(Aechmea, Orland's Bromeliad)

A carnival of color and texture in its foliage, Orland's bromeliad has apple-green leaves with dark red stripes and speckles and eventually forms a red flower spike with yellow blossoms. A tender tropical perennial bromeliad that is an epiphyte (grows upon other plants like trees), it is native to southern Brazil. It may also be propped in well-draining soil to look ground-dwelling but ideally protected from frost.

The wide strap-like leaves form a vase-shaped rosette that holds water in the...

(Aechmea, Ensign Aechmea, Ensign Bromeliad, Ensign Orland's Aechmea Bromeliad)

A carnival of color and texture in its foliage, the Ensign bromeliad has apple-green and white leaves with pink-red stripes and speckles and eventually forms a red flower spike with yellow blossoms. A tender tropical perennial bromeliad that is an epiphyte (grows upon other plants like trees), it is native to southern Brazil. It may also be propped in well-draining soil to look ground-dwelling but it is very tender to frosts.

The wide strap-like leaves form a vase-shaped rosette that holds water...

(Aeonium)

Grown for their architectural and often colorful foliage, aeoniums are evergreen succulent perennials or shrubs found mainly on the Canary Islands. They bear fleshy, spoon-shaped leaves in rosettes at the tips of one to several stems, with new growth appearing in late fall and early winter. Typically bright green to blue-green, the leaves are variegated, purple, or golden on some selections, and may have red-tinted margins. Many aeoniums are low mat-forming plants with short rosette stems; others...

(Aeonium, Kiwi Aeonium, Variegated Aeonium)

Its colorful foliage makes this low evergreen succulent a real stand-out in mild climate gardens. It may be a hybrid of Aeonium haworthii developed in Australia. Kiwi aeonium produces dense mounded rosettes of fleshy light green leaves that are chartreuse upon emerging in fall. The somewhat hairy, spade-shaped leaves have crimson margins and may develop pinkish variegation in cool weather. The rosettes are borne on short stems which root on contact with soil, resulting in a spreading mound...

(Tree Aeonium)

An architecturally interesting succulent for garden color and texture, tree aeonium is a heat- and drought- tolerant native of Morocco. Its branched stems are upright, each bearing a tight rosette of spoon-shaped, bright green leaves. Some plants' leaves are mottled or blushed lightly with burgundy or purplish tones. In the spring, each mature rosette produces an upright stalk that towers above the foliage. At the top of the stalk is a dense mass of bright yellow flowers, each small and with many...

(Tree Aeonium, Zwartkop Aeonium)

A wonderful plant for color and textural interest, Zwartkop tree aeonium is a heat- and drought-tolerant succulent that originates from Morocco. The words "zwartkop" or "schwarzkopf" mean "black rose or head," referring to the dark leaf clusters. Its branched stems are upright, each bearing a tight rosette of spoon-shaped near-black leaves. A leaf is rich in very dark red pigments, making it look black from a distance. In the spring, each mature rosette develops an upright stalk that reaches above...

(Aoenium, Pinwheel)

Easy to grow, this shrubby evergreen from the Canary Islands is prized for its handsome succulent foliage. It bears rosettes of fleshy light green spade-shaped leaves at the tips of branching knee-high stems, with new growth appearing in late fall and early winter. The leaves often have red-tinted margins. Where stems contact soil they will root, developing ever larger mounds with time. In spring, each rosette puts forth a large, single flower stalk topped with creamy yellow blossoms. The rosette...

(Aeonium, Saucer Plant)

Imagine a plant that looks like it was squashed to the ground as if stepped on by an elephant. That's saucer plant. This strange low-growing tender perennial forms a flat, rounded rosette of succulent foliage. It is native to the coastal cliffs of Tenerife in the Canary Islands and is well-adapted to salt spray and high winds. Each rosette survives as a biennial or short-lived perennial, reproducing by seed or small pups that sprout from the base of the mother plant.

Spoon-shaped, bright green...

(Aerides, Orchid)

The graceful aerides-with-five-wounds orchid bears a fragrant drooping cluster of small, ivory and fuchsia-violet spotted blossoms in summer and autumn. A large evergreen epiphytic orchid, this species is native to forested tropical highlands of Malaysia and the Philippines. It grows from a short pseudobulb with dangling aerial roots that clasp to tree trunks for support.

The medium green leaves are leathery and strap-like with two lobes at their ends. In early summer into fall, a long drooping...

(Zebra Basket Vine)

Imagine walking through the humid rainforests of Southeast Asia and encountering a plant with mottled, snake-like leaves dangling above your head in a tree. You eyes may fool you to think the sprawling, dangling stems are indeed a preying critter ready to attack. The zebra basket vine poses no such threat, but will intrigue you with its foliage and tubular flowers. This mounding to semi-trailing tender perennial subshrub is native to Myanmar, Thailand and Malaysia. It is epiphytic - growing on another...