Echium plantagineum, commonly known as purple viper's-bugloss or Paterson's curse, is a species of Echium native to western and southern Europe (from southern England south to Iberia and east to the Crimea), northern Africa, and southwestern Asia (east to Georgia). It has also been introduced to Australia, South Africa and United States, where it is an invasive weed. Due to a high concentration of pyrrolizidine alkaloids, it is poisonous to grazing livestock, especially those with simple digestive systems, like horses. The toxins are cumulative in the liver, and death results from too much Paterson's curse in the diet.
Echium plantagineum is a winter annual plant growing to 20–60 cm tall, with rough, hairy, lanceolate leaves up to 14 cm long. The flowers are purple, 15–20 mm long, with all the stamens protruding, and borne on a branched spike.
Echium plantagineum contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids and is poisonous. When eaten in large quantities, it causes reduced livestock weight and death, in severe cases. Paterson's curse can kill horses and irritate the udders of dairy cows and the skin of humans. After the 2003 Canberra bushfires a large bloom of the plant occurred on the burned land, and many horses became ill and died from grazing on it. Because the alkaloids can also be found in the nectar of Paterson's curse, the honey made from it should be blended with other honeys to dilute the toxins.
It is an evergreen trailing plant with loose terminal clusters of bright yellow, saucer-shaped flowers. In the flower centre is a tight cluster of orange stamens, which are sensitive to the touch, and spread outwards to reveal the tall stigma in the middle. The plant is common on chalk downs, and occasional in other grasslands, always on dry, base-rich soil. The wild species has yellow flowers, but garden varieties range from white through yellow to deep red.
Though the individual blooms are short-lived, the plant produces a mass of flowers through the summer. It needs a dry, sunny place, like a south-facing rockery or meadow. As the Latin name Helianthemum suggests, these are sun-flowers. This is a good nectar source for bees and there are several species of small beetle that feed on the foliage. Common rock-rose is also the food plant for the larvae of several species of moth and butterfly.
It flowers from May until July.
Dampiera linearis, commonly known as common dampiera=or wedge-leaved dampiera,= is an erect perennial herb in the family Goodeniaceae. The species, which is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia, grows to between 15 and 60 cm (6 in–2 ft) high, with its blue to purple flowers appearing between July and December. It adapts readily to cultivation, particularly containers such as hanging baskets.
The prolific botanist Robert Brown described Dampiera linearis in his 1810 work Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen. Its species name is the Latin adjective linearis "linear". He described a D cuneata at the same time,which has been synonymised with D. linearis. Plants sold commercially were mislabeled as D. cuneata for many years. Dutch botanist Willem Hendrik de Vriese described two further plants—D. azurea and D. eriophora—from the Swan River and Perth environs in the 1845 work Plantae Preissianae, which are also now considered D. linearis
The prolific botanist Robert Brown described Dampiera linearis in his 1810 work Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen. Its species name is the Latin adjective linearis "linear". He described a D cuneata at the same time, which has been synonymised with D. linearis. Plants sold commercially were mislabeled as D. cuneata for many years. Dutch botanist Willem Hendrik de Vriese described two further plants—D. azurea and D. eriophora—from the Swan River and Perth environs in the 1845 work Plantae Preissianae, which are also now considered D. linearis
Patersonia sericea, commonly known as the purple flag, native iris, silky purple flag or native flag is a species of plant in the iris family Iridaceae which is endemic to eastern Australia. It is relatively easy to cultivate, and even the type specimen provided to the taxonomist, Robert Brown was "...furnished us by Messrs. Lee and Kennedy, of Hammersmith, [West London] who received the seeds, from which they raised it, from Port Jackson".
The purple flag is a densely-tufted perennial herb growing to a height of about 60 cm. It has stiff, erect grass-like green leaves 15–60 cm long and 2–6 mm wide, that are finely stiated, glabrous except for the margins which have fine hairs and near the base which is covered with short white hairs. The flower stalk is 3–55 cm long and the petals (strictly outer tepals) are roughly oval in shape, 20–30 mm long, 15–25 mm wide and blue-violet in colour. The flowers appear in spring and summer and each lasts for less than a day.
Patersonia sericea is an attractive species for the garden in a well drained, sunny or semi-shaded position with assured moisture. The species is tolerant of at least moderate frost.
Propagation is relatively easy from seed which does not require any special pre-treatment. Division of large plants is also a successful method.
Thysanotus is a genus of about 47 species all of which occur in Australia. Two of these species also occur outside of Australia. They are perennial herbs with 'lily-like' flowers that are characterised by the distinctive fringed margins to the flowers.
Thysanotus tuberosus is the most commonly encountered species. It has narrow, linear leaves to about 50 cm long arising from a tuberous rootstock. The flowers occur on branched stems up to 80 cm long, each stem bearing up to eight flowers. Flowers are mauve to purple, about 25 mm diameter and usually occur in spring and early summer. Each flower only opens for a single day but new flowers are produced over an extended period.
Fringe lilies are not often seen in cultivation despite their obvious beauty. Generally they have proved to be difficult to maintain in cultivation. T.tuberosus should be grown in a well drained sunny position. It is also suited to growing in a container.
Propagation is relatively easy from seed which does not require any special pre-treatment.
Grevillea robusta, commonly known as the southern silky oak or silky oak, or Australian silver oak, is the largest species in the genus Grevillea of the family Proteaceae. It is not closely related to the true oaks, Quercus. It is a native of eastern coastal Australia, in riverine, subtropical and dry rainforest environments receiving more than 1,000 mm per year of average rainfall.
It is a fast-growing evergreen tree, between 18–35 m (59–115 ft) tall, with dark green delicately dented bipinnatifid leaves reminiscent of a fern frond. It is the largest plant in the Grevillea genus, reaching trunk diameters in excess of 1 m (3 ft). The leaves are generally 15–30 cm (6–12 in) long with greyish white or rusty undersides.
Its flowers are golden-orange bottlebrush-like blooms, between 8–15 cm (3–6 in) long, in the spring, on a 2–3 cm long stem and are used for honey production. Like others of its genus, the flowers have no petals, instead they have a long calyx that splits into 4 lobes. The seeds mature in late winter to early spring, fruiting on dark brown leathery dehiscent follicles, about 2 cm long, with one or two flat, winged seeds.
When young it can be grown as a houseplant where it can tolerate light shade, but prefers full sun as it grows best in warm zones. If planted outside, young trees need protection on frosty nights. Once established it is hardier and tolerates temperatures down to −8 °C (18 °F). It needs occasional water but is otherwise fairly drought-resistant.
Grevillea robusta is often used as stock for grafting difficult-to-grow grevilleas.
Care needs to be taken when planted near bushland as it can be weedy.
The tree has been planted widely throughout the city of Kunming in south-western China forming shady avenues.
Erysimum cheiri syn. Cheiranthus cheiri (common name "wallflower") is a species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae (Cruciferae), native to Europe but widespread as an introduced species elsewhere. It is also widely cultivated as a garden plant. It is known as giroflée and ravenelle in French, Goldlack in German, alhelí in Spanish and violacciocca in Italian.
This is a popular ornamental plant, widely cultivated for its abundant, fragrant flowers in spring. Many cultivars have been developed, in shades of yellow, orange, red, maroon, purple, brown, white and cream. It associates well in bedding schemes with other spring flowers such as tulips and forget-me-nots. It is usually grown as a biennial, sown one year to flower the next, and then discarded. This is partly because of its tendency to grow spindly and leggy during its second year, but more importantly its susceptibility to infections such as clubroot.
This is a herbaceous perennial, often grown as a biennial, with one or more highly branching stems reaching heights of 15–80 cm (6–31 in). The leaves are generally narrow and pointed and may be up to 20 cm (8 in) long. The top of the stem is occupied by a club-shaped inflorescence of strongly scented flowers. Each flower has purplish-green sepals and rounded petals which are two to three centimeters long and in shades of bright yellows to reds and purples. The flowers fall away to leave long fruits which are narrow, hairy siliques several centimeters in length.
A miniature yellow double leafed wallflower was rediscovered by Rev. Henry Harpur-Crewe (before 1883) and is now named "Harpur Crewe". Other bred varieties may vary quite a bit in appearance from the wild plant. One cultivar, 'Chelsea Jacket', is a winner of the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. Other varieties such as 'Blood Red Covent Garden' are easy to grow and often benefit from being sown and left to their own devices, growing on patches of empty land with little effort required to maintain them, providing aesthetically sound blooms which produce heady scents.
Allium ampeloprasum is a member of the onion genus Allium. The wild plant is commonly known as wild leek or broadleaf wild leek. Its native range is southern Europe to western Asia, but it is cultivated in many other places and has become naturalized in many countries.
Allium ampeloprasum is regarded as native to all the countries bordering on the Black, Adriatic, and Mediterranean Seas from Portugal to Egypt to Romania. In Russia and Ukraine, it is considered invasive except in Crimea, where it is native. It is also native to Ethiopia, Uzbekistan, Iran and Iraq. It is considered naturalized in the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Czech Republic, the Baltic States, Belarus, the Azores, Madeira, the Canary Islands, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, China, Australia (all states except Queensland and Tasmania), Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Haiti, the United States (southeastern region plus California, New York State, Ohio and Illinois), Galápagos, and Argentina. In tidewater Virginia, where it is commonly known as the "Yorktown onion", it is protected by law in York County.
The species may have been introduced to Britain by prehistoric people, where its habitat consists of rocky places near the coast in south-west England and Wales.
Allium ampeloprasum has been differentiated into three cultivated vegetables, namely leek, elephant garlic and kurrat.
Wild populations produce bulbs up to 3 cm across. Scapes are round in cross-section, each up to 180 cm tall, bearing an umbel of as many as 500 flowers. Flowers are urn-shaped, up to 6 mm across; tepals white, pink or red; anthers yellow or purple; pollen yellow.
Echium plantagineum is a winter annual plant growing to 20–60 cm tall, with rough, hairy, lanceolate leaves up to 14 cm long. The flowers are purple, 15–20 mm long, with all the stamens protruding, and borne on a branched spike.
Echium plantagineum contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids and is poisonous. When eaten in large quantities, it causes reduced livestock weight and death, in severe cases. Paterson's curse can kill horses and irritate the udders of dairy cows and the skin of humans. After the 2003 Canberra bushfires a large bloom of the plant occurred on the burned land, and many horses became ill and died from grazing on it. Because the alkaloids can also be found in the nectar of Paterson's curse, the honey made from it should be blended with other honeys to dilute the toxins.
