Syringa vulgaris (lilac or common lilac) is a species of flowering plant in the olive family Oleaceae, native to the Balkan Peninsula, where it grows on rocky hills. This species is widely cultivated as an ornamental and has been naturalized in other parts of Europe (UK, France, Germany, Italy, etc.) as well as much of North America. It is not regarded as an aggressive species, found in the wild in widely scattered sites, usually in the vicinity of past or present human habitations.
Syringa vulgaris is a large deciduous shrub or multi-stemmed small tree, growing to 6–7 m (20–23 ft) high, producing secondary shoots ("suckers") from the base or roots, with stem diameters of up to 20 cm (8 in), which in the course of decades may produce a small clonal thicket.
The bark is grey to grey-brown, smooth on young stems, longitudinally furrowed and flaking on older stems. The leaves are simple, 4–12 cm (2–5 in) and 3–8 cm broad, light green to glaucous, oval to cordate, with pinnate leaf venation, a mucronate apex and an entire margin. They are arranged in opposite pairs or occasionally in whorls of three. The flowers have a tubular base to the corolla 6–10 mm long with an open four-lobed apex 5–8 mm across, usually lilac to mauve, occasionally white. They are arranged in dense, terminal panicles 8–18 cm (3–7 in) long. The fruit is a dry, smooth brown capsule, 1–2 cm long, splitting in two to release the two winged seeds.
The lilac is a very popular ornamental plant in gardens and parks, because of its attractive, sweet-smelling flowers, which appear in early summer just before many of the roses and other summer flowers come into bloom.
In late summer, lilacs can be attacked by powdery mildew, specifically Erysiphe syringae, one of the Erysiphaceae. There is no fall color and the seed clusters have no aesthetic appeal.
Common lilac tends to flower profusely in alternate years, a habit that can be improved by deadheading the flower clusters after the color has faded and before seeds, few of which are fertile, form. At the same time twiggy growth on shoots that have flowered more than once or twice can be cut to a strong, outward-growing side shoot.
It is widely naturalised in western and northern Europe. In a sign of its complete naturalization in North America, it has been selected as the state flower of the state of New Hampshire, because it "is symbolic of that hardy character of the men and women of the Granite State". Additional hardiness, for Canadian gardens, was bred for in a series of S. vulgaris hybrids by Isabella Preston, who introduced many of the later-blooming varieties, whose later-developing flower-buds are better protected from late spring frosts; the Syringa x prestoniae hybrids range primarily in the pink and lavender shades.
Antirrhinum majus (common snapdragon; often - especially in horticulture - simply "snapdragon") is a species of flowering plant belonging to the genus Antirrhinum. It is native to the Mediterranean region, from Morocco and Portugal north to southern France, and east to Turkey and Syria. The common name "snapdragon", originates from the flowers' reaction to having their throats squeezed, which causes the "mouth" of the flower to snap open like a dragon's mouth.
It is an herbaceous perennial plant, growing to 0.5–1 m tall, rarely up to 2 m. The leaves are spirally arranged, broadly lanceolate, 1–7 cm long and 2-2.5 cm broad. The flowers are produced on a tall spike, each flower is 3.5-4.5 cm long, zygomorphic, with two 'lips' closing the corolla tube; wild plants have pink to purple flowers, often with yellow lips. The fruit is an ovoid capsule 10–14 mm diameter, containing numerous small seeds. The plants are pollinated by bumblebees, and the flowers close over the insects when they enter and deposit pollen on their bodies.
The Impatiens Bequaertii is an extremely rare species of flower. This rare plant is a part of the Impatiens family. The species has no acknowledged common name. There are approximately 300 positively identified species within the family. There are also nearly 900 other possible members of this family that are still under investigation as potential new species.
The Impatiens Bequaertii is endemic to the rainforest regions of eastern Africa. Their endemic climate is relatively mild. The temperature of their native habitat ranges between 45F-80F (6C-26C). The relative humidity of their endemic climate is over 40%.
The Impatiens Baquaertii is a small perennial plant species. It typically attains both a height and width of approximately 12 in (30 cm). The leaves are roughly heart shaped. These are typically a dark olive green on the top side. The underside of the leaves are a dark red in color. The branches of the Impatiens Baquaertii are also a dark red in color. The blooms are small . They are typically white, but may be a light pink. They average approximately 0.5 in (1.27 cm) in length. They are renowned for their unique appearance. The petals of the Impatiens Baquaertii are considered to look like a small girl in a skirt, with outstretched arms.
Tecoma capensis (common name Cape honeysuckle) is a species of flowering plant in the family Bignoniaceae, native to southern Africa. Despite its common name, it is not closely related to the true honeysuckle.
Synonyms include Bignonia capensis, Tecomaria capensis and Tecoma petersii.
An erect, scrambling shrub, it grows to 2–3 m (7–10 ft) in height and a similar width. Normally evergreen, it may lose its leaves in colder climates. In certain habitats it may scramble, meaning that it shoots out long growth tips which lean on the stems and branches of other plants, as well as boulders, trellises, fences and walls; this can lead to the plant appearing untidy. The leaves are up to 15 cm (6 in) long. They are opposite, slightly serrated, green to dark-green, and pinnate with 5 to 9 oblong leaflets.
The flowers are tubular, narrow, about 7.5 cm (3 in) long, and are produced at different times throughout the year. They are grouped in 10–15 cm (4–6 in) long terminal clusters. The flower colour ranges from orange to orange-red to apricot.
The species occurs naturally in South Africa, Swaziland and southern Mozambique. It is cultivated in other areas of the world, such as in South-east Asia, Hawaii and California.
It can be considered invasive in remote islands such as the Azores (as seen at the island of São Miguel, near Ponta Garça).
Tecoma capensis has been in cultivation for many years and is often used for hedging, as it is a scrambling shrub. It can be propagated from cuttings or by removing rooted suckers during the active growth phase.
It can be planted in semi-shade to full sun. In cold areas young plants should be protected from frost. To keep this shrub clean and tidy, it must be pruned back in late winter to promote new growth and flowers. The application of a balanced fertilizer after pruning will enhance the growth and flowering.
This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Proboscidea louisianica is a species of flowering plant in the family Martyniaceae. Its true native range is unclear, but probably includes parts of the southwestern United States and Mexico in North America. It occurs in other areas, including other regions in North America, Europe, Australia, and South Africa, as an introduced species. It is the most widely distributed species in its family. Common names it shares with other Proboscidea species include devil's claw and unicorn-plant.Names more specific to the species include common devil's claw, ram's horn, aphid trap,Louisiana unicorn-plant, purple-flower devil's claw, goat's head, and elephant tusks.
The plant is an annual herb with spreading stems up to about 80 centimeters long. The oppositely arranged leaves have blades up to 30 centimeters wide. The herbage is coated in glandular hairs carrying tiny oil droplets, making the plant feel oily to the touch and giving it a strong scent. The essential oil vaporizes into the air, and gives the landscape a "distinct acrid odor". The lobed flower corolla is lavender,"purple-cream", yellowish with purple spots, or "dull white to somewhat pinkish purple" with yellowish nectar guides and with or without purple blotches. One plant can produce up to 80 fruits.
The fruit is a dehiscent capsule up to 10 centimeters long with a long, narrow, curving beak. As the fruit dries and the flesh falls away, the hard beak splits into two horns. The horns can be up to 30 centimeters long. The fruit can contain black or white seeds; white-seeded plants are more common in cultivation. The seeds can be over 43% oil.
The young green fruits are edible and can be pickled. The seeds were used as food by Native Americans.
Like those of other Proboscidea species, the dry fruits were very useful in Native American basketry. The dry horns could be incorporated into the baskets to form patterns, or used as sewing implements. They provided a black dye, especially when mixed with ash. Use of this species in basketry has been recorded among the Hopi, Apache, Havasupai, and Kawaiisu. The Tohono O'odham domesticated the species and used the dark dry fruit for the black-colored patterning in basketry designs. Many other groups probably cultivated and used it, but records of use rarely distinguish between the particular Proboscidea species utilized.
Mauritia flexuosa, known as the moriche palm, ité palm, ita, buriti, muriti, canangucho (Colombia), or aguaje (Peru), is a palm tree. It grows in and near swamps and other wet areas in tropical South America. It has been reported from Trinidad, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guinea, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia.
M. flexuosa, a tree, can reach up to 35 m (115 ft) in height. The large leaves form a rounded crown. The flowers are yellowish and appear from December to April. The fruit, which grows from December to June, is a chestnut color and is covered with shiny scales. The yellow flesh covers a hard, oval nut. The seeds float, and this is the means by which the palm tree propagates. In natural populations, the tree reaches very high densities.
Moriche palm fruit is edible, has a high vitamin C content, and used to make juice, jam, ice cream, and a fermented "wine". The inflorescence buds are eaten as a vegetable and the sap can be drunk fresh or fermented (see palm wine). Threads and cords are locally produced from the tree's fibers.
The aguaje fruit must not be consumed in excess. It is therefore recommended to not exceed 3 to 5 units of raw fruit. Also, you should always procure that the fruit itself is well treated and cleaned off from impurities.
This tree is important to many animal species; several bird species, such as the red-bellied macaw, sulphury flycatcher, and moriche oriole, use it for nesting and food. Many ungulates, fish, and monkeys depend on the fruit.
The government of the Federal District - the Brazilian state where the country's capital, Brasília, is located - is called Palácio do Buriti ("Buriti Palace"). Across the street from the building is a square with fountains and a single moriche palm tree, which was taken from the outskirts of the city and replanted there. The species is a common feature of the cerrado vegetation that predominates in central Brazil.
Chromolaena odorata is a tropical and subtropical species of flowering shrub in the sunflower family. It is native to North America, from Florida and Texas to Mexico and the Caribbean, and has been introduced to South America, tropical Asia, west Africa, and parts of Australia. Common names include Siam weed, Christmas bush, devil weed, camfhur grass, common floss flower and triffid.
Chromolaena odorata is a rapidly growing perennial herb. It is a multi-stemmed shrub to 2.5 m (100 inches) tall in open areas. It has soft stems but the base of the shrub is woody. In shady areas it becomes etiolated and behaves as a creeper, growing on other vegetation. It can then become up to 10 m (33 feet) tall. The plant is hairy and glandular and the leaves give off a pungent, aromatic odour when crushed.
The leaves are opposite, triangular to elliptical with serrated edges. Leaves are 4–10 cm long by 1–5 cm wide (up to 4 x 2 inches). Leaf petioles are 1–4 cm long. The white to pale pink tubular flowers are in panicles of 10 to 35 flowers that form at the ends of branches. The seeds are achenes and are somewhat hairy. They are mostly spread by the wind, but can also cling to fur, clothes and machinery, enabling long distance dispersal. Seed production is about 80000 to 90000 per plant. Seeds need light to germinate. The plant can regenerate from the roots. In favorable conditions the plant can grow more than 3 cm per day.
Limnocharis flava is roughly 50 cm tall. growing in clumps. Its triangular-shaped leaves and hollow stems are glabrous. Its inflorescences have a very characteristic shape, producing three-lobed yellow flowers about 1.5 cm in diameter. The fruits are spherical. Although it is not a floating plant, its seeds are carried away by currents.
Yellow velvetleaf grows generally wherever there is not very deep stagnant fresh water, in swampy areas. It sometimes invades rice fields where it can become a weed. As an invasive species it has become a pest in some wetlands in other parts of the world.
Traditionally this plant is an important vegetable in parts of Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam,Laos, Isan (Thailand) and parts of India, where the central flower stalk and the leaves are used in soups, curries, salads and stir-fries. The immature flower buds are also eaten. Owing to its flat taste, in some areas it is considered "poor people's food" or emergency food, eaten whenever there is not much else left. This characteristic was put into song by Muhammad Arief, in the 1940s hit Genjer-genjer in the Banyuwangi language in Java.
L. flava is valued as an ornamental plant in some countries and cultivated in botanic gardens or private homes. Known introductions of the species for ornamental use has been documented in the USA, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Indonesia (Abhilash, 2004; Corlett, 1988; van Steenis, 1954; Senartana, 1940). In some South-East Asian countries L. flava is used as a source of food. For example, in Java the plant is a much-esteemed vegetable, which is cultivated in rice fields and sold in markets for its young leaves, stems and flower clusters (Abhilash, 2004). In Vietnam, L. flava occurs naturally in many bodies of water and is used as a vegetable in dishes; it is particularly popular in the Mekong Delta.
Known as keo neo or cu neo, it is frequently gathered by ethnic Vietnamese (Kinh) women and sold in local markets and by boat vegetable vendors. The young leaves and tops of the plant are boiled or cooked in mixed soups. The vegetable contains relatively high levels of Ca, Fe and ß-carotene, which are minerals that are frequently insufficient in the diets of women in low-income countries (Ogle et al. 2001). The leaves of L. flava are also collected for household consumption in Bangladesh by women (Sultana et al. ICLARM).
Clidemia hirta, commonly called soapbush or Koster's Curse, is a perennial shrub. It is an invasive plant species in many tropical regions of the world, creating serious damage.
Originally from the American Neotropics (Mexico to Paraguay as well as the Caribbean), it has been introduced to Australia, Southern Asia and East Africa.
It was introduced to Hawaii in the 1940s; by 1978 it had spread to over 90,000 acres (360 km2) of land on Oahu. In 1972 Koster's Curse was first spotted on the Big Island. In Sri Lanka it is quite invasive in wet zone and upcountry forests, especially invading gaps in the forest, preventing other native species from emerging.
The plant grows 1–5 metres (3 ft 3 in–16 ft 5 in) tall, depending on habitat.
The black berries are up to 8 millimetres (0.31 in) long and taste a bit like a deeply flavored blueberry. Each fruit contains more than 100 tiny (0.5 mm) seeds. It flowers and fruits all year, if conditions are moist enough. A large plant can produce more than 500 fruits in a single year. The seeds are dispersed by birds, feral pigs, other animals, and humans. Sheep will not eat the plant, and the tannin inside the fruits is poisonous to goats. The seeds can remain viable in the soil for up to 4 years.
The human edibility factor of this berry has not been fully explored. The tannin inside of the fruit is not harmful to humans and a delicious syrup may be made from the fruit. The syrup has a beautiful indigo blue color and may be used to enhance and remove the bitterness of teas such as yerba mate.
Koster's curse can form dense thickets that smother plantations, pastures and native vegetation.
Manually pulling plants out of the ground supplemented by herbicide application is an effective but temporary control method.[1] The thrips species Liothrips urichi from Trinidad is being used to biologically control C. hirta; it was first employed on Fiji in 1930 (Simmonds, 1933).
Introducing the plant to Australia can be fined with up to 60,000 (Australian) $.
Prunella vulgaris (known as common self-heal or heal-all) is an herbaceous plant in the genus Prunella.
Self-heal is edible: the young leaves and stems can be eaten raw in salads; the plant in whole can be boiled and eaten as a potherb; and the aerial parts of the plant can be powdered and brewed in a cold infusion to make a beverage.
Prunella vulgaris grows 5 to 30 cm high[2] (2-12inches), with creeping, self-rooting, tough, square, reddish stems branching at leaf axis.
The leaves are lance shaped, serrated, and reddish at tip, about 2.5 cm (1 inch) long and 1.5 cm (half an inch) broad, and growing in opposite pairs down the square stem. Each leaf has 3-7 veins that shoot off of the middle vein to the margin. The stalks of the leaves are generally short, but can be up to 5 cm (2 inches) long.
The flowers grow from a clublike, somewhat square, whirled cluster; immediately below this club are a pair of stalkless leaves standing out on either side like a collar. Flowers are two lipped and tubular. The top lip is a purple hood, and the bottom lip is often white; it has three lobes with the middle lobe being larger and fringed upwardly. Flowers bloom at different times depending on climate and other conditions, but mostly in summer (from June to August in the USA).
Self-heal propagates both by seed and vegetatively by creeping stems that root at the nodes.
Heal-all is edible, and can be used in salads, soups, stews, and boiled as a pot herb. The Cherokee cooked and ate the young leaves. The Nlaka'pamux drank a cold infusion of the whole plant as a common beverage. The plant contains vitamins A, C, and K, as well as flavonoids and rutin.
The plant's active chemical constituents are betulinic acid, D-camphor, D-fenchone, cyanidin, delphinidin, hyperoside, manganese, lauric acid, oleanolic acid, rosmarinic acid, myristic acid, rutin, linoleic acid, ursolic acid, beta-sitosterol, lupeol, and tannins.
In vitro studies have shown it to have an antibacterial action, inhibiting the growth of pseudomonas, Bacillus typhi, E. coli, Mycobacterium tuberculi.
Silene latifolia (formerly Melandrium album), or White Campion, is a dioecious flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae, native to most of Europe, Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is a herbaceous annual, occasionally biennial or a short-lived perennial plant, growing to between 40-80 centimetres tall.
The appearance depends on the age of the plant; when young they form a basal rosette of oval to lanceolate leaves 4-10 cm long, and when they get older, forked stems grow from these, with leaves in opposite pairs. The flowers grow in clusters at the tops of the stems, 2.5-3 cm diameter, with a distinctive inflated calyx and five white petals, each petal deeply notched; flowering lasts from late spring to early autumn. The entire plant is densely hairy. Occasional plants with pink flowers are usually hybrids with Red Campion (S. dioica).
White campion grows in most open habitats, particularly wasteland and fields, most commonly on neutral to alkaline soils. Despite the wide array of conditions in which campion can thrive, it prefers sunny areas that have rich and well-drained soil. An example ecoregion of occurrence is in the Sarmatic mixed forests.
It is also named the Grave Flower or Flower of the Dead in parts of England as they are seen often growing on gravesites and around tombstones.
It is naturalised in North America, being found in most of the United States, the greatest concentrations of the plant can be found in the north-central and northeastern sections of the country. S. latifolia is thought to have arrived in North America as a component of ship ballast.
Daucus carota, whose common names include wild carrot, bird's nest, bishop's lace, and Queen Anne's lace (North America), is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae, native to temperate regions of Europe, southwest Asia and naturalized to North America and Australia.
Domesticated carrots are cultivars of a subspecies, Daucus carota subsp. sativus.
The wild carrot is a herbaceous, somewhat variable biennial plant that grows between 30 and 60 centimetres (1 and 2 ft) tall, roughly hairy, with a stiff solid stem. The leaves are tri-pinnate, finely divided and lacy, overall triangular in shape. The flowers are small and dull white, clustered in flat, dense umbels. They may be pink in bud and there may be a reddish flower in the centre of the umbel. The lower bracts are three-forked or pinnate, a fact which distinguishes the plant from other white-flowered umbellifers. As the seeds develop, the umbel curls up at the edges, becomes more congested, and develops a concave surface. The fruits are oval and flattened, with short styles and hooked spines.The dried umbels detach from the plant, becoming tumbleweeds. The function of the tiny red flower, coloured by anthocyanin, is to attract insects.
Similar in appearance to the deadly poison hemlock, D. carota is distinguished by a mix of tri-pinnate leaves, fine hairs on its solid green stems and on its leaves, a root that smells like carrots, and occasionally a single dark red flower in the center of the umbel.
Like the cultivated carrot, the D. carota root is edible while young, but quickly becomes too woody to consume.
Extra caution should be used when collecting D. carota because it bears a close resemblance to poison hemlock. In addition, the leaves of the wild carrot can cause phytophotodermatitis, so caution should also be used when handling the plant. It has also been used as a method of contraception and an abortifacient for centuries.
If used as a dyestuff, the flowers give a creamy, off-white color.
D. carota, when freshly cut, will draw or change color depending on the color of the water in which it is held. Note that this effect is only visible on the "head" or flower of the plant. Carnations also exhibit this effect. This occurrence is a popular science demonstration in primary grade school.
This beneficial weed can be used as a companion plant to crops. Like most members of the umbellifer family, it attracts wasps to its small flowers in its native land; however, where it has been introduced, it attracts only very few of such wasps. This species is also documented to boost tomato plant production when kept nearby, and it can provide a microclimate of cooler, moister air for lettuce, when intercropped with it.
Philodendron bipinnatifidum (common names: lacy tree philodendron, selloum) is a plant that belongs to the family Araceae and subgenus Meconostigma, one of three subgenera within the genus Philodendron. The commonly used name Philodendron selloum is a synonym (Mayo 1991). This plant is native to South America, namely to Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina, and Paraguay but is also cultivated as a landscape plant in tropical, subtropical and warm temperate climates.
Philodendron bipinnatifidum is a tropical plant that is usually grown in full sun, but can tolerate and adapt to deep shade. It grows best in rich, moisture-retentive soil that can be slightly alkaline. However, it cannot tolerate high salt concentration in soil. It is capable of supporting itself at massive heights by producing tree-like bases. However, it will exhibit epiphytic characteristics if given the opportunity to attach itself to a nearby supporting tree and climb upon it. The trunk of this plant can send down many strong aerial roots that not only give support to the overall plant mass, but also serve to absorb water and nutrients from the soil. This plant is greatly known for its ease in covering a land mass, and typically spread out its tree-like trunk from anywhere between eight to ten feet. Alternatively, if grown in cooler climates with at least some freezing winter weather, its entire aboveground structures will die back completely at a hard frost and then sprout back from the roots the following spring.
The reproductive organ consists of a spadix grown at the center of a reproductive layer called the spathe. The spathe is sometimes mistaken to be a flower, but it is really a modified leaf that serves to protect the spadix. The spadix is divided into three sections: fertile male flowers at the tip, sterile male flowers at the center, and fertile female flowers toward the end of the flower chamber. The sterile male flowers in the midsection serve to prevent self-fertilization and to produce heat. Pollination is done by a Cyclocephala beetle species. The sterile male flowers produce and maintain a constant temperature that is 30 °C above that of the environment during the two days the entire flower structure is open. Interestingly, P. bipinnatifidum metabolizes fat, instead of carbohydrate, to fuel this process.
This feature indicates a possible evolutionary convergence where this plant species and animal species derived similar mechanisms to utilize fat reserves for energy consumption. The main reason for raising and maintaining the flower’s temperature is for volatilizing and dispersing insect attracting odors. The constant high heat production increases the distance that the scent can be picked up by the beetle, and increases the probability of pollination. Additionally, the heat creates a hospitable climate that helps to activate the beetle once it is inside the flower. This will also increase the probability of pollination.
Tradescantia fluminensis is a species of spiderwort native to South America. It is one of several plants known by the common name Wandering Jew'. It is also known as River Spiderwort, Small-Leaf Spiderwort, Inch Plant, Wandering Trad, Wandering Willie, Wandering Gypsy.
T. fluminensis is a perennial ground cover that spreads along the ground with soft, hairless stems and leaves. The fleshy stems root at any node that is on the surface. The plant has oval, dark-green leaves with pointed tips that are shiny, smooth and slightly fleshy about 1.25 – 2.5 inches long. The flowers are white with three petals and approx. 0.5 – 1-inch in diameter. They are produced in small clusters in summer but do not produce seeds.
Cultivation
T. fluminensis is grown as a garden plant or houseplant in many places. Even in places where it is a pest it may be grown as a house plant in variegated forms. The plant requires a moist soil to do well but is retarded by cold climates, especially where there is frost or snow. It tolerates heavy shade. Because it requires moisture it grows weakly, if at all, in sunny areas that dry out for long periods. However, because it is a fleshy plant that retains water, it can withstand extended periods of dryness only to resume growth once better conditions return.
Numerous cultivars are available with variegated leaves, of which 'Quicksilver' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Invasion as a pest
T. fluminensis is considered an invasive species, noxious weed, or pest plant in many places and is consequently targeted for eradication. Seriously affected areas include Australia, New Zealand, and the southeastern United States.
The seriously invasive qualities of T. fluminensis result from a combination of attributes. Forming a dense mat underneath forest tree cover to 12 inches (30 centimeters) or even more (facilitated by a remarkable shade tolerance) it smothers ground-level plants and prevents the natural regeneration of taller species and if left unchecked, it can lead to the destruction of native forests.
Even where the climate does not permit T. fluminensis to take root, it still can spread rapidly from being transported by animals and humans and even strong winds. The succulent stems break easily at the nodes and establish themselves wherever they land on moist soil. While T. fluminensis does respond to herbicides and other applied weed controls, each segment has the ability to regenerate, so it is able to make a rapid comeback, especially in soft soils where stems may remain underneath the surface.
Common Name: poison dart plant
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Family: Araceae
Native Range: Philippines, northeastern Celebes
Zone: 10 to 12
Height: 1.00 to 1.50 feet
Spread: 1.00 to 1.50 feet
Bloom Time: Seasonal bloomer
Bloom Description: White spadix with green spathe
Sun: Part shade to full shade
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Low
Flower: Showy
Leaf: Evergreen
Tolerate: Heavy Shade
Aglaonema commutatum, commonly called Chinese evergreen, is an evergreen perennial that generally resembles dieffenbachia (dumb cane) in appearance. It typically grows to 20” tall. Thick, elliptic to lance-shaped, dark green leaves (to 4-8” long and 2-3” wide) with attractive silver-gray blotches on erect, sometimes branched stems. As a houseplant, it rarely flowers. Each axillary flower (typical arum family) features a small creamy white spadix enclosed by a pale green spathe, usually in late summer to early fall. Clusters of red berries follow the flowers.
Prefers diffused sun or good indirect light. Avoid placing in direct sun. Well-drained, peaty potting mixture. Consistent moisture from spring to fall. Does not require winter dormancy, but appreciates a winter period of rest. Reduce watering from early fall to late winter. Do not allow soils to dry out. This indoor plant tolerates atmospheric dryness and somewhat shady locations.
No serious insect or disease problems. Watch for aphids, mealybugs, spider mites or scale. Rots may occur if plants are over-watered. Leaves may brown up if plants are grown in very dry air or placed in a drafty location.
