Juniperus chinensis, commonly called Chinese juniper, is a dioecious evergreen conifer that is native to China, Japan, Mongolia and the Himalayas. It is often seen in the wild as a conical tree to 50’ tall and 20’ wide, but also appears in much shorter shrubby or spreading forms. Foliage is dark green. Brown bark on mature stems peels in strips. Although species plants are rarely sold in commerce, a large number of cultivated varieties ranging in size from large trees to large/small shrubs to low-growing…

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Livistona chinensis, the Chinese fan palm or fountain palm, is a species of subtropical palm tree of east Asia. It is native to southern Japan, Taiwan, the Ryukyu Islands, southeastern China and Hainan. It is also reportedly naturalized in South Africa. Livistona chinensis can attain heights of about 9 to 15 m (30 to 50 ft) and a spread of 4 m (12 ft). The leaves are fan shaped The palm is cultivated as an ornamental tree in gardens and conservatories. This plant can become a weed, or in…

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Dypsis lutescens grows 6–12 m (20–39 ft) in height. Multiple stems emerge from the base. The fronds are arched, 2–3 m (6 ft 7 in–9 ft 10 in) long, and pinnate, with 40-60 pairs of leaflets. It bears panicles of yellow flowers in summer. Offsets can be cut off when mature enough, as a propagation method. The Areca Palm or Butterfly Palm is a relatively easy care indoor houseplant that has much going for it. Its attractive nature has been awarded the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit, which for a…

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Pride of India is a fast-growing, medium-sized, deciduous, sub-canopy tree with an upright, round crown. The tree, which produces suckers, usually grows 15 metres tall or more, with some specimens up to 26 metres. The bole is around 60cm in diameter. The tree is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine and source of materials. The wood is of good quality, considered to be one of the best timber trees in Myanmar and Assam, and is often traded. One of the most…

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Magnolia grandiflora, commonly known as the southern magnolia or bull bay, is a tree of the family Magnoliaceae native to the southeastern United States, from southeastern North Carolina to centralFlorida, and west to East Texas. Although endemic to the lowland subtropical forests on the Gulf and south Atlantic coastal plain, magnolia grandiflora is widely cultivated in warmer areas around the world. The timber is hard and heavy, and has been used commercially to make furniture, pallets, and veneer. M. grandiflora contains phenolic constituents shown to…

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Peltophorum pterocarpum is a fast-growing evergreen tree with a dense, spreading, umbrella-shaped crown. It usually reaches a height of 15 – 24 metres, although it has been known to reach 50 metres. The straight, cylindrical bole is sometimes buttressed, it can be 50 – 100cm in diameter. The tree is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine and source of materials. It can be grown as a hedge and is also planted as a pioneer species for restoring native woodland. A very…

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There is ongoing controversy about whether Melaleuca or Callistemon should be used for the bottlebrush species). Some herbaria have now adopted the name Melaleuca viminalis for this species, however, this reclassification has not been adopted in the Australian Plant Census (which is accepted by ANPSA as the authority on Australian Plant nomenclature). The weeping bottlebrush is typically a small tree with pendulous foliage although some forms are more pendulous than others. It reaches a height of about 10 metres in its natural habitat but is…

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Garcinia subelliptica, the happiness tree, or Fukugi tree is a species of Garcinia found in the coastal forest of Philippines, Sri Lanka, Taiwan (Gaoxiong, Huoshao Dao, cultivated in Taibei), Indonesia (Java) and Japan (Ryukyu Islands). Tree 6–20 meters high with ovate-oblong, or elliptical thick leathery leaves. Fruits are yellow smooth with 1-4 seeds. Garcinia subelliptica is the floral emblem of Mobuto and Tarama on Okinawa. This tree is monoeicious (male and female flowers on the same plant). Both male and female flowers are borne in…

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Dieffenbachia is a genus of tropical flowering plants in the family Araceae. It is native to the New World Tropics from Mexico and the West Indies south to Argentina. Some species are widely cultivated as ornamental plants, especially as houseplants, and have become naturalized on a few tropical islands. Dieffenbachia ‘Camille’ is an evergreen perennial cultivar with large, oval leaves which are attractively marked with dark green at the edges, fading to white in the centre. Also known as Dumb Cane, this references the plant’s…

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Calliandra haematocephala, commonly called red powder puff, is an evergreen shrub or small tree native to Bolivia. It was formerly included in the legume or pea family, but has recently been shifted into the mimosa family. It typically grows 10-15’ tall in its native habitat and is a very popular flowering shrub in central and southern Florida where it will survive year-round in the ground. Bipinnately compound leaves (5-10 pairs of leaflets per pinna) open copper-pink but mature to dark green. Raspberry-like flower buds open…

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