(Chiapas Church Steeple Cycad, Cycad, Golden Dioon)

Pointy, plastic-like leaves stiff, sharp-tipped leaflets radiate outward and upward from a central, trunk-like stem on the golden dioon. Native to and endangered in the Mexican state of Chiapas, this cone-bearing plant is neither a fern nor palm, but is a more ancient cycad that existed around the time of the dinosaurs. It grows slowly, eventually developing an upright or leaning trunk-like stem.

New fronds emerge in the heat of summer. They arise from the growing tip on the stem, unfurling with...

(Yellow Yam)

This is the popular yellow-fleshed yam eaten at American Thanksgiving celebrations and coveted in the deep South. Yams are large, firm tubers with brown inedible skin and firm sweet yellowish-orange flesh that softens when cooked. The drought-tolerant yellow yam is an African species and one of the most important food crops grown on the continent. Only seven yam species are major food crops and of them this is the number one seller followed by the white yam (D. cayennensis ssp. rotundata)...

(White Yam)

This is the white-fleshed yam is the second most widely grown yam in the world. Yams are large, firm tubers with brown inedible skin and firm sweet white flesh that softens when cooked. At one time the two African species, Dioscorea cayennensis and Dioscorea rotundata, were considered separate, but most taxonomists now accept the yellow yam is a subspecies of D. cayennensis. Only seven species are major food crops and this is the number two seller.

A highly diverse...

(Bush-monkey Flower)

perhaps not do this, as it is a synonym for Mimulus aurantiacus.

(Rattail Cactus)

The rattail cactus is a beautiful candidate for pots and hanging baskets with its brilliant flowers and unique form. his creeping species is native to Mexico where it thrives in brush and woodland habitat in the southern states of Oaxaca and Hidalgo. Unlike other Disocactus which bear flat stems, rattail produces perfectly round stems the diameter of a slender cigar. These creep along the ground or dangle freely. They are densely packed into pots to create a waterfall of growth that is...

(False Aralia)

One of the all-time favorite houseplants, false aralia is a small shrub to large tree in its native rainforest habitat of New Caledonia. The palmate leaves are grouped around the ends of the branches and look different when the plant is young. Its juvenile leaves are large, with deep, thin, finger-like lobes and toothed edges. Leaf color is dark green with brown tones on the top and pale brown-green underneath. When mature, the leaves become larger, brighter green and their lobes become very broad.

Flowers...

(Cleveland's Shooting Star, Padre's Shooting Star)

The cheerful pink or white flowers of this California native wildflower can't be beat. It can be found in lowland forests, grasslands and scrub from northern California to northwestern Mexico and blooms in spring, after the winter rains. Most commonly called Padre’s Shooting Star, it is rarely cultivated but is sometimes sold at plant nurseries specializing in regional natives.

Neat rosettes of spatula-shaped green leaves are produced in spring and give rise to long, slender stems topped with...

(Hopbush, Hopseed Bush)

Native throughout much of the tropics, this large broadleaf evergreen shrub thrives just about anywhere that winters are mild. Willowy, firm, yellow-green leaves are densely borne on upright spreading stems, often standing erect on the branches. Inconspicuous blooms in late spring and summer give rise to large colorful seed capsules which may be red, purple, pink, tan, yellow, or green. They dry to a papery texture. The cultivar 'Purpurea' has bronze or burgundy foliage.

This tough shrub...

(Hopbush, Purple Hopseed Bush)

Native throughout much of the tropics, hopbush thrives just about anywhere that winters are mild. The cultivar 'Purpurea' has bronze or burgundy foliage. The willowy, firm, often upright leaves are densely borne on ascending, branching stems. Inconspicuous blooms in late spring and summer give rise to large lobed maroon seed capsules. They dry to a papery texture.

This tough shrub does well in sun or partial shade and almost any well drained soil. It tolerates salt spray and drought. Although...

(Ice Plant, Livingstone Daisy)

Livingstone daisy is an easy-to-grow annual that becomes covered in neon-hued, daisy-like blooms all season long. It is native to South Africa and the genus is named in honor of plantsman Dr. Martin Heinrich Gustav Schwantes’s mother, Dorothea. Also called ice plant, this mat-forming beauty is a true rock garden plant adapted to sunny, open, rocky ares with sharply drained soil. It thrives were summers are not too hot or humid.

The flat, fleshy, succulent, spatula-shaped leaves of ice plant...