(Guiana-chestnut, Malabar-chestnut)

An imposing, buttressed trunk, hand-like green leaves, and trumpet-shaped, fragrant, white and red brush-like flowers make the Guiana-chestnut one of the tropic's most wondrous trees. A large, round-canopied, semi-evergreen tree native from Mexico to northern South America, it can remain evergreen and flower year-round in regions with constant warmth and moisture. The elephant-like, smooth, gray-light brown bark has a flared, buttressing base that grows with age and is more pronounced when growing...

(Baron's Clubfoot, Red Pachypodium)

A branched, spiny-skinned succulent shrub, Baron's clubfoot is the only pachypodium species to produce red flowers. This semi-evergreen tropical plant is native to northern Madagascar, where it is increasingly endangered. The trunk of this succulent is bottle shaped, although a caudex is known to form on variety windsori.

Increasing drought in the tropical winter causes more foliage to drop away on the Baron's clubfoot. The tan-gray trunk is covered in pairs of conical spines. Once heat...

(Madagascar-palm, Pachypodium)

A succulent small tree, looking like a combination of a cactus and a palm, this species of Madagascar-palm looks very similar to Pachypodium lamerei and P. rutenbergianum. Native to southern Madagascar, the misleadingly named Madagascar-palm is more closely related to oleanders (Nerium spp.) and desert roses (Adenium spp.) than true palms. This semi-evergreen succulent grows tall and slender with a plump, even obese trunk. Cool, dry winters cause the tufts of lustrous...

(Horombe Clubfoot, Yellow Bell Pachypodium)

This succulent's plump, bottle-shaped base with numerous fat arms covered in spines seems to be taken from images in a Dr. Seuss book. The yellow bell pachypodium also bears yellow flowers on long stems during the warm months of the year. This semiarid succulent shrub or dwarf tree is native to the Horombe Plateau in south-central Madagascar. The trunk and branches are covered with short paired spines. A caudex also is present: a swollen trunk-root transitional area that stores water. Unless in flower,...

(Madagascar-palm, Pachypodium, Summer-blooming Clubfoot, Three-spined Clubfoot)

This succulent small tree looks like a combination of a cactus and a palm. The grouped spines on the gray trunk are interesting, but it's the white flowers with twisting petals that are the plant's ornamental forte. Native to southern Madagascar, the misleadingly named Madagascar-palm is more closely related to oleanders (Nerium spp.) and desert roses (Adenium spp.) than true palms. This semi-evergreen succulent grows tall and slender with a swollen trunk. Cool, dry winters cause...

(Madagascar-palm, Naked-blooming Clubfoot, Pachypodium, Single-spined Clubfoot)

Another small succulent tree that's the spitting image of Pachypodium lamerei, the single-spined clubfoot, also called Madagascar-palm, blooms when leafless. The sparse, singular spines on the gray trunk are subdued, but it's the white flowers with twisting petals that are the plant's ornamental pride. Native to southern Madagascar, the misleadingly named Madagascar-palm is closely related to oleanders (Nerium spp.) and desert roses (Adenium spp.) than true palms.. This...

(Jicama, Mexican-potato, Mexican-turnip, Yam-bean)

Originating in Mexico, jicama today is a root vegetable often used in culinary dishes across Southeast Asia and Central America. "Jicama" is an ambiguous Spanish term for any edible root, so some may prefer to call this the Mexican-potato or Mexican-turnip. A frost-tender, evergreen vine, it's grown for its edible tuber root. The root's exterior is yellow-tan with a crisp, creamy white flesh. The flavor is sweet and starchy, like a cross between an apple and waterchestnut. Jicama is often eaten raw,...

(Lollipop Plant, Yellow Candles, Yellow Shrimp Plant)

Yellow candles is a tender tropical shrub with intriguing yellow and white flowers. This plant, native from Costa Rica to Peru, has pointy oval leaves that are pleasing green. From the tips of branches, a yellow "candle" or bract appears, from which white tubular flowers emerge. These flowers attract hummingbirds.

Place yellow candles in a moist, well draining soil that is fertile and not alkaline. Although it can grow in full sun, its leaves look much nicer if placed in a partially shaded garden...

(Tahitian Screwpine)

Tahitian screwpine becomes a tall, architecturally attractive "tree" with evergreen, sword-like leaves and fruits that are large and golden yellow. This tender, tropical evergreen is slow growing with origins in the South Pacific, from Hawaii and Tahiti westward to Indonesia and Australia. They are not true trees, but are related to palms and bamboos, and ever so slowly will attain a magnificent, open-branched, pyramid shape. They have numerous fleshy, fibrous prop roots at their bases, used to anchor...

(Common Screwpine)

Common screwpine becomes a tall, architecturally attractive "tree" with evergreen, sword-like leaves and fruits that are large and golden yellow. This tender, tropical evergreen is slow growing and considered a native of the Old World Tropics, now believed to have originated in Madagascar. They are not true trees, but are related to palms and bamboos, and ever so slowly will attain a magnificent, open-branched, pyramid shape. They have numerous fleshy, fibrous prop roots at their bases, used to anchor...