(Dwarf Elephant Ear, Elephant Ear, Taro)

Silver leaf elephant ear is a tuberous perennial native to the tropical regions of Asia. It has a small, clumping habit and is prized for its rounded, green velvety leaves with distinct silver streaks down their centers. Yellow spathe and spadix flowers appear all summer.

This plant prefers light shade and moist sites, but spreads more rapidly in wetter soils. In tropical areas its foliage can be enjoyed year round, but in colder climates its tubers may be dug and stored in a cool, dry place...

(Barrel Palm, Cuban Bottle Palm)

A tall specimen of a Cuban bottle palm has a trunk that resembles a snake that recently swallowed a plump rat. The "belly" is not fully at the trunk's bottom, but in a seemingly random middle area. This evergreen palm is native to the grasslands of western Cuba and the Isle of Youth. It is a single-trunked plant that looks like a sabal palm in leaf form and canopy.

When young, the Cuban bottle palm's trunk is covered in thatch fibers. Only with age does the thatch shed and a rather smooth trunk...

(Banks Goldfish Plant, Goldfish Plant, Goldfish Vine)

Commonly called Banks' goldfish plant, Columnea x banksii is a hybrid of two spectacular tropical geseriads that originate from the rain and cloud forests of the American tropics, Columnea oerstediana and C. schiedeana. In the wild, these plants are tree-dwelling, or epiphytic, and have lush green stems that cascade downwards. When growing conditions are favorable, this hybrid produces a wealth of scarlet flowers with yellow markings at the throat. Like most rain...

(Colville's Glory Tree)

The wispy, feathery leaves of Colville’s glory tree creates a gentle backdrop for its fiery clusters of orange flowers that appear in autumn. A splendid semi-deciduous tropical tree with coppery bark, it is native to the island of Madagascar off the southeastern coast of Africa.

The doubly pinnate, feathery leaves of this tree are soft, rich green and sway easily in the breeze. Each has small leaflets in 15-25 pairs that connect to larger central leaf petiole. Overall the tree looks unremarkable...

(Asiatic Dayflower)

Sprawling in habit, Asiatic dayflower bears bright blue and white flowers from summer to frost - two upper petals are blue while the lower white petal is tiny and makes the blossom look like a face. An herbaceous perennial that spreads by seed and roots at nodes on its horizontal stems, it is native to Asia. Its tolerance for moist soils often finds it growing as a weed in ditches, lawns or waste areas.

The partially upright but often crawling stems are green to sienna in color, and have long...

(Button Mangrove, Green Buttonwood)

Tolerant of salt and drought, button mangrove is a broadleaf evergreen tree native to southern Florida and the West Indies. It has oblong, medium green leaves and reddish- brown fruits that look like pine cones or dried raspberries. Its brown bark is flaky and attractive, often most beautiful on plants that attain a spreading, contorted form by being exposed to seaside breezes.

Throughout the year, flushes of greenish-white and purple flowers are produced, but are not showy or noticeable. The...

(Rocket Larkspur)

This colorful Mediterranean annual bears branched, upright spires of spurred, single or double flowers closely resembling those of hybrid delphiniums. Commonly called larkspur, it was once listed under the genus Delphinium, but is now classified separately. Its blue, pink or white blooms open from late spring to midsummer, and are pollinated by bees, butterflies and moths. They are accented by bright green, feathery, deeply divided foliage. After flowering, the plants form seed and decline...