(Mountain Thistle)

This shrubby, spreading, semi-evergreen to evergreen perennial bears spiny, leathery leaves that are sharply divided and have attractive silver markings. For most, this native of West Africa is less of an ornamental and more of a weed. Mountain thistle is adapted to the forest understory and grassy fields, so it grows well in sunny and shaded locations.

Tall, upright spikes of pinkish tubular flowers appear from summer to fall. These are highly attractive to bees. Spent flower spikes should...

(Armed Bear's Breeches, Spiny Bear's Breeches)

Spiny acanthus is a clump-forming, evergreen to semi-evergreen perennial native to southern Europe. It is a bold, old-fashioned perennial that offers tall spikes of interesting flowers of maroon and ivory as well as interesting rosettes of deeply lobed, coarsely edged, dark green leaves that look good through the season.

From late spring to midsummer it becomes topped with spikes of bicolored white and maroon-purple flowers subtended by dark green bracts. The flowers are very attractive to bees....

(Spiny Bear's Breeches)

Spiny acanthus is a clump-forming, evergreen to semi-evergreen perennial native to southern Europe. It is a bold, old-fashioned perennial that offers tall spikes of interesting flowers of maroon and ivory as well as interesting rosettes of deeply lobed, coarsely edged, dark green leaves that look good through the season.

From late spring to midsummer it becomes topped with spikes of bicolored white and maroon-purple flowers subtended by dark green bracts. The flowers are very attractive to bees....

(Big-leaf Maple, Oregon Maple, Pacific Maple)

This immense deciduous tree bears the largest leaves of all maple species and is spectacular when it turns golden in the fall. It is counted among the few true western native maples, its range extending from foothills of Alaska to southern California and eastward to the Sierra Nevada Mountains. It is nearly always found in conjunction with streams and creeks. In warmer regions it grows at the base of north-facing slopes where perpetual shade and summer dampness support its need for moisture during...

(Ash-Leaved Maple, Boxelder)

Box elder is a medium-sized to large, fast growing, short-lived deciduous tree native to many regions in North America. Typically low-branched with furrowed light gray to gray-brown bark, it bears bright green, compound leaves with three or sometimes five leaflets. Inconspicuous greenish yellow flowers emerge with the leaves. Male and female flowers occur on separate trees. Box elder is rarely grown as a landscape tree due to its weedy, weak-wooded nature, but a few cultivars with unique ornamental...

(Ash-Leaved Maple, Boxelder)

Box elder is a short-lived deciduous tree native to many regions in North America. Although sometimes scorned as an ornamental plant because of its weak wood and its penchant for self-sowing, it has given rise to many attractive cultivars. Introduced in the late nineteenth century, 'Auratum' has three-parted, lemon-yellow leaves with contrasting red stems. The leaves hold their color through summer. Fall color is usually unremarkable. A female selection, it produces inconspicuous greenish yellow...

(Ash-Leaved Maple, Boxelder)

Box elder is a short-lived deciduous tree native to many regions in North America. Although sometimes scorned as an ornamental plant because of its weak wood and its penchant for self-sowing, it has given rise to many attractive cultivars. Introduced in the late nineteenth century, 'Aureomarginatum' has three-parted leaves with broad irregular margins that fade from gold to creamy yellow. Fall color is usually unremarkable. A male selection, it produces inconspicuous greenish yellow flowers in spring,...

(Boxelder, Crispum Variegatum Boxelder)

Box elder is a short-lived deciduous tree native to many regions in North America. Although sometimes scorned as an ornamental plant because of its weak wood and its penchant for self-sowing, it has given rise to many attractive cultivars. Introduced more than 100 years ago, 'Crispum Variegatum' has curled, three-parted leaves with creamy yellow margins. Fall color is usually unremarkable. A male selection, it produces inconspicuous greenish yellow flowers in spring, and does not fruit. Typically...

(Ash-Leaved Maple, Boxelder, Flamingo Box Elder)

Box elder is a short-lived deciduous tree native to many regions in North America. Although sometimes scorned as an ornamental plant because of its weak wood and its penchant for self-sowing, it has given rise to many attractive cultivars. The cultivar 'Flamingo' is a variegated selection that bears pink, three-lobed leaves in spring that mature to green with irregular ivory margins. A male tree, it produces inconspicuous greenish yellow flowers in spring, and does not fruit. Typically low-branched,...

(Boxelder, Kelly's Gold Boxelder)

Box elder is a short-lived deciduous tree native to many regions in North America. Although sometimes scorned as an ornamental plant because of its weak wood and its penchant for self-sowing, it has given rise to many attractive cultivars. Introduced in 1989 by Duncan and Davies Nursery in New Zealand, 'Kelly's Gold' has three-parted, lemon-yellow leaves with contrasting red stems. The leaves hold their color through summer. Fall color is usually unremarkable. A female selection, it produces inconspicuous...