(Pricklypear)

This genus is the most widely recognized in the Cactaceae due to the distinctive paddle shape of its stems. There are many species, subspecies and natural varieties of Opuntia. References differ greatly in the number of species, because the taxonomists that study them tend to be in disagreement, but the numbers range from 150 to 200. Many naturally hybridize in the wild, which makes the Opuntia hybridizer's job easy. Natural distribution stretches from the sunny sites of...

(Borzicactus)

This South American genus contains just six species of columnar cacti. They are mountain cacti native to the high Andes where they thrive in extremes of temperature and drought. They are specific to parts of this range in southern Peru, northern Chile, southern Bolivia, and northern Argentina.

The species are characterized as low shrubs with cylindrical stems covered in dense, white hairs. These provide protection from high UV light at altitude and insulation from cold. Branching is minimal...

(Old-Man-of-the-Andes)

Old Man of the Andes is a striking cylindrical cactus due to its coat of dirty blond coarse hairs that covers its entire length. These hairs help protect and shade its green skin from both intense high altitude sunlight and the occasional cold snap. The species is native to Bolivia, Peru and northern Argentina where it is found on rocky cliffs at high elevations of the Andes and other mountain ranges. In cultivation it is rare to see more than a single stem, but in the wild these cacti will branch...

(Rice)

Cultivated rice (Oryza sativa) is among the 19 annual and perennial grasses that make up this genus. All are native to tropical and subtropical latitudes of Asia and Africa.

These grasses form spreading clumps of upright to lax stems furnished with long, blade-shaped, erect to arching leaves. Branching panicles of greenish flower "spikelets" appear at the stem tips, typically in summer. Each spikelet consists of a single, inconspicuous, wind-pollinated flower encased in a tough, ovoid...

(Rice)

Arguably the world's most important crop, cultivated rice has been a staple of Asian diets for more than 7,000 years. This annual grass was probably first domesticated in Southeast Asia and southern China from wild populations of the perennial Oryza rufipogon. Rice is now cultivated and consumed globally, but the bulk of the world's crop still originates in Asia. The lower Mississippi Valley and north-central California are centers of rice production in the United States.

This rhizomatous...

(Rice)

An ornamental variety of the world's most important crop, 'Nigrescens' is grown not for its grain but for its handsome deep-hued leaves.

This rhizomatous grass forms spreading clumps of upright stems lined with long, slender, deep-bronze leaves. Conspicuous, arching panicles of greenish flower "spikelets" appear at the stem tips in summer. Each spikelet consists of a single, inconspicuous, wind-pollinated flower enclosed in a tough, ovoid, flat-sided husk. The spikelets ripen to pale brown....

(Rice)

Arguably the world's most important crop, cultivated rice has been a staple of Asian diets for more than 7,000 years. This annual grass was probably first domesticated in Southeast Asia and southern China from wild populations of the perennial Oryza rufipogon. Rice is now cultivated and consumed globally, but the bulk of the world's crop still originates in Asia. The lower Mississippi Valley and north-central California are centers of rice production in the United States.

This rhizomatous...

(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...

(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,...