(Firecracker Plant)

This tough semi-evergreen plant has loads of blooms that light up the landscape like sparklers on the Forth of July. It is a charming, old-fashioned tender perennial long used in southern gardens. The Mexican native becomes covered with lovely blooms throughout the year. The genus name, Russelia, honors the 18th century English physician and traveler, Alexander Russell.

Firecracker is a big shrubby perennial that forms huge dense mounds that spread. It has unusual wiry, leafless green...

(Common Rue)

Though technically considered an herb, rue has toxicity issues that render it strictly an ornamental garden plant rather than a utilitarian one. Originating from southern Europe and Southwest Asia, it is an evergreen subshrub that thrives in hot, dry climates. Mature specimens are bushy and have attractive, feathery, blue-green leaves. Historically, its bitter leaves were used to in Mediterranean cooking and to treat various ailments, but it is now known to be dangerous to ingest.

The small,...

(Hybrid Sabal Palm, Riverside Sabal Palm)

Known for its enormous, bluish green, fan-shaped fronds and its remarkable cold hardiness, this hybrid from the vicinity of Riverside, California, is also among the fastest growing palmettos. Eventually forming a medium to tall, single-trunked palm, it may have either Bermuda palmetto (Sabal bermudana) or hat palm (Sabal domingensis) in its lineage.

The gigantic, rounded, evergreen fronds have numerous narrow sword-shaped segments which sometimes droop slightly. The fronds...

(Bermuda Palm, Bermuda Palmetto)

Prized for its bold colorful fan-shaped fronds and its remarkable cold hardiness, this Bermuda native is endangered in the wild but widely grown in gardens. It slowly forms a single-trunked, round-headed specimen that eventually reaches the height of a 3-story house. It resembles the Florida cabbage palm (Sabal palmetto) but is shorter with a stouter trunk.

The immense, blue-tinged, evergreen fronds are divided into numerous long, narrow, blade-like segments. The fronds, which may be...

(Hispañolan Palmetto)

Bearing bold colorful fan-shaped fronds atop a stout trunk, this Caribbean native is one of the most imposing and ornamental palmettos. Slowly forming a single-trunked, round-headed palm of medium height, it is essentially a slightly larger version of cabbage palm (Sabal palmetto).

The immense, bluish green, evergreen fronds are divided into numerous long, narrow, blade-like segments. The fronds are borne on long, straight or slightly arching stems ("petioles"). The upper trunk of older...

(Puerto Rican Hat Palm, Puerto Rican Palmetto)

With its immense evergreen fronds and massive gray trunk, this medium-sized, slow growing palm is among the noblest members of the genus Sabal. It is a rare native of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, where its fronds were traditionally used for basketmaking, hats and other woven goods.

Borne in a dense rounded crown, the bold, bright green, often blue-tinged fronds are deeply divided into long sword-shaped segments. Long white filaments fringe the edges of the segments. The fronds...

(Scrub Palmetto)

A shrubby palm native to sandy ridges in central Florida, Sabal etonia is valued for its attractive foliage and its tough constitution.

Plants bear four to seven umbrella-sized, fan-shaped, evergreen fronds on long, stout, erect or inclined stems ("petioles"), forming a head-high clump. The yellowish green fronds are deeply divided into long, sword-shaped segments that bear drooping thread-like filaments at their base. The trunk is subterranean, protecting it from fire. The small fragrant...

(Mexican Sabal Palm, Texas Palmetto)

With large, fan-shaped leaves atop a straight trunk criss-crossed by the lingering bases of spent leaves, the Texas palmetto has a striking presence. A slow-growing plant with a thick trunk and seemingly robust canopy of fronds, it is native from the southern tip of Texas southward to El Salvador.

The fronds are large and fan-shaped, with deep incisions. Ranging in color from yellow-green to very dark green, the canopy of fronds is usually rounded and massive atop the straight, ringed, grayish-tan...

(Miami Palmetto)

Closely related to Sabal etonia, this shrubby palm from Southeast Florida may be extinct in the wild. Plants bear four to six umbrella-sized, fan-shaped, evergreen fronds on long, stout, erect or inclined stems ("petioles"), forming a chest-high clump. The yellowish green fronds are deeply divided into long, sword-shaped, gracefully arching segments that radiate like the spokes of a parasol. The trunk is subterranean, protecting it from fire. The small fragrant ivory flowers appear in late...

(Bush Palmetto, Dwarf Palmetto, Little Blue Stem, Swamp Palmetto)

This compact palm is considered a "semi-dwarf" because it often reaches no more than head height. It is native to the southern United States, from the Carolinas to Florida and across to Texas and is generally found swampy, shady locations. It is the northernmost naturally occurring palm in North America and has excellent cold hardiness that is surpassed only by the needle palm, Rhapidophyllum hystrix. Habit varies; more westerly populations of this palmetto tend to grow an upright trunk,...