Begonia is a genus of perennial flowering plants in the family Begoniaceae. The genus contains more than 1,800 different plant species. The Begonias are native to moist subtropical and tropical climates. Some species are commonly grown indoors as ornamental houseplants in cooler climates. In cooler climates some species are cultivated outside in summertime for their bright colorful flowers, which have sepals but no petals.
Eschscholzia californica, the California poppy, golden poppy, California sunlight or cup of gold, is a species of flowering plant in the family Papaveraceae, native to the United States and Mexico. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant flowering in summer, with showy cup-shaped flowers in brilliant shades of red, orange and yellow. It is also used as food or a garnish. It became the official state flower of California in 1903.
Canna or canna lily is the only genus of flowering plants in the family Cannaceae, consisting of 10 species. Cannas are not true lilies, but have been assigned by the APG II system of 2003 to the order Zingiberales in the monocot clade Commelinids, together with their closest relatives, the gingers, spiral gingers, bananas, arrowroots, heliconias and birds of paradise.
Primula is a genus of mainly herbaceous flowering plants in the family Primulaceae. They include the familiar wildflower of banks and verges, the primrose. Other common species are P. auricula (auricula), P. veris (cowslip) and P. elatior (oxlip). These species and many others are valued for their ornamental flowers. They have been extensively cultivated and hybridised - in the case of the primrose, for many hundreds of years. Primula are native to the temperate northern hemisphere, south into tropical mountains in Ethiopia, Indonesia and New Guinea, and in temperate southern South America. Almost half of the known species are from the Himalayas.
Erica is a genus of roughly 857 species of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae. The English common names heath and heather are shared by some closely related genera of similar appearance. The genus Calluna was formerly included in Erica – it differs in having even smaller scale-leaves, and the flower corolla consisting of separate petals. Erica is sometimes referred to as "winter heather" to distinguish it from Calluna "summer heather".
Kniphofia, also called tritoma, red hot poker, torch lily, knofflers or poker plant, is a genus of perennial flowering plants in the family Asphodelaceae, first described as a genus in 1794. It is native to Africa.
Dasiphora fruticosa is a species of hardy deciduous flowering shrub in the family Rosaceae, native to the cool temperate and subarctic regions of the northern hemisphere, often growing at high altitudes in mountains. Dasiphora fruticosa is a disputed name, and the plant is still widely referenced in the horticultural literature under its synonym Potentilla fruticosa. Common names include shrubby cinquefoil, golden hardhack, bush cinquefoil, shrubby five-finger, tundra rose, and widdy.
Crocosmia (;), montbretia, is a small genus of flowering plants in the iris family, Iridaceae. It is native to the grasslands of southern and eastern Africa, ranging from South Africa to Sudan. One species is endemic to Madagascar.
Celosia argentea, commonly known as the plumed cockscomb or silver cock's comb, is a herbaceous plant of tropical origin, and is known for its very bright colors. In India and China it is known as a troublesome weed.
Grevillea robusta, commonly known as the southern silky oak, silk oak or silky oak, silver oak or Australian silver oak, is a flowering plant in the family Proteaceae. It is a tree, the largest species in its genus but is not closely related to the true oaks, Quercus. It is a native of eastern coastal Australia, growing in riverine, subtropical and dry rainforest environments.
A popular house plant, Streptocarpus, is an Afrotropical genus of flowering plants in the family Gesneriaceae. The genus is native to Afromontane biotopes from central, eastern and southern Africa, including Madagascar and the Comoro Islands. The flowers are five-petalled, salverform tubes, almost orchid-like in appearance, and hover or arch over the plant. In the wild, species can be found growing on shaded rocky hillsides or cliffs, on the ground, in rock crevices, and almost anywhere the seed can germinate and grow. For the home, there are now many hybrids of various colours and forms available.
Acer japonicum, the Amur maple, downy Japanese-maple or fullmoon maple, is a species of maple native to Japan, on Honshū, Hokkaidō, Kyūshū, and also southern Korea.
Buddleja davidii, also called summer lilac, butterfly-bush, or orange eye, is a species of flowering plant in the family Scrophulariaceae, native to Sichuan and Hubei provinces in central China, and also Japan. It is widely used as an ornamental plant, and many named varieties are in cultivation. B. davidii is named after the French missionary and explorer in China, Father Armand David, who was the first European to report the shrub. It was found near Ichang by Dr Augustine Henry about 1887 and sent to St Petersburg. Another botanist-missionary in China, Jean-André Soulié, sent seed to the French nursery Vilmorin, and B. davidii entered commerce in the 1890s.
Cosmos sulphureus is also known as sulfur cosmos and yellow cosmos. It is native to Mexico, Central America, and northern South America, and naturalized in other parts of North and South America as well as in Europe, Asia, and Australia.
Saxifraga stolonifera is a perennial flowering plant known by several common names, including creeping saxifrage, strawberry saxifrage, creeping rockfoil, as well as the quite ambiguous Aaron's beard, mother of thousands, roving sailor, wandering Jew, and strawberry begonia or strawberry geranium.
Dracaena fragrans, is a flowering plant species that is native throughout tropical Africa, from Sudan south to Mozambique, west to Côte d'Ivoire and southwest to Angola, growing in upland regions at 600–2,250 m (1,970–7,380 ft) altitude.
Begonia boliviensis is a plant in the begonia family, Begoniaceae, which was introduced to Europe in 1864 by Richard Pearce who discovered it in the Bolivian Andes, although the plant had previously been identified by Hugh Weddell in the same region but not introduced.
Crocosmia × crocosmiiflora, montbretia, is a garden hybrid of C. aurea and C. pottsii, first bred in 1880 in France by Victor Lemoine. The name "montbretia" is often found in horticultural literature.
Begonia masoniana, the iron cross begonia, is a species of plant in the family Begoniaceae, native to southern China and northern Vietnam. It was originally described from cultivated plants of unknown origin and was only much later rediscovered in the wild. It is a rhizomatous perennial begonia growing to 0.5 metres (20 in), bearing large, asymmetrical, textured green leaves covered in reddish hairs, with a prominent dark brown pattern in the centre of each leaf, reminiscent of the German Iron Cross. It produces small white flowers in erect panicles, but is cultivated mainly for its foliage effect. In temperate regions it must be grown under glass, or in a completely frost-free environment. Although sometimes (incorrectly) considered a rex begonia, this species is classified in the related section Coelocentrum.
