(Acerola, Barbados Cherry)

Small red, cherry-like fruits develop on the Barbados cherry tree across summer and early fall, but their flavor is more sour and considerably higher in vitamin C. This small evergreen tropical tree hails from the West Indies and Central America, where it is an important native fruit tree.

Smooth light brown bark lines the spreading branches of the Barbados cherry, which attains a spreading, wide V-shaped silhouette. The small oval leaves most heavily occur on branch tips. Anytime the weather...

(Turk's-cap)

This huge, fast-growing red-flowered shrub offers a unique form of hibiscus blossom that never completely opens, hanging instead like a tiny lantern. For that reason it is commonly known as sleeping hibiscus. This is a native from Mexico south into Brazil and Peru, but has also naturalized in parts of Texas and Florida. It is capable of withstanding periodic drought but thrives on regular water too. This shrub produces masses of unbranched stems bearing soft, velvety yellow green leaves all the...

(Drummond's Wax Mallow, Texas Mallow, Turk's-cap)

This huge, fast-growing, red flowered shrub offers a unique form of hibiscus blossom that never opens completely. Its curling, clasped petals give it one of its common names, Turk’s-cap. For the same reason, another common name for it is sleepy hibiscus. This is a native from subtropical Mexico south into Brazil and Peru, but has also naturalized in parts of Texas and Florida. It is an evergreen in frost-free regions, deciduous in cool climates. This shrub makes a forest of upright, unbranched stems...

(Turk's-cap)

Native to Mexico, this warm-climate variety of Turk’s cap hibiscus is a fast-growing evergreen shrub with unbranched stems, lance-shaped leaves, and red flowers that do not open, but instead unfurl just enough to take the shape of a fluted bell, hence the common name Cardinal’s hat. The flowers are pendent on long stalks, and a thriving plant has at least a few flowers from spring through fall, with a heavy flush of bloom in spring and autumn. It is an evergreen in frost-free regions, deciduous in...

(Snowball Cactus)

Delightful flowers and brightly colored fruit make this small, nearly flat cactus a favorite indoors and for small outdoor gardens. This species is native to a relatively small area in San Luis Potosi and Zacatecas, Mexico. It's either found beneath nurse shrubs (shrubs that shelter other plants in Mediterranean and montane ecosystems) or wedged in at the base of boulders where plants are protected from direct afternoon sun. In the low desert this protection is essential to survival.

This little...

(Twin-spined Cactus, White Cactus)

Creating silvery white, clustered mounds of rounded cacti, Twin-spined cactus is a superb desert ornamental for container culture or dry, frost-free gardens. This species is native to Central Mexico, around Hidalgo and neighboring states. In the wild, it is commonly found beneath nurse shrubs or wedged along boulder bases that offer protection from the searing afternoon sun. In the low desert, such midday protection is essential to survival.

Twin-spined cactus initially produces a single barrel....

(Twin-spined Cactus, White Cactus)

Strange contortions of what should be small rounded white cactus make them look a lot like brains. Known as monstrose or crested, this naturally occurring anomaly that rarely afflicts succulents completely changes the look of the species and often prevents flowering. This species is native to central Mexico around Hidalgo and neighboring states. They’re found beneath nurse shrubs or notched into the base of boulders where plants are protected from direct afternoon sun. In the low desert this protection...

(Mandevilla)

The genus Mandevilla is made up of twining woody vines, and a few herbaceous tender perennials, with large showy flowers. There are around 120 species of this tropical favorite and most are native to Central and South America.

Generally, Mandevilla are evergreen with glossy green leaves, held opposite of each other on stems, which emit milky sap when broken. The fabulous often fragrant flowers are tubular and bell or funnel-shaped with five broad spreading petal lobes. The...

(Cotton Candy Mandevilla, Mandevilla)

The softly ruffled blooms of the vigorous Mandevilla 'Cotton Candy' are eye-catching. This hybrid vine is upright with shiny dark green, lance-shaped leaves and bears many long-lasting, medium-sized blooms of pale pink with yellow throats. It has better heat and cold tolerance than other mandevillas and is fast growing. It was bred by Wanda Repp of Waynesville, North Carolina and was chosen as a seedling of a self-pollinated Mandevilla 'Alice DuPont.'

Mandevilla are...

(Mandevilla, Pink Velvet)

The rich hot pink ruffled blooms of Mandevilla ‘Pink Velvet’ offer lovely summer color. This hybrid vine is upright with shiny dark green, lance-shaped leaves and bears many long-lasting, large blooms of pink with yellow throats. It has better heat and cold tolerance than other mandevillas and is fast growing. It was bred by John F. Gray of Hawthorne, Florida and was chosen as a seedling of a self-pollinated Mandevilla 'Alice DuPont.'

Mandevilla are tropical favorites...