vine, Monkey Guzzle (Bolivia), Thome Assu (Brazil)
Family name: Passifloraceae
Etymology and name: The common name of Passion Flower was instituted by the Spanish Christian missionaries to South America in the 15th-16th centuries who interpreted various structures of the plant as symbolic of the last days of Jesus Christ and his crucifixion. Check at Wikipedia to know more of this religious symbolism and other names adopted in Europe and elsewhere.

Origin: Native to Southern America – Bolivia, Colombia and Peru in Western South America and Brazil.


Plant type: Tropical perennial vine with striking red flowers and edible fruits. May not fruit if there isn't another plant to pollinate.

Propagation: Can be done by seeds, but the most effective way is by cloning. That can be done by partially burying a stem so that is can set root, or it can be done by air-grafting. 

Passiflora Edulis Var. Flavicarpa

Scientific Name: Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa
Synonym: Passiflora edulis var. flavicarpa
Common Names: Liliko'i, Lilikoi, Yellow Passionfruit, Yellow skinned Passion Fruit
Plant Characteristics
Duration: 3-7 years.
Growth Habit: Climbing Vine
Hawaii Native Status: Introduced. This naturalized ornamental garden plant and food plant is native to the Amazon region in Brazil.
Flower Color: White to tinged purple
Flowering Season: Spring, Summer, Fall

Height: To 20 feet (6 m) long

Passiflora Edulis Var. Flavicarpa is another closely related plant to the Passiflora Edulis. The yellow passion fruit  is known to be slightly bigger in size than the purple passionfruit, and yields a large, slightly oval fruit. The yellow passionfruit is also sweeter in
taste when compared to the passionfruit, and often yields more fruit than the purple passionfruit. 



The Yellow Passion Fruit is one of several species of the genus -all woody, perennial vines native to the tropical Americas- that produce edible fruits. It is a fast-growing vine and is also suitable for ornamental screening purposes. The alternate curly leaves are deeply 3-lobed, and the vines climb readily by means of long tendrils in each leaf axil.

The yellow passion fruit is an excellent home fruit and offers great possibilities for commercialization in the American Tropics.

The Yellow Passion Fruit is also resistant to a wilt disease, probably caused by a species of Fusarium, which kills the plants.

Germination Info:
It is recommended to pretreat Passiflora seeds before planting. They contain a hard seed coat and are very slow to sprout. There are various pretreatment methods, but the simplest is to soak the seeds for 24-48 hours in warm to the touch water, just prior to planting. Optionally, seeds can be lightly scarified with sand paper to provide some permeation on the seed coat.


Once pretreated, plant seeds 1/2-1" deep in moist, sterile soil. Keep soil temperature consistent at 70-85F, with some day/variation in this range. Cool soils will significantly delay seed germination time if not inhibit germination altogether. Standard room temperature can be too cool for proper germination.

The seeds of the yellow passionfruit are however, known to be easy to germinate, though it only germinates when temperatures are ranging from 20-26°C.

Flowering Habit:
Flowering occurs from April-November but may occasionally continue year-round if conditions are right. Individual flowers bloom for just 12-24 hours before closing.


Unlike the purple passionfruit, this variety can self pollinate and will not require a second plant for pollination. 7 out of 10 yellow passionfruit flowers are usually fake flowers, meaning they appear to be just like any other flower, but with a dead ovary. 
These fake flowers feature a small and yellowish Ovary and slightly smaller or deformed flowers. 
3 out of 10 flowers will fruit, and can be determined by checking on the Ovary. Those that fruit usually have bigger ovaries with a green hinge. 
Fake or real flowers can be already determined even before the flower fully opens.

Location: Plant passion fruit vines in full sun except in very hot areas where partial shade is preferable. The vine can be rather rampant, so it is important to plant it next to a chain link fence or install a strong trellis before planting. The plants can also be trained into an attractive arbor.
Soil: Passion fruit vines grow on many soil types but light to heavy sandy loams with a pH of 6.5 to 7.5 are the most suitable. Excellent drainage is absolutely necessary. Also, the soil should be rich in organic matter and low in salts. If the soil is too acid, lime must be applied. Because the vines are shallow-rooted, they will benefit from a thick layer of organic mulch.

Irrigation: Regular watering will keep a vine flowering and fruiting almost continuously. Water requirement is high when fruits are approaching maturity. If the soil is too dry, fruits may shrivel and fall prematurely. Fruits may also shrivel and never ripen in color in cold temperatures, mainly below 10°C, with occasional night time temperatures of 3°C.
Irrigation isn't needed when it is grown in a tropical to subtropical country which receives a lot of rain. 

Fertilization: Passion fruit vines are vigorous growers and require regular fertilizing. A good choice is 10-5-20 NPK applied at the rate of 3 pounds per plant 4 times a year. Too much nitrogen results in vigorous foliage growth at the expense of flowering. Passion fruit vines should always be watched for deficiencies, particularly in potassium and calcium, and of less importance, magnesium. Plants that have been damaged by frost should receive a generous fertilizing after the weather has warmed


Pruning: Pruning is necessary to keep the vines within bounds, to make harvest easier and to keep the plants productive by maintaining vigorous growth. In warm winter climates prune immediately after harvest. In areas with cool winters prune in early spring. As a a general rule remove all weak growth and cut back vigorous growth by at least one third. In very hot climates allow a thick canopy of foliage to grow around the fruit to prevent sunburn.

Passiflora foetida

Passiflora foetida is a perennial herbaceous vine that originates from tropical America, but is now a pantropic weed.Its is part of the Passiflora family, and is now a common weed in many places of the Pacific and Atlantic, where it climbs over low vegetation on roadsides and in other disturbed places. Monitoring and management of this toxic plant is recommended in tropical areas where it is present.

P. foetida Flowers 

Habitat description

P. foetida is an invader on disturbed sites. It favours wet areas but can tolerate arid conditions. It is generally not as invasive as other kinds of tropical invasive weeds, but P.foetida has a potential to gradually cover a field or a fence.
Found mainly in abandoned wastelands.  

Local dispersal methods:

Consumption/excretion: Fruits are consumed by birds, which can rapidly disperse Passiflora foetida seeds. 

Bamboo Orchid

Bamboo Orchid, also known in Binomial name as the Arundina graminifolia, is a species of orchid and the sole of the genus Arundina.
Arundina graminifolia is a native wild orchid in Hong Kong, and are easy to cultivate, requiring half to more or less but never full sunlight.

They grow best in semi-fertile acidic soils.
Wild plants usually grow near streams in elevations of 100-300 meters.

Cleisostoma simondii

Cleisostoma simondii is a species of orchid that grows upon larger trees.
Found from Assam, eastern Himalayas, Nepal, Sikkim, Thailand, Laos, Fujian, Guangdong, Hainan and Yunnan provinces of China, Hong Kong and Vietnam in tropical and subtropical forests at elevations of 400 to 1100 meters.

The plant is erect, terete leafed, small sized, hot to warm growing monopodial epiphyte that is found at elevations of 100 to 1000 meters with an erect stem enveloped completely by imbricating, leaf bearing sheaths and carrying terete, fleshy, linear, subacute to obtuse, sessile, jointed leaves that blooms on an axillary, arching then pendulous, slender, 4 to 11.2" [10 to 28 cm] long, simple to paniculate, several [11 to 20] flowered inflorescence with basal and then iserted at intervals, tubulbar, cylindric, ovate, triangular apically sheaths and lanceolate, subacute floral bracts and carrying small, long-lasting flowers that can occur at any time but most often in the fall and winter.
Cleisostoma simondii is found in northeastern Hong Kong.

A cluster of Cleisostoma simondii orchid plants on a tree in northeastern Hong Kong.