 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||
|
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
Common names, scientific names, use and care, cultivation and propagation tips, flowering habits, history and little-known facts for the curious tourist or resident.
Click on pics for large view
A. hispida's wooly red flower spikes
Red Anthurium
White Anthurium
Sago palm
Acalypha (Amarantha) (Acalypha hispida)
Family: Euphorbiaceae
Alternate Names: Beefsteak Plant, Red Hot Cat's Tail, Fire Dragon Plant, Copper Leaf
Use: This is an eye-catching hedge or background plant, including the A. hispida (photograph) and the A. wilkesiana, a tall shrub with variegated leaves related to the poinsettia. The copper leaf variety has smaller tassels and variegated leaves in combinations of pink, red, green, and white. The acalypha can be used as a a houseplant.
Flowers: The A. hispida's wooly red flower spikes are chenille-like tassels, and may droop to 18 inches on mature plants.
Anthurium (Anthurium)
Family: Araceae
Alternate Names: Little Boy Flower, Flamingo Flower, Obake, Palette Flower, Spathe Flower
Use: A staple of the florist trade, these vivid, waxy flowers are highly decorative in exotic arrangements and are often combined with orchids, although they are not related. Anthurium has been used as ground cover in tropical landscaping, creating a stunning, although not particularly practical, effect. There are more than 700 species.
Flowers: The spadix, or column, consists of a multiplicity of tiny flowers. It is protected by the colorful decorative shield or spathe. As a cut flower, the anthurium is extremely long lasting, and blooms on a growing plant can last for months.
Sago Palm (Caryota urens)
Family: Cycadaceae
Use: The sago palm is prized as landscape specimens as well as houseplants. Its starch is a food staple across Southeast Asia and the Pacific. It is the most common cycad in cultivation in the world.
Flowers: The female plant produces flowers at 15 to 20 years, which open, then close and produce seeds if fertilized.
Note: In parts of California, these valuable landscape plants are sometimes chained in place to make them less susceptible to theft.
Linda Abbott Trapp has much more to say about the acalypha, anthurium and sago palm. For tips on cultivation and propogation, we invite you to join our family of subscribers... it isn't expensive. A monthly subscription is just $5.00 USD - that's $1.15 per week. An annual subscription costs $30.00 USD - only $2.50 per month or 58 cents per week. We think you'll find it's money well spent.
Subscribers see more photos, too.
Subscribe and read all the complete articles . . .
Her Bio
Her Stories
Her Home Page
Published monthly. ISSN #1028-9089
For MexConnect.Com LLC & Conexión México S.A. de C.V.
© Mexico Connect 1996-2007
= Subscribers only
