(Macadamia)

Producing large nuts, the Beaumont macadamia is well-suited for growth in dry, subtropical areas and has pretty, bright pink, pendent flowers, and reddish new leaves. A hybrid selection from crossing two Australian natives, the smooth-shelled (Macadamia integrifolia) and the rough-shelled (M. tetraphylla) macadamias, it is a very slow growing, evergreen tree that attains an upright yet rounded canopy. The foliage of macadamia tree is handsome. They are dark green and glossy, often...

(Cat's Claw)

Large yellow trumpet-like blooms make this an outstanding vine for tropical gardens. Cat's claw is naturally distributed across a huge area of the Americas from Mexico to Argentina, including the West Indies. It thrives in warm coastal climates as well as the desert, where frost is rare and fleeting.

Its small lush evergreen leaves are borne on woody stems that cling to surfaces with unusual three pronged claw-like tendrils. These allow them to climb onto buildings, fences and walls with a...

(Cycad, Moore's Macrozamia)

This is one of the world's most stunning and grandiose cycads, as it mimics the silhouette and beauty of a small Canary Island date palm. Moore's macrozamia cycad is native to the forest edges and slopes in tropical Queensland, Australia and northern New South Wales. This slow-growing cycad, which reproduces by cones, is neither a palm nor a fern. Cycads are ancient plants that existed with the dinosaurs eons ago. Eventually, Moore's macrozamia cycad develops a tall trunk-like stem with mop head...

(Coconut Magnolia)

The truly tropical coconut magnolia is a slow growing evergreen shrub native to southern China. Its glossy leaves are medium green and create a pleasing background for the small, rounded ivory flower buds that open in the evening. The highly fragrant blooms are small, ivory and emit a magnificent fragrance. By morning, the petals drop but the fragrance still lingers. The flowers are produced most months of the year but taper off in winter.

The coconut magnolia needs fertile, well-drained soil...

(Southern Magnolia)

Southern magnolia is a beautiful, large broadleaf evergreen tree native to the Southeast United States. The huge, waxy, fragrant white flowers debut in early to late spring (depending on climate) and continue sporadically into fall. The glossy, leathery, dark green leaves - often with contrasting gray or brown undersides - are big and bold. Large cone-like fruits with fleshy red seeds are ornamental in fall. This magnolia drops its oldest leaves in mid-spring, just before new stem and foliage growth...

(Algerita, Chaparral Berry, Laredo Mahonia, Trifoliate Grape Holly, Wild Currant)

An all-season beauty from the American Southwest and adjacent Mexico, this upright, medium-sized shrub bears fragrant yellow blossoms in winter, edible red fruits in summer, and attractive holly-like leaves year-round.

Stiff, thick leaves with three narrow, lobed, spiny leaflets are paired along the ascending branches of this handsome evergreen shrub. The leaves are typically bluish green, with some plants possessing striking steely-blue foliage. Blue-leaved forms are sometimes sold under the...

(Mendocino Bushmallow)

One of the most beautiful flowering shrubs for a chaparral landscape, the Mendocino bushmallow bears throngs of bowl-shaped lavender-pink flowers in summertime. This fast-growing evergreen shrub is native to southern California and adjacent northwestern Mexico in dry slopes and canyons. It develops an irregularly rounded habit with spreading but vertical branches. Over time the shrub's roots spread to sprout new foliage and stems to create a mild thicket.

The quilted, jagged leaves range in color...

(Rocky Point Ice Plant)

With angled, fleshy, finger-like foliage, Rocky Point ice plant bears yellow daisy flowers practically year 'round. A succulent perennial tender to frosty temperatures, it is native to extreme southern Africa's rocky, arid lands.

The foliage is succulent, soft but rigid enough to feel like rubber. It is a bright green witha whitish coating, allowing it to resist urban pollution and seaspray as well as heat. Most heavily in spring, small, dandelion-like yellow flowers will dot the sprawling plant,...

(Dwarf Holly, Miniature Holly, Singapore Holly)

You wouldn't expect to find a real holly growing in the warm, sandy soils of the West Indies, but you might encounter the holly-imposter known as miniature holly. It's sometimes and confusingly called Singapore holly because of its wide popularity as a small container bonsai subject there.

Miniature holly's glossy deep green leaves display small, sharply pointed lobes, the reason it is referred to as a holly. The foliage partially masks the wiry, open branches with a stark, gray-white bark. Anytime...

(Acerola, Barbados Cherry, West Indian Cherry)

Small red fruits that are rich in vitamin C, but usually quite tart, appear on the branches of the West Indian cherry in summer and fall. Often confused with and called the Barbados cherry (Malphigia glabra), this species' leaves, flowers and fruits are smaller in size, and the branches carry long spur-like branchlets. West Indian cherry's native range is much larger: the West Indies, Central America and northern South America to Peru and Venezuela.

West Indian cherry's evergreen leaves...