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, while the pointed, elongate fruit is of a helical form similar to that of the "tusk" of a narwhal. 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.
Ajuga reptans is commonly known as bugle, blue bugle, bugleherb, bugleweed, carpetweed, carpet bugleweed, and common bugle, and traditionally but less commonly as St. Lawrence plant. It is an herbaceous flowering plant, in the mint family, native to Europe. It is invasive in parts of North America. Ajuga reptans is also a component of purple moor grass and rush pastures, a Biodiversity Action Plan habitat in the United Kingdom.
Catananche caerulea, or Cupid's dart, is a greyish green perennial herbaceous plant with a basal leaf rosette and conspicuous blue-purple or sometimes white flowerheads, belonging to the daisy family. It is a popular garden plant and is often used in dried flower arrangements.
Catalpa bignonioides is a species of Catalpa that is native to the southeastern United States in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Common names include southern catalpa, cigartree, and Indian-bean-tree.
Salvia pratensis, the meadow clary or meadow sage, is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae, native to Europe, western Asia and northern Africa. The Latin specific epithet pratensis means "of meadows", referring to its preferred habitat. It also grows in scrub edges and woodland borders.
Downingia bacigalupii is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family (Campanulaceae) known by the common name Bach's calicoflower or Bacigalupi's downingia. This showy wildflower is native to the western United States from California to Idaho, where it is a resident of moist meadows and vernal pool ecosystems. This annual grows on a branching erect stem with small diamond-shaped leaves at intervals. At the top of each stem branch is one or more flowers, each between one and two centimeters wide. The flower has two long upper lobes which may be flat and straight or curl back, and are usually dark-veined blue. The three lower lobes are fused into one three-toothed surface, which is dark-veined blue with two bright yellow blotches rimmed with white in the center. The fruit is a dehiscent capsule two to five centimeters long. The stamens are fused together into an erect purple stalk bearing the dark anthers.
Downingia bicornuta is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family known by the common name doublehorn calicoflower and double-horned downingia. This showy wildflower is native to the western United States from California to Idaho, where it is a resident of lakesides and vernal pool ecosystems.
Downingia concolor is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family known by the common names maroonspot calicoflower and fringed downingia. This showy wildflower is endemic to California, where it is a resident of ponds and vernal pool ecosystems in the northern part of the state.
Downingia elegans is a species of flowering plants in the bellflower family known by the common names elegant calicoflower and Californian lobelia. This showy wildflower is native to western North America from California to British Columbia, where it is a resident of meadows and vernal pool ecosystems. This annual grows on a branching erect stem with many pointed leaves. At the top of each stem branch is one or more flowers, each one half to two centimeters wide. The tubular flower has two long, narrow, pointed upper lobes which are generally rich purple. The lower lip is fused into one three-lobed surface, which is purple with a large blotch of white in the center. The lobes may be quite pointed. There is sometimes some yellow coloration near the mouth of the tube.
Downingia insignis is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family known by the common names harlequin calicoflower and cupped downingia. This showy wildflower is native to the western United States from California to Idaho, where it is a resident of lakesides and vernal pool ecosystems.
Downingia laeta is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family known by the common name Great Basin calicoflower. This showy wildflower is native to western North America from California to Saskatchewan, where it is a resident of riverbanks, ponds, and vernal pool ecosystems. This annual grows on a thick erect stem with a few short, pointed leaves. Atop the stem is usually a single flower, which has an upper lip made up of two narrow, pointed lobes in shades of very light blue or purple, or white, and a lower lip which is a fusion of three lobes in the same color with two bright yellow spots and sometimes some purple or pink blotches or streaking.
Downingia montana is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family known by the common name Sierra calicoflower. This showy wildflower is native to California, where it lives in the meadows and pine forests of the high mountains. Its range may extend into Oregon. This annual grows an erect stem, which may branch or not, with a few sparse small, pointed leaves. Atop the stem is usually one tubular flower. The upper lip is made up of two narrow, pointed lobes usually a shade of lavender, and the lower lip is the same color, with a central field of white and two prominent projections which may be colored yellow and dark purple. The lower lip has three lobes, each of which may have a tooth. The fruit is a capsule one to four centimeters long.
Downingia ornatissima is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family known by the common name folded calicoflower. This showy wildflower is endemic to California, where it is a resident of vernal pools and other wet places in the Central Valley. This annual grows an erect, branching stem with usually one tubular flower at the top of each branch. The flower has an upper lip made up of two narrow, pointed lobes in shades of light purple, and a lower lip made up of three lobes fused into one surface, which is the same color as the upper lip and has a central field of white with two prominent yellow projections. The flower is similar to those of other downingias, except it is lightly crinkled, with the upper lobes often curled back and the edges of the lower lobes uneven. The dark blue anther just emerges from where it is tucked between the upper lobes.
Downingia pulchella is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family known by the common names flatface calicoflower and valley calicoflower. This showy, annual wildflower is endemic to California, where it is a resident of vernal pools and other wet places in the central part of the state from the Tehachapi Mountains to the San Francisco Bay Area.
Gilia cana is a species of flowering plant in the phlox family known by the common name showy gilia. It is native to California and Nevada where it grows in open areas with gravelly and sandy soils, such as desert and rocky slopes. The Mojave Desert range of some subspecies may extend into Arizona.
Iris japonica is a native of China and Japan. It is a species in the genus Iris, in the subgenus Limniris and within the Lophiris section. It is a rhizomatous perennial plant, with pale blue, lavender or white flowers with an orange or yellow crest. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant in temperate regions.
Silene scouleri is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common names simple campion and Scouler's catchfly.
Babiana ambigua is a species of plant in the Iridaceae. It is endemic to the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is a geophyte, that appears from an underground corm every year and grows to a hight of 5–8 cm (2.0–3.1 in) or occasonally up to 16 cm (6.3 in). Its leaves are pleated, hairy, lance-shaped, reaching higher than the inflorescence. The fragrant, mirror-symmetric, blue to mauve flowers, consist of six tepals merged into a tube at their base, but with free lobes at the top. The lower lateral tepals have withish markings accentuated by a more intense blue line along their margin. Each flower is supported by two green bracts sometimes with a brownish tip, and the inner bract is divided entirely to its base. There are three anthers crowded to the dorsal side of the perianth and a style divided in three branches on top of a smooth ovary. Flowers can be found from late July at sea level to the end of September at high altitude.
Eremophila pallida is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a small, spreading shrub with hairy stems, leaves with a few serrations and reddish purple to violet flowers.
Dendrobium baileyi, commonly known as the blotched gemini orchid, is an epiphytic or lithophytic orchid in the family Orchidaceae and has arching stems and flowering stems with one or two spidery, yellow flowers with dark purple spots emerging from leaf axis. It grows in tropical North Queensland, New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.
