(East Indian Holly Fern, Indian Holly Fern , Simplicior Holly Fern)

This attractive, fern produces broad triangular fronds directly from scaly creeping rhizomes (lateral stems). Indian holly fern is native to China and Japan and is found in a wide variety or habitats from dry uplands to moist stream banks.

Indian holly is clumping to spreading. The rhizomes scales are brown to tan and the leaf stalks green. The large triangular shiny leaves are evergreen in mild climates and deciduous in colder zones. They are two to three times divided with each pinna (the...

(East Indian Holly Fern, Indian Holly Fern, Simplicior Holly Fern)

This attractive evergreen fern with broad triangular fronds that are deeply divided is useful for flower arrangements. 'Variegata' has deep green leaves with yellow along the midribs and burgundy tinges during the cool season. Native to China and Japan, it is well-suited to the woodland border or shaded rockery.

Plant the variegated simpler hollyfern in rich, moist soil for a nice ground cover or mix with other shade-loving plants. This perennial fern may die to ground in cold winters and resprout...

(American Spikenard)

American spikenard is a deciduous perennial with green compound leaves with delicate heart-shpaed leaflets. Ball clusters of white to greenish-white flowers on a tall spike in spring or summer. Tiny berries are formed and are dark purple or black. It spreads slowly by aromatic underground roots to create a colony.

Plant in moist, well-drained soils in full sun to partial shade. American spikenard makes a great addition to woodland gardens or naturalized areas with its bold presence.

(American Angelica Tree, Devil's Walking Stick, Hercules' Club)

This fierce plant is well named. Devil's walking stick is a suckering deciduous shrub to small tree with large, bold leaves that appear above nearly branchless stems covered with vicious thorny spines. In summer it produces striking plumes of creamy white flowers followed by showy clusters of black fruits on reddish stems.

This plant prefers full to part sun and is tolerant of a wide range of well drained soil types. Though it is a unwieldy to prune, it does make a bold statement in mixed borders...

(House Pine, Monkey Puzzle Tree)

Sparse, architecturally interesting branches laced with sharp, triangular needles makes monkey puzzle tree one of the more odd but entertaining trees for mild temperate zone landscapes. A tall evergreen tree native to the slopes of the Andes Mountains in Chile and Argentina, it has dark grayish brown bark and produces cones. It is pleasingly pyramid-shaped when young, looking like an artificial Christmas tree without the wiry needles yet extended. With time, its shape become tall with a rounded upper...

(Bunya Bunya Pine)

With shiny, prickly foliage concentrated in tufts at the ends of branches, bunya-bunya pine is known for its spiny, heavy cones that drop like bombs to the ground below. Only found naturally in the coastal and inland rainforests of Queensland, Australia, it is a tall evergreen tree that attains a triangular dome canopy at maturity. When youthful, the tree has a pyramid-like habit with a tall central leading tip. The leaves are dark green, brighter when new, and waxy, stiff and notably sharp at their...

(Marina Strawberry Tree, Strawberry Tree)

The parents of this small ornamental tree come from Mediterranean regions where winters are mild and rainy and summers long, hot and dry. ‘Marina’, which is a cross between Arbutus unedo and A. andrachne, has exceptional tolerance to summer drought making it the perfect evergreen for arid western gardens.

This ericaceous tree is noted for its beautiful cinnamon-colored bark that sheds periodically helping it maintain good color. The branches bear large, dark green, serrated...

(Cyprian Strawberry Tree, Eastern Strawberry Tree, Greek Strawberry Tree)

This large shrub or small tree is grown for its colorful bark, handsome evergreen foliage, white spring flowers, and orange-red fruits. Mature specimens have picturesque, gnarled branches and a vase-shaped to rounded habit. Arbutus andrachne is native to rocky slopes and outcroppings from southeastern Europe to northern Iraq.

The lustrous, leathery, oval leaves of Greek strawberry tree are dark green with pale green undersides. They are borne on sinuous, upright to spreading branches...

(Arizona Madrone)

A picturesque tree, the Arizona madrone develops a rounded crown of leathery foliage atop a twisting frame of branches. Clusters of tiny white flowers are followed by edible reddish fruits. This evergreen is native to the forested foothills and lower mountains of southern Arizona, New Mexico and northern Mexico.

The satiny oval leaves are long, narrow and persist on the tree for about one year before being shed. Each leaf is medium to deep green with a paler green underside. Leaf edges may...

(Madrone, Madronio)

Madrone is a large round-headed tree with amazing smooth cinnamon-colored bark that flakes from the trunk. Small white or pink flowers emerge in early summer on this tree native to the Pacific coast in the western United States. Red and orange fruits develop over the next year, ripening that second autumn. Bees pollinate the flowers.

Madrone is best suited to climates matching its native habitat. Acidic, well-drained soils in a climate that is cool and dry in summer and cool and wet in winter...