Dombeya wallichii and Dombeya burgessiae ‘Seminole’ are commonly called Tropical Hydrangea due to their flowers looking very similar to the temperate Hydrangea. However, botanically they are in the Malvaceae family which is the Hibiscus or Mallow Family. So, in fact they are more closely related to Hibiscus than Hydrangea. Dombeya wallichii is more tree-like than…
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Conanga odorata is the full-size Ylang-Ylang Tree and Conanga odorata var. fruticosa is a dwarf Ylang-Ylang Tree. They both have very fragrant flowers in the evening and early morning hours. The full-size tree can attain a height of 30+ feet in South Florida, while its dwarf cousin maybe only 12-15′. The flowers of both look…
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Vanilla planifolia, a member of the Orchid Family (Orchidaceae) is the primary species of orchid grown commercially to produce the very expensive vanilla extract. This orchid is actually a vine which starts out in the shade and grows up the trunks of trees, eventually flowering, when it gets high enough up in the tree it…
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The Datil Pepper (Capsicum chinense), is a cultivar of a hot pepper developed near St. Augustine, FL. There is some debate as to the origin of this pepper. Some say it was brought to St. Augustine from Cuba around 1880. Others believe it was brought from Europe in the 1700’s. Whichever is correct, the pepper…
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Desert Rose (Adenium obesum) can make for a very interesting container plant. It is highly prized in S. Florida for its large caudex trunk which develops with age. Interestingly, it will only develop a caudex when grown from seed, so it takes several years to mature. When grown from cuttings, the swollen base never develops.…
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