(Croton, Finger Fire Croton)

Codiaeum variegatum var. pictum, more commonly known as croton is a tropical shrub native to Malaysia and islands in the eastern pacific. The flowers are white but insignificant and the foliage contains various colors, most commonly shades of yellow, green, and red.

Crotons grow in full sun to shade but in hot sunny climates looks best if it is shaded from the hottest sun of the day. Crotons make excellent accent plants and as part of a mixed shrub planting. They look their best if planted...

(Croton, Petra Croton)

The petra croton is a tropical shrub native to Malaysia and islands in the eastern Pacific. The flowers are white but insignificant. The foliage of the petra croton has broad leaves that variate in color between pink, red, orange, yellow, and green with the veins often times being a lighter color. This is one of the most common cultivars for both indoor and outdoor use.

Crotons grow in full sun to shade but in hot sunny climates looks best if it is shaded from the hottest sun of the day. Crotons...

(Coelogyne, Orchid)

An epiphytic (tree-dwelling) orchid from moist upland forests of Southeast Asia, Coelogyne massangeana is grown for its handsome evergreen foliage and for its long draping clusters of fragrant pale-yellow blooms.

This frost-tender orchid produces clumps of flask-shaped, bright-green pseudobulbs. A single stalked, oval, pleated leaf arises from the apex of each pseudobulb. New leaves and pseudobulbs are formed in spring. Clusters of 20 to 30 buff-yellow blooms are borne on long dangling...

(Arabian Coffee, Coffee)

Arabian or Arabica coffee is a lovely upright evergreen shrub with graceful gray-barked branches, fragrant white flowers and fruits (drupes) that yield some of the best coffee for drinking. Native to Ethiopia but now cultivated in wooded, high-altitude plantations throughout the tropics, Arabica coffee is by far the most economically important of all coffees, accounting for as much as 80 percent of all coffee grown worldwide.

Coffea arabica has been long cultivated and enjoyed by a variety...

(Robusta Coffee)

Robusta coffee is an attractive upright evergreen shrub native from the western sub-Saharan African coast to the Congo River Basin. It yields coffee considered inferior in flavor and quality to the more renowned Coffea arabica, though it is much easier to grow than its more picky cousin as it can withstand higher growing temperatures and poorer soils.

This species blooms in springtime with clusters of pretty white flowers at the base of the leaves. Bees pollinate the blooms and green...

(Liberian Coffee)

Accounting for only one percent of the world's commercial coffee bean production, Liberian coffee plants hail from western sub-Saharan Africa. The red fruits (drupes) bear a tough skin, making it difficult to obtain the inner beans for brewing. Liberian beans have a harsher, less flavorful taste than those of close relatives, Arabica and Robusta coffee.

The large, wide, oval, dark green leaves of Liberian coffee plants are arguably the most ornamental of all Coffea species. And there...

(Elephant Ear, Royal Hilo Taro, Taro)

Colocasia ‘Royal Hilo’ is a large tropical perennial that is primarily grown for its broad arrow-shaped leaves and its colorful stems. Matte green leaves with maroon underveins perch horizontally on long stout maroon-stained stalks. The small calla-like flowers are rarely produced. Evergreen in mild climates, colocasia is winter-dormant in the colder parts of its range, dying back to a starchy tuber.

Colocasia prefers full to moderate shade and protection from scorching sun rays. It requires...

(Elephant Ear, Taro)

A tender herbaceous perennial native to the eastern Himalayas, Colocasia affinis is grown primarily for its showy foliage. The velvety heart-shaped leaves are purple with green veins. Fragrant flowers with narrow yellow spathes may appear in summer.

Beautiful near a water feature, this plant grows well in shallow water or in any evenly moist, humus-rich, neutral to slightly acid soil (keep it drier during its winter quiescent period). In areas where the tubers will not overwinter in the ground,...

(Elephant Ear, Taro)

Dwarf Jenings elephant ear is a tropical perennial native to Polynesia and the rainforest regions of Asia. It is primarily grown for its large egg-shaped, velvety leaves. They are dark green with chartreuse veins and a silvery-green center. During the growing season yellow-green spathe flowers appear but are generally overshadowed by foliage. It ear goes dormant following its bloom but re-emerges when temperatures warm.

The dwarf Jenings' elephant ear prefers partial shade and protection from...

(Elephant Ear, Taro)

A large, perennial native to India and tropical Asia, taro is grown for its starchy, edible, bulb-like corms and huge heart-shaped leaves that add drama to the landscape. It is considered one of the first plants cultivated by humans for food and is now naturalized throughout most of the subtropical and tropical regions of the world.

Also called elephant year, Colocasia esculenta produces huge arrow-shaped leaves held on tall leaf stems that arise directly from the corm. The leaf stem...