(Hybrid False Indigo)

Beautifully clumping with upright stems clothed in bluish green leaves, Chocolate Chip false indigo has pretty spikes of brown-burgundy flowers in mid-spring to early summer. A hybrid herbaceous perennial, it resulted from the cross of Baptisia alba with B. sphaerocarpa. It is slow growing with a deep taproot.

The blue-green to light green leaves have three oval leaflets. Depending on severity of the winter, the emergent stems and leaves will produce an upright flower spike...

(Catbells)

Round green leaves that look like they've been pierced by a skewer, catbells' yellow flowers in spring arise from these disc-like leaves. An herbaceous perennial from the the coastal plain of the extreme southeastern United States, it has an extensive root system that resents disturbance.

The mounding plant has stems that are ornately lined with green to bluish green leaves that are round and encase the stem. In midspring, small yellow flowers that are pea-like arise from the stem among the leaves....

(Yellow False Indigo)

Yellow wild indigo is a mounding perennial with attractive yellow pea-like flowers and blue-green foliage. This southern United States native flowers in the springtime on light green stems held above the dense foliage. The tan or brown colored seedpods that form afterwards are also an ornamental feature. Various butterflies will visit the flowers when open.

Yellow wild indigo needs a full sun location for best form and flowering, but also handles up to partial shade. Tolerant of drought, nutrient...

(Screamin' Yellow Baptisia, Yellow False Indigo, Yellow Wild Indigo)

A prized selection of wild indigo, 'Screamin' Yellow' is a large perennial noted for its yellow pea-like flowers and yellow-green leaves. Descended from a native perennial of the southern United States, 'Screamin' Yellow' flowers in the springtime on tall, unbranched, leafy stems. A mature plant can send up dozens of stems, each topped by ten or more flowers, one above the other. Various butterflies visit the flowers. The tan or brown seedpods that follow the flowers are also an ornamental feature....

(Blake's Butterfly Tree, Chinese Orchid Tree, Hong Kong Orchid Tree)

One of the most beautiful and serviceable of the orchid trees, Hong Kong orchid tree is sterile and a putative hybrid between two Southeast Asian bauhinias. (Some scientists believe it is a hybrid between Bauhinia purpurea and B. variegata, but they have been unable to duplicate the cross.) It grows to become a broad, spreading small tree and produces loads of variable deep pink blooms from fall to winter. Choose it as a specimen for drier tropical and subtropical gardens and landscapes.

Borne...

(Butterfly Tree, Nasturtium Bauhinia, Red Bauhinia)

When in bloom, the nasturium-bauhinia looks like a reddish-orange bougainvillea from a distance due to its habit and profuse flowers. A semi-deciduous tree native to southeastern Africa, it grows upright, but has drooping, spreading branches that flop to the ground or on to nearby plants.

The leaves are rounded and divided into two lobes like other Bauhinia. They are a light to medium green and shed during the cool or lightly frosty winter season. The five-petaled flowers bloom most...

(Butterfly Tree, Orchid Tree)

Extraordinary orchid-like blossoms make this tropical tree one of the most beautiful available. Orchid tree is native to Southeast Asia and is well adapted to hot tropical climates as well as more mild ones. It grows to a medium height and has an open canopy.

This semi-evergreen tree loses its leaves in early spring just before it blooms, which really helps the showy flowers stand out. The exotic blossoms are spidery and rich magenta to pink in color. They literally cloak the entire tree creating...

(St. Thomas Tree)

The St. Thomas tree produces delicate pale yellow flowers with dark throats from spring to fall. This large tropical shrub or small tree is native to much of the Old World Tropics, from eastern Africa to southeastern China.

The smooth, rounded, papery leaves of this subtly pretty tree are green with blue-green tones. During the warm months, when moisture is available, the branches become filled with bell-shaped flowers that resemble hibiscus blossoms. In high heat flowering may cease. The...

(Beaucarnea)

Beaucarnea is a genus comprised of four evergreen, tree-like plants native to the dry, arid regions of the southwestern United States, Mexico, and Guatemala. Most have tall trunks, often with a swollen base. In some species the trunks are unbranched; others branch only after flowering or with age. The trunks or branches are crowned with dense clusters of leaves, which are long, linear, leathery and sometimes slightly rough to the touch. Flowers are produced terminally in branched, pyramidal-shaped...

(Bottle Palm, Ponytail Palm)

Heat and drought are no problem for this tough plant. Ponytail palm is a tall, palm-like plant that is not a true palm but is closely related to agave. It has an upright, fleshy, trunk-like stem that becomes swollen at the base, where is stores water. This is topped with clusters of long, curved, sword-shaped leaves that hang down giving the appearance of a pony’s tail. When mature, it produces panicles of fragrant cream colored flowers that are pollinated by bats.

Ponytail palm thrives in hot...