About 40 years ago, a Miami couple fresh from a long trip to Asia brought seeds of an attractive Indian evergreen tree to Fairchild Tropical Garden. Over time this species, Polyalthia longifolia (a/k/a P. longifolia var. pendula), has proven to be a very successful introduction to the landscape of southern Florida. Commonly known as the…
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Over thousands of years, Brosimum alicastrum has attracted common names as easily as sugar water attracts hummingbirds. In Mexico alone, it is said to have more than 68 names in various local languages. Among the more common monikers are Maya nut, ramón, ojoche, ojite, ujuxte and masico/masica. Breadnut is yet another name for this species,…
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Bauhinia is a large genus — more than 500 species — of trees and shrubs native to both the Old World and New World tropics. Typically, their leaf pairs are arranged in a butterfly wing, or back-to-back, configuration. Therein lies an interesting piece of folklore: Among Aboriginal Australians, it is common for spouses to be…
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Dichrostachys cinerea is a long-lived, spiny, moderate-sized Old World legume that may be just the thing to add something unusual to your yard. In the wild it ranges from 5-23 ft. in height, and it bears a resemblance to an Acacia. Its thin trunk produces a rough and often fissured bark. Young twigs are slightly…
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If the Desert Cassia could talk, it would almost certainly wail, “Woe is me!” And who could blame it? After all, botanists have been tinkering with its name seemingly for years. It was moved from the genus Senna to the genus Cassia, then back to Senna. Despite the turmoil, however, Senna polyphylla has continued to…
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