(Chorisia, Floss Silk Tree, Silk Floss Tree)

This medium to large deciduous tree is distinguished by its swollen, prickly trunk and its large colorful late-season flowers. It is native to semi-arid forests of Brazil and Argentina.

The leaves of floss silk floss tree are palmately compound, with five to seven leaflets arranged like fingers. In autumn and early winter, large, pink or reddish-purple flowers open, usually after the leaves fall. Each flower has five wide-flaring petals and a pale yellow, purple-flecked throat. Pear-shaped seedpods...

(Coco Plum, Icaco Coco Plum)

Coco plum is one of the most versatile evergreen plants for coastal and warm-winter landscapes. It is native to the coastal regions of Florida, the Caribbean, as well as Central and South America.

Its leaves are rounded, leathery and dark green. They appear in flushes all year around and are red-hued when they first emerge. The flowers are small and white and the edible fruit is round and turns from red to black.

This tough, drought-tolerant shrub grows best in full sun and average, well-drained...

(Bugbane)

Native to Russia and a large part of eastern Asia, autumn snakeroot is a tall perennial with leafed flowerstalks topped by arching racemes of white flowers in autumn. These are borne above clumps of bright green or purplish green foliage with toothed leaflets.

Autumn snakeroot prefers fertile, humus-based, well-drained soil and a partially shaded, evenly moist location. A graceful plant, it may need staking to best show off its stately form. Use it as an accent plant in a woodland garden or...

(Black Bugbane, Black Negligee Bugbane)

Black Negligee autumn snakeroot is a tall, striking perennial with very attractive dark foliage from eastern Asia. Its leafed purple flowerstalks are topped by arching racemes of clear white flowers in autumn. These are borne above clumps of ashy dark purple foliage with toothed leaflets.

'Black Negligee' prefers fertile, well-drained soil with humus and a partially shaded, evenly moist location. A graceful plant, it may need staking to best show off its form, especially in windier locales when...

(Brunette Bugbane, Bugbane)

Brunette autumn snakeroot is a tall, striking perennial with rich, exquisite foliage from eastern Asia. Its leafed purple flowerstalks are topped by arching racemes of creamy, purple-tinged flowers in autumn. These are borne above clumps of deep brownish-purple foliage with toothed leaflets.

'Brunette' prefers fertile, well-drained soil with humus and a partially shaded, evenly moist location. A graceful plant, it may need staking to best show off its form, especially in windier locales when flowering...

(Bugbane, Hillside Black Beauty Bugbane)

Hillside Black Beauty autumn snakeroot is a tall, striking perennial with rich, black foliage from eastern Asia. Its leafed purple flowerstalks are topped by arching racemes of white or light pink flowers in autumn. These are borne above clumps of lustrous dark purple to black foliage with toothed leaflets. The fragrant flowers will attract butterflies.

'Hillside Black Beauty' prefers fertile, well-drained soil with humus and a partially shaded, evenly moist location. A graceful plant, it may...

(Canela, Cinnamon Plant)

A cold-tender broadleaf evergreen tree with a rounded crown, canela is native to Taiwan. Its large oval leathery leaves are glossy medium green and have three obvious veins. Bruised leaves exude a faint scent of cinnamon. In late winter the branches display clusters of many small light yellow flowers. After pollination by insects, small, pea-sized green fruits appear and mature to chocolate brown.

Grow this smal tree in the landscape in frost-free locations, or as a houseplant in colder climes....

(Cinnamon, Cinnamon Bark Tree)

One of the earliest recorded spices, dating back to at least 3000 B.C., cinnamon is an aromatic plant that has essential oils throughout all its parts. A slow-growing, tropical broadleaf evergreen tree that attains a gloriously broad but rounded canopy, it is native to Sri Lanka and southernmost India. Its bark is smooth and gray-brown; the spice is dervied by stripping the tree of the brown inner bark layer and allowed to dry to the familiar orange-brown tone in stick-like quills. The unripe fruits,...

(Acre Grape Ivy)

Lacking tendrils and producing two differently shaped leaves, the Acre grape ivy also differs from other members of the Cissus genus by producing dark purple berries with large seeds. As the name reveals, this evergreen tropical vine or liana hails from northern Brazil, including the state of Acre and across the Amazon Basin.

The green leaves vary in shape depending on the stem. On branches that yield the tiny pinkish green flowers, the leaves are more triangular in shape, and other...

(Grape Ivy)

Given its name for its black fruits, grape ivy boasts handsomely toothed leaves that are glossy and green. A modest, climbing or rambling evergreen vine, it hails from Central and South America and the Caribbean Basin.

The leaves are trifoliate, each comprised of three leaflets that are rhombus-shaped with sparse teeth on their edges. Light bronze-green when young, the leaves mature to a deeper green and bear red hairs on their underside. In summer, unshowy, haired green flowers appear and give...