(Golden Shower, Indian Laburnum)

Spectacular in flower, the golden shower tree sheds most of its leaves to highlight the many pendent yellow strings of flowers in spring and summer. Native to southern Asia, it is a semi-deciduous tropical tree that is somewhat slow-growing, attaining an open but broad canopy.

The short trunk has pale smooth to platy bark, while the leaves are bright green and pinnate, having many small leaflets arranged on a petiole leaf stem. The leaves emerge slightly downy and silver in color before greening...

(Appleblossom Cassia, Javanese Cassia, Pink and White Shower Tree)

With a spreading, irregular, tiered habit, the appleblossom cassia is covered with variably pink flowers in the warmest months of the tropical dry season. This Indonesian tree is very briefly deciduous just prior to or during the flowering display in springtime. The trunk's bark is smooth and gray, but occasional spines or woody spurs line the trunk or lower parts of branches.

Newly emerging leaves are downy, but turn matte green with age. Each leaf is compound, comprising 5 to nearly 30 oval...

(Gold Medallion Tree)

Brilliantly attractive in form and when its cheerful yellow flower clusters appear in the summer, gold medallion tree is one of the most magnificent small tropical trees. An evergreen small tree from southeastern Brazil, its spreading but elegantly rounded canopy is lined with medium to deep green leaves that have eight to twelve pairs of small oval leaflets. Large clusters of sunny yellow flowers appear most heavily in the summertime, continuing for many weeks. The blossoms occur on semi-weeping...

(Queensland Cassia, Yellow Shower)

Showy pendent clusters of yellow flowers flop from the leafy branch tips of the Queensland cassia and later yield long, ribbed seed pods. Native to northeastern Queensland, Australia, it is found in both tropical rainforests and sunny woodland edges. It develops an open canopy of branches and foliage but maintains a spreading, coarsely rounded habit. Snap a twig and it smells of bacon.

The compound leaves comprise 10 to 16 elongated oval leaflets. They are medium bright green and leathery....

(Rainbow-shower-tree)

So floriferous and colorful when in bloom, the rainbow-shower may seem unnatural to the eye. The yellow and pink blossoms look cheerful and festive. This hybrid was created in Hawaii in the mid-20th century, and is the result of crossing golden shower (Cassia fistula) with appleblossom cassia (C. javanica). Its species name honors Hawaiian botanist Marie C. Neal. In 1965, the city of Honolulu designated the rainbow-shower its official tree.

This moderately fast-growing tree...

(Catasetum Orchid, Orchid)

Hooker's catasetum orchid produces large, erect to arching flower stalk with tan to yellowy green flowers in late spring to summer. This species is native to seasonally wet lowland and highland forests in southeastern Brazil, around Rio, Brasilia and Sao Paulo. It's an epiphyte (grows on trees) that forms a perennial clump, but is winter deciduous.

"Catasetum" is a Greek compound word meaning "down bristle." This orchid genus is unique in having different gender flowers on the same plant. Moreover,...

(Catasetum Orchid, Orchid)

The intact catasetum orchid is known for its fragrant, green and pale yellow flowers that look hooded or cloaked. It's relatively easy to grow, as long as the watering regime promotes the mandatory winter dormancy. This tropical orchid is native to the hot, humid forests of southern Mexico to Costa Rica, often appearing in coffee plantations.

"Catasetum" is a Greek compound word meaning "down bristle." This orchid genus is unique in having different gender flowers on the same plant. Moreover,...

(Catasetum Orchid, Orchid)

Blooming anytime from late spring and into the autumn, the felt-capped catasetum orchid's large flowers are shaped somewhat like those of Oncidium orchids; they abstractly look like a dancing lady with a wide skirt. This species is native to hot, lowland rainforests in Venezuela, Ecuador and Peru. It's an epiphyte (grows on trees) that forms a perennial clump, but is winter deciduous.

"Catasetum" is a Greek compound word meaning "down bristle." This orchid genus is unique in having different...

(Catharanthus)

Approximately 200 genera and 2000 species of vines, shrubs, herbs, and trees make up the dogbane family. Most members of the Apocynaceae occur in the tropics and subtropics, but some are native to temperate regions. Among their distinctive features is the thick milky sap exuded by damaged leaves and stems. This latex is is often irritating to the skin, or toxic if ingested.

The dogbane family is home to many popular ornamental plants grown for their handsome foliage and their showy, often intensely...

(Hybrid Periwinkle, Hybrid Vinca, Kitajima Angel TuTu Vinca, Seedless Vinca)

Delighting with impatiens-like flowers atop a tough, heat and drought tolerant, low maintenance plant, the sterile (not producing seeds) 'Kitajima Angel Tutu' has ruffled white-edged pink blossoms. A tropical evergreen shrub that is popularly grown as a tender annual, this is a compact sterile selection developed in Japan and now licensed by and being distributed by PlantHaven, Inc.; it is only made through cuttings.

It blooms continuously and bears showy, radial, five-petaled blooms of pink...