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Garden Alphabet: Joshua Tree (Yucca brevifolia)
There is a distinct alien look to Joshua Trees as you drive across the California High Desert. Their gnarled, out-stretched arms almost look like they are stumbling across the desert, headed to some secret location to plan their next move. I took this photo while we visiting the Antelope Valley Desert Museum. The trees just happened to be in bloom and the flowers look just as alien as the rest of the tree. Joshua Trees only grow in very specific area of the desert and are under pressure from surrounding development for both residential and industrial reasons.
Joshua Tree (Yucca brevifolia)
Yucca brevifolia is a plant species belonging to the genus Yucca. It is tree-like in habit, which is reflected in its common names: Joshua tree, yucca palm, tree yucca, and palm tree yucca.[2][3][4]
This monocotyledonous tree is native to southwestern North America in the states of California, Arizona, Utah and Nevada, where it is confined mostly to the Mojave Desert between 400 and 1,800 meters (1,300 and 5,900 ft) elevation. It thrives in the open grasslands of Queen Valley and Lost Horse Valley in Joshua Tree National Park. A dense Joshua tree forest also exists in Mojave National Preserve, in the area of Cima Dome.
In addition to the nominate subspecies Yucca brevifolia subsp. brevifolia, two other subspecies have been described:[5] Yucca brevifolia subsp. jaegeriana (the Jaeger Joshua tree or Jaeger’s Joshua tree or pygmae yucca) and Yucca brevifolia subsp. herbertii (Webber’s yucca or Herbert Joshua tree), though both are sometimes treated as varieties[6][7][8] or forms.[9]
The name Joshua tree was given by a group of Mormon settlers who crossed the Mojave Desert in the mid-19th century. The tree’s unique shape reminded them of a Biblical story in which Joshuareaches his hands up to the sky in prayer.[10][11][12] Ranchers and miners who were contemporary with the Mormon immigrants also took advantage of the Joshua tree, using the trunks and branches as fencing and for fuel for ore-processing steam engines. It is also called izote de desierto.[13] It was first formally described in the botanical literature as Yucca brevifolia by George Engelmann in 1871 as part of the Geological Exploration of the Fortieth Parallel.[14] – Wikipedia
More information on Joshua Tree (Yucca brevifolia):
Previously in Garden Alphabet:
- Acanthus
- Amaryllis
- Apricot (Prunus armeniaca)
- Azalea
- Banana
- Bonsai
- Bougainvillea
- Brugmansia
- California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica)
- Calla Lily (Zantedeschia aethiopica)
- Castor Bean (Ricinus)
- Caltapa
- Chives (Allium schoenoprasum)
- Clematis
- Camellia
- Currant (Ribes)
- Dahlia
- Datura
- Japanese Cherry (Prunus serrulata)
- Daffodil (Narcissus)
- Dietes (Fortnight Lily)
- Dudleya
- Echinacea
- Ecualyptus
- Freesia
- Fungi
- Grape (Vitis vinifera)
- Hibiscus (Malvaceae)
- Iris
- Kniphofia “Red Hot Poker”
- Lantana
- Kousa Dogwood (Cornus kousa)
- Magnolia x soulangeana (Saucer Magnolia/Tulip Tree)
- Marigold (Calendula officinalis)
- Matilija Poppy (Romneya)
- Morning Glory (Convolvulaceae)
- Nandina
- Orange
- Orchid from the Southern California Spring Garden Show 2013
- Oriental Poppy (Papaver orientale)
- Polygonatum (Solomon’s Seal)
- Paperwhites
- Primula (Primrose)
- Queen Anne’s Lace (Daucus carota)
- Rudbeckia
- Salvia
- Squirrel
- Succulents
- Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas)
- Tomato
- Water Lily (Nymphaeaceae)
Interesting Plant: Australian/New Zealand Tea Tree (Leptospermum scoparium)
This is an entirely new plant to me. I discovered it, and took these photos, on an impromptu neighborhood photo walk a few weeks ago and an online commenter identified it for me. I believe this is the ‘Red Damask’ variety. It really caught my eye as I walked past and I am thinking I might want to add one to my garden, although I don’t have a lot of red there at the moment. Perhaps this could start a trend.
Leptospermum scoparium, commonly called mānuka, manuka myrtle,[1] New Zealand teatree,[1] broom teatree,[1] or just tea tree, is a species of flowering plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae,native to New Zealand and southeast Australia.
It is a prolific scrub-type tree and is often one of the first species to regenerate on cleared land. It is typically a shrub growing to 2–5 m (7–16 ft) tall, but can grow into a moderately sized tree, up to 15 m (49 ft) or so in height. It is evergreen, with dense branching and small leaves 7–20 mm long and 2–6 mm broad, with a short spine tip. The flowers are white, occasionally pink, 8–15 mm (rarely up to 25 mm) in diameter, with five petals. This species is often confused with the closely related species kānuka – the easiest way to tell the difference between the two species in the field is to feel their foliage – mānuka leaves are prickly, while kānuka leaves are soft.[2] The wood is tough and hard.– Wikipedia
More information on Leptospermum scoparium:
- Leptospermum scoparium at Wikipedia
- Leptospermum scoparium at About.com
- Leptospermum scoparium at SFGate.com
From Amazon.com:
Previously in the Interesting Plant series:
- Brugmansia Sanguinea
- Calico Monkeyflower (Mimulus pictus)
- Colocasia Esculenta
- Acer palmatum ‘Sango-kaku’ (Coral Bark Japanese Maple)
- Linderniaceae (formerly Torenia) Kuaui Deep Blue
- Passiflora (Passion flower)
- Firewheel Tree (Stenocarpus sinuatus)
- Anemone
- Allium Cowanii
- Symphyotrichum oblongifolius (Purple Aster)
- Hemerocallis ‘Derrick Cane’ (Daylily)
- Agastache ‘Aztec Rose’
- Rudbeckia hirta Moreno
- Kalanchoe Tomentosa
- Albuca namaquensis
- Hosta ‘Remember Me’
- Dahlia ‘Clair de Lune’
- Lovely silver-tinged fern on campus of Oberlin College, Ohio
- Tricolor Beech (Fagus sylvatica Purpurea Tricolor)
- Climbing Hydrangea (Hydrangea anomala petiolaris)
- Eremurus ‘Lemon Meringue’
- Lupine “Sunrise” (Lupinus hartwegii)
- Chinese Fringe Flower (Loropetalum chinense)
- Streptocarpus ‘Harlequin Blue’
- Nigella damascena (love-in-a-mist, ragged lady)
- Epiphyllum (Orchid Cactus)
- Sempervivum ‘Westerlin’
- Gladiolus ‘Kings Lynn’
- Hosta sieboldiana ‘Dorothy Benedict’
- Begonia “Escargot”
- Asparagus Pea (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus)
- Rosa banksiae (Lady Banks’ Rose)
- Primula ‘Victoriana Silver Laced Black’
- Oxalis versicolor
- Poached Egg Plant (Limnanthes douglasii)
- Parisian Carrots
- Fritillaria imperialis Rubra Maxima
- Clematis “Fascination”
- Swiss Chard “Bright Lights”
- Georgia Rattlesnake Melon
- Dianthus Barbathus “Green Ball” or “Green Trick”
- Coleus “Religious Radish”
- Black Forest Calla Lily
- Black Bamboo
Interesting Plant is a series from A Gardener’s Notebook blog and podcast that highlights the most interesting plants I find in my Internet and real-world travels — Douglas
A nice lettuce harvest from the container garden, washed, put right in the salad bowl and enjoyed as lunch! Yum!
Garden Alphabet: Chives (Allium schoenoprasum)
A tasty addition for any herb garden that grows so easily. These plants are starting to flower, so I will make sure to capture the seed and put it back into the container in order to grow an entire new set for future meals.
Chives
Chives is the common name of Allium schoenoprasum, the smallest species of the edible onions.[1] A perennial plant, it is native to Europe, Asia and North America.[2] A. schoenoprasum is the only species of Allium native to both the New and the Old Worlds.
The name of the species derives from the Greek skhoínos (sedge) and práson (leek).[3] Its English name, chives, derives from the French word cive, from cepa, the Latin word for onion.[4]
Chives are a commonly used herb and can be found in grocery stores or grown in home gardens. In culinary use, the scapes and the unopened, immature flower buds are diced and used as an ingredient for fish, potatoes, soups, and other dishes. Chives have insect-repelling properties that can be used in gardens to control pests.[5] – Wikipedia
More information on Chives:
Previously in Garden Alphabet:
- Acanthus
- Amaryllis
- Apricot (Prunus armeniaca)
- Azalea
- Banana
- Bonsai
- Bougainvillea
- Brugmansia
- California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica)
- Calla Lily (Zantedeschia aethiopica)
- Castor Bean (Ricinus)
- Caltapa
- Clematis
- Camellia
- Currant (Ribes)
- Dahlia
- Datura
- Japanese Cherry (Prunus serrulata)
- Daffodil (Narcissus)
- Dietes (Fortnight Lily)
- Dudleya
- Echinacea
- Ecualyptus
- Freesia
- Fungi
- Grape (Vitis vinifera)
- Hibiscus (Malvaceae)
- Iris
- Kniphofia “Red Hot Poker”
- Lantana
- Kousa Dogwood (Cornus kousa)
- Magnolia x soulangeana (Saucer Magnolia/Tulip Tree)
- Marigold (Calendula officinalis)
- Matilija Poppy (Romneya)
- Morning Glory (Convolvulaceae)
- Nandina
- Orange
- Orchid from the Southern California Spring Garden Show 2013
- Oriental Poppy (Papaver orientale)
- Polygonatum (Solomon’s Seal)
- Paperwhites
- Primula (Primrose)
- Queen Anne’s Lace (Daucus carota)
- Rudbeckia
- Salvia
- Squirrel
- Succulents
- Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas)
- Tomato
- Water Lily (Nymphaeaceae)
The British Library has joined the Flickr Commons, a huge collection of historical photos and drawings from around the world. Even better these photos are drawing are free to use in your online and offline projects.
After a quick search, I came across this charming graphic from A Child’s Garden of Verses … Second edition by Robert Louis Stevenson. You can find artwork like this by visiting the The British Library on Flickr or the overall Flickr Commons. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by what you find there.
Interesting Plant: Brugmansia Sanguinea
I have always loved Brugmansia — with its almost alien looks and exuberant blooms. I typical see the standard, yellow variety here in Southern California, but I love both the shape of these flowers and their orange color — almost as if each blossom had been dipped in paint — or blood, as the name references (Sanguinea in Latin translates to blood)
Looking over the number of times I have posted Brugmansia pictures to my web site, I guess I really do have an affinity for them. You can find my photos a little further down in this post.
Discovered via PInterest User, Elizabeth Gomez-Boffil
Brugmansia sanguinea, the red Angel’s Trumpet, is a South American species of flowering plants that grow as shrubs or small trees.
Brugmansia sanguinea is a small tree reaching up to 10 m (33 ft) in height. The nodding, tube-shaped flowers come in colors of brilliant red, yellow, orange, or green.[1]– Wikipedia
More on Brugmansia…
Brugmansia is a genus of seven species of flowering plants in the family Solanaceae. Their large, fragrant flowers give them their common name of angel’s trumpets, a name sometimes used for the closely related genus Datura. Brugmansia are woody trees or shrubs, with pendulous, not erect, flowers, that have no spines on their fruit. Datura species are herbaceous bushes with erect (not pendulous) flowers, and most have spines on their fruit.[2] – Wikipedia
More information on Brugmansia Sanguinea:
- Brugmansia Sanguinea at Wikipedia
- Brugmansia Sanguinea at Top Tropicals
- Brugmansia Sanguinea information and discussion at Dave’s Garden
From Amazon.com:
Some of my own Brugmansia photos:
‘Previously in the Interesting Plant series:
- Calico Monkeyflower (Mimulus pictus)
- Colocasia Esculenta
- Acer palmatum ‘Sango-kaku’ (Coral Bark Japanese Maple)
- Linderniaceae (formerly Torenia) Kuaui Deep Blue
- Passiflora (Passion flower)
- Firewheel Tree (Stenocarpus sinuatus)
- Anemone
- Allium Cowanii
- Symphyotrichum oblongifolius (Purple Aster)
- Hemerocallis ‘Derrick Cane’ (Daylily)
- Agastache ‘Aztec Rose’
- Rudbeckia hirta Moreno
- Kalanchoe Tomentosa
- Albuca namaquensis
- Hosta ‘Remember Me’
- Dahlia ‘Clair de Lune’
- Lovely silver-tinged fern on campus of Oberlin College, Ohio
- Tricolor Beech (Fagus sylvatica Purpurea Tricolor)
- Climbing Hydrangea (Hydrangea anomala petiolaris)
- Eremurus ‘Lemon Meringue’
- Lupine “Sunrise” (Lupinus hartwegii)
- Chinese Fringe Flower (Loropetalum chinense)
- Streptocarpus ‘Harlequin Blue’
- Nigella damascena (love-in-a-mist, ragged lady)
- Epiphyllum (Orchid Cactus)
- Sempervivum ‘Westerlin’
- Gladiolus ‘Kings Lynn’
- Hosta sieboldiana ‘Dorothy Benedict’
- Begonia “Escargot”
- Asparagus Pea (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus)
- Rosa banksiae (Lady Banks’ Rose)
- Primula ‘Victoriana Silver Laced Black’
- Oxalis versicolor
- Poached Egg Plant (Limnanthes douglasii)
- Parisian Carrots
- Fritillaria imperialis Rubra Maxima
- Clematis “Fascination”
- Swiss Chard “Bright Lights”
- Georgia Rattlesnake Melon
- Dianthus Barbathus “Green Ball” or “Green Trick”
- Coleus “Religious Radish”
- Black Forest Calla Lily
- Black Bamboo
Interesting Plant is a series from A Gardener’s Notebook blog and podcast that highlights the most interesting plants I find in my Internet and real-world travels — Douglas
While my wife was working on a project with a friend, I decided to walk around their neighborhood to see what I could see. Here are the photos that resulted. I have a couple of unidentified items that I could use your help with, though. Here are those photos and a link to a slide show of the complete collection of photos from the walk.
Can you identify either of these two plants? Please leave a comment!
Lovely Apple Blossoms on the walk
Garden Alphabet: Fungi
Fungi make up a huge part of the plant kingdom, but often we don’t even notice them. These fungi popped up in my garden a few years ago, probably digesting old tree roots or something similar.
Fungi
A fungus (/ˈfʌŋɡəs/; plural: fungi[3] or funguses[4]) is a member of a large group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds (British English: moulds), as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, Fungi, which is separate from plants, animals, protists and bacteria. One major difference is that fungal cells have cell walls that contain chitin, unlike the cell walls of plants and some protists, which contain cellulose, and unlike the cell walls of bacteria. These and other differences show that the fungi form a single group of related organisms, named the Eumycota (true fungi or Eumycetes), that share a common ancestor (is amonophyletic group). This fungal group is distinct from the structurally similar myxomycetes (slime molds) and oomycetes (water molds). The discipline of biology devoted to the study of fungi is known as mycology (from the Greekμύκης, mukēs, meaning “fungus”). Mycology has often been regarded as a branch of botany, even though it is a separate kingdom in biological taxonomy. Genetic studies have shown that fungi are more closely related to animals than to plants.
Abundant worldwide, most fungi are inconspicuous because of the small size of their structures, and their cryptic lifestyles in soil, on dead matter, and as symbionts of plants, animals, or other fungi. They may become noticeable whenfruiting, either as mushrooms or molds. Fungi perform an essential role in the decomposition of organic matter and have fundamental roles in nutrient cycling and exchange. They have long been used as a direct source of food, such as mushrooms and truffles, as a leavening agent for bread, and in fermentation of various food products, such as wine, beer, and soy sauce. Since the 1940s, fungi have been used for the production of antibiotics, and, more recently, various enzymes produced by fungi are used industrially and in detergents. Fungi are also used as biological pesticides to control weeds, plant diseases and insect pests. Many species produce bioactive compounds called mycotoxins, such as alkaloids and polyketides, that are toxic to animals including humans. The fruiting structures of a few species contain psychotropic compounds and are consumed recreationally or in traditional spiritual ceremonies. Fungi can break down manufactured materials and buildings, and become significant pathogens of humans and other animals. Losses of crops due to fungal diseases (e.g. rice blast disease) or food spoilage can have a large impact on human food supplies and local economies. – Wikipedia
More information on Fungi:
Previously in Garden Alphabet:
- Acanthus
- Amaryllis
- Apricot (Prunus armeniaca)
- Azalea
- Banana
- Bonsai
- Bougainvillea
- Brugmansia
- California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica)
- Calla Lily (Zantedeschia aethiopica)
- Castor Bean (Ricinus)
- Caltapa
- Clematis
- Camellia
- Currant (Ribes)
- Dahlia
- Datura
- Japanese Cherry (Prunus serrulata)
- Daffodil (Narcissus)
- Dietes (Fortnight Lily)
- Dudleya
- Echinacea
- Ecualyptus
- Freesia
- Grape (Vitis vinifera)
- Hibiscus (Malvaceae)
- Iris
- Kniphofia “Red Hot Poker”
- Lantana
- Kousa Dogwood (Cornus kousa)
- Magnolia x soulangeana (Saucer Magnolia/Tulip Tree)
- Marigold (Calendula officinalis)
- Matilija Poppy (Romneya)
- Morning Glory (Convolvulaceae)
- Nandina
- Orange
- Orchid from the Southern California Spring Garden Show 2013
- Oriental Poppy (Papaver orientale)
- Polygonatum (Solomon’s Seal)
- Paperwhites
- Primula (Primrose)
- Queen Anne’s Lace (Daucus carota)
- Rudbeckia
- Salvia
- Squirrel
- Succulents
- Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas)
- Tomato
- Water Lily (Nymphaeaceae)
