(Orange Crownshaft Palm)

Prized for its bright hues, this small to medium-sized, typically multi-trunked palm is found in rain forests in eastern Indonesia.

The smooth trunks of this palm are greenish gray toward the base and olive-green toward the tip, with conspicuous pale, silvery, orange-tinged, bamboo-like bands. About a dozen enormous, rich green fronds arch from each trunk's apex, their clasping bases forming a "crownshaft" that in some selections is vibrant orange, yellow, or orange-red. The feather-shaped fronds...

(Dwarf Sugar Palm, Formosa Palm)

Valued for its large, lush, tropical leaves and its remarkable cold hardiness, this small clump-forming palm is native to moist forested slopes in Taiwan and the Ryukyu Islands. Its stems are monocarpic, each individual trunk dying after it flowers and fruits.

The enormous, feather-like, upright fronds are borne atop short slender trunks clothed with black hairy fibers. Each frond comprises numerous long narrow blade-shaped leaflets, paired along a midrib (or "rachis"). The stiff leaflets are...

(Sugar Palm)

A stately palm with immense fronds and a tall, shaggy trunk, this Indonesian native has long been cultivated in Southeast Asia for its sweet sap and tough fibers. A monocarpic plant, it dies after it flowers and fruits.

Borne on sturdy, fiber-coated leaf stems ("petioles"), the enormous, upright, evergreen fronds can be as long as a small bus. They cluster atop a solitary trunk that is densely thatched with gray or black burlap-like fibers and armed with thin, woody, skewer-like spines. Each...

(Brazilian Dutchman's Pipe, Giant Pelican Flower)

Giant Dutchman's pipe is an evergreen tropical vine from Panama southward into South America regarded for its showy, unusually shaped flowers which occur from summer through early winter. The truly immense burgundy flowers have white and purple veining throughout and emit a pungent lemony scent to attract pollinating flies into its pouch. The throat of the uniquely curved, flared and tubular flower is yellow. The vine's large green leaves are heart-shaped.

Giant Dutchman's pipe is a very fast...

(Calico Flower, Elegant Dutchman's Pipe)

Heart-shaped leaves add beauty year round, but the striped and mottled cream and burgundy-purple blossoms of calico flower are the talk of the town, shaped like a curving pipe with flared horn and smelly fragrance! An evergreen tropical vine native to Brazil, these infamously scented blossoms occur in summertime.

The light to medium green leaves are kidney- or heart-shaped, and are rather small when compared to others; the soft woody stems coil around things for support. In the heat of summer,...

(Breadfruit)

Captain William Bligh of the HMS Bounty brought breadfruit to the West Indies in the 1790s from his journeys across the South Pacific. While the precise origins of the breadfruit tree are not clear, it's likely native to Indonesia and Malaysia. Its movement by man is largely to blame. Through the centuries, peoples cultivated it for its fruit and wood and seeds were carried eastward as the islands of the South Pacific became inhabited.

Breadfruit is a fast-growing tropical tree. Both the...

(Orchid, Rust-red Ascocentrum)

A miniature orchid with an attractive fan of leaves, Ascocentrum miniatum is no less than stunning when its cluster of brilliant orange flowers appears in spring. And the spectacular flowers can last for months! An evergreen frost-tender orchid from Thailand, rust-red ascocentrum is an epiphyte that thrives in tropical climates. It is very similar in habit and flower to Ascocentrum garayi.

The small plant looks like a fan with fleshy, leathery roots that clasp to tree trunks...

(Asparagus Fern, Myers' Asparagus Fern)

Myers' asparagus fern is a tuberous perennial native to South Africa. The upright to arching, lime-green stems with fern-like foliage give the appearance of foxtails. Small, white flowers along the main stems occur in summer, but rarely ever yield bright red berries. Thus, this cultivar does not pose the same invasive potential in subtropical climates as the parent species.

In colder climates, Myers' asparagus fern is grown as a houseplant in bright filtered sun or in containers outdoors. In frost-free...

(Asparagus Fern, Compact Asparagus Fern, Sprenger's Asparagus Fern)

Asparagus fern is a tender evergreen perennial native to South Africa. The cultivars in the Sprengeri Group have arching stems bearing whorls of awl-shaped, leaf-like cladophylls. This cultivar is denser and shorter than most Sprenger's asparagus ferns. Small, waxy white flowers along the stems produce bright red berries in summer. These berries and seeds are fertile and readily germinate nearby the mother plants, soon to create a thicket of plants.

The compact asparagus fern likes partial sun...

(Asparagus Fern, Sprenger's Asparagus Fern)

Sprenger's asparagus fern is a tuberous perennial native to South Africa with arching, fern-like, green leaves that are small, short and narrow. Small, waxy white flowers along the green stems produce bright red berries in summer. The long stems have prickly thorns on them.

Plant Sprenger's asparagus fern in partial sun to partial shade exposures in fertile, moist, well drained garden soil. With protection from frost, it may be planted in borders or as a billowy groundcover. The pendulous habit...