(Appleblossom Cassia, Javanese Cassia, Pink and White Shower Tree)

With a spreading, irregular, tiered habit, the appleblossom cassia is covered with variably pink flowers in the warmest months of the tropical dry season. This Indonesian tree is very briefly deciduous just prior to or during the flowering display in springtime. The trunk's bark is smooth and gray, but occasional spines or woody spurs line the trunk or lower parts of branches.

Newly emerging leaves are downy, but turn matte green with age. Each leaf is compound, comprising 5 to nearly 30 oval...

(Gold Medallion Tree)

Brilliantly attractive in form and when its cheerful yellow flower clusters appear in the summer, gold medallion tree is one of the most magnificent small tropical trees. An evergreen small tree from southeastern Brazil, its spreading but elegantly rounded canopy is lined with medium to deep green leaves that have eight to twelve pairs of small oval leaflets. Large clusters of sunny yellow flowers appear most heavily in the summertime, continuing for many weeks. The blossoms occur on semi-weeping...

(Silver Cassia)

Silvery blue-green foliage and yellow buttercup-shaped flowers that appear in late winter are best ornamental features of the silver cassia. This fast-growing evergreen shrub is native to arid central Australia. It is exceptionally tolerant of dry soil, heat, frosts and hot sunlight. It looks like an acacia, but the five-petaled flowers reveal its inclusion in the genus Cassia. Silver cassia attains a wispy-looking rounded to upright, v-shaped habit.

To conserve moisture in its hot,...

(Queensland Cassia, Yellow Shower)

Showy pendent clusters of yellow flowers flop from the leafy branch tips of the Queensland cassia and later yield long, ribbed seed pods. Native to northeastern Queensland, Australia, it is found in both tropical rainforests and sunny woodland edges. It develops an open canopy of branches and foliage but maintains a spreading, coarsely rounded habit. Snap a twig and it smells of bacon.

The compound leaves comprise 10 to 16 elongated oval leaflets. They are medium bright green and leathery....

(Chinquapin)

Chinquapin is a large, narrow shrub or small tree that has dual-colored leaves, caterpillar-like flowers and fruits that produce sweet edible nuts. A deciduous plant, it is naturally found growing under oak trees in the southeastern United States. The bark is pale reddish brown with gray castings, and larger branches will have a smooth, silvery gray bark that is lightly furrowed and scaled.

The branches are lined with simple (no lobes), tooth-and-bristled green leaves that are soft, woolly and...

(Ozark Chinquapin)

Ozark chinquapin is a large, narrow shrub or small tree that has dual-colored leaves, caterpillar-like flowers and fruits that produce sweet edible nuts. A deciduous plant, it is naturally found growing under pine, hickory and oak trees in sandy soils in the south-central United States. The bark is pale brown-gray, and larger branches will have a smooth, silvery gray bark that is lightly ridged and scaled.

The branches are lined with simple (no lobes), blunt tooth-and-bristled yellow-green leaves...

(Black Bean Tree, Lucky Bean, Moreton Bay Chestnut)

Lustrous, dark green leaves and reddish flowers that arise and open on the trunk and branches, and develop into large seeds make the lucky bean a beautiful and picturesque tree for very warm climates. An evergreen tree with a wide, dense and spreading shape, it is native to tropical rainforests of extreme northeastern Australia and the island of New Caledonia.

The bark is brown to grayish-brown and smells of cucumber if chopped. The leaf is pinnate, having 11-15 lustrous green leaflets that...

(Entireleaf Indian Paintbrush, Texas Paintbrush)

The fiery red plumes of Texas paintbrush cannot be missed when they bloom in spring. This native of the South Central United States and adjacent Mexico is an annual or biennial wildflower that favors prairies, grasslands and open woods where soils are well-drained and dry. Like other Castilleja it's a parasitic plant with roots that penetrate those of other plants to drain essential nutrients and moisture.

The leaves of this clump-forming wildflower are slender and green. As plants...

(Southern Catalpa)

Southern catalpa is a broad, spreading, deciduous tree native to the southeastern United States. Its leaves are light green and heart-shaped. Southern catalpa bears fragrant white flowers with brown and purple markings in summer. These produce long, bean-like fruit pods in autumn.

Southern catalpa does well in moist, well-drained soils in full sun to partial shade and makes an interesting specimen tree. Cultivar 'Aurea' has yellow leaves and is smaller at maturity; 'Nana' is a dwarfed shrub...

(Golden Southern Catalpa)

Southern catalpa is a broad, spreading, deciduous tree native to the southeastern United States. Its leaves are light green and heart-shaped. Southern catalpa bears fragrant white flowers with brown and purple markings in summer. These produce long, bean-like fruit pods in autumn.

Southern catalpa does well in moist, well-drained soils in full sun to partial shade and makes an interesting specimen tree. Cultivar 'Aurea' has yellow leaves and is smaller at maturity; 'Nana' is a dwarfed shrub...