Tag Archives: Plant

Queensland Bottle Tree

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Queensland Bottle Tree

Bulging Queensland bottle trees.

  • Queensland bottle trees are Australian native trees that have a trunk shaped like a bottle and have bell shaped, creamy-yellow coloured flowers that usually appear in spring and summer.
  • The scientific name of a Queensland bottle tree is Brachychiton rupestris, and they are from the family Malvaceae, the family of mallows that includes hibiscus plants, but were originally from the archived family Sterculiaceae.
  • Contrary to popular belief, Queensland bottle trees are not hollow, but have fibrous interiors, and are bottle-shaped due to the stored water in the trunk.
  • Queensland bottle trees are usually grown from seed, and are popularly used in recreation areas and gardens, often providing good shade.
  • Queensland bottle trees have been traditionally used as shelter, rope and food, particularly by indigenous Australians.

Queensland Bottle Tree, Swell, Adult, Australia, Ten Random Facts, Plant

  • Queensland bottle trees can range from 4 to 20 metres (13 to 65 feet) in height and do not produce a bottle shaped trunk until about five to eight years of age.
  • Queensland bottle trees grow best in full sun and in temperatures of the sub-tropics and the tropics.
  • Queensland bottle trees have boat-shaped seed pods full of many seeds that have hairs on them that can irritate the skin if touched.
  • ‘Queensland bottle trees’ are also known as ‘Queensland-flaschenbaums’, ‘Narrowleaf bottle trees’, ‘Kurrajong bottle trees’ and ‘Kurrajongs’.
  • Queensland bottle trees can survive up to three months out of soil, and they are therefore commonly transported to various countries, even as a mature tree.
Bibliography:
Brachychiton rupestris, 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brachychiton_rupestris
Campbell C, Fact Sheet: Bottle Trees, 2008, Gardening Australia, http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s2183287.htm
Cheung P, Brachychiton rupestris, 2013, AustraliaNationalBotanic Gardens, http://www.anbg.gov.au/gnp/interns-2005/brachychiton-rupestris.html

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Slender Vervain

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Slender Vervain

Slender vervain: a pest in some places, an ornament in others.

  • A ‘slender vervain’ is also known as a ‘tuberous vervain’, ‘purpletop’, ‘purple verbena’, ‘veined verbena’, ‘large-veined verbena’, ‘sandpaper verbena’, and it also has many other common names.
  • Slender vervains are native to many countries in South America, and more specifically Brazil and Argentina.
  • Slender vervains can grow up to 60 centimetres (24 inches) in height.
  • The scientific name for slender vervain is ‘Verbena rigida’, and it has also been known as ‘Verbena venosa’, and it comes from the family Verbenaceae, the family of vervains or verbenas.
  • Slender vervains have purple or magenta coloured flowers that bloom on the top of spikes at the top of the plant in summer and autumn, and the plants have rigid, rough and hairy leaves that have serrated edges.

Slender Vervain, Purple, verbena rigidia, weed, Australia, Flower, Ten Random Facts

  • In 1993, Slender vervains were awarded the United Kingdom Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit.
  • Slender vervains are best grown in areas with full sun and damp, well drained soil, and are often grown to add colour in the garden, in pots, or for cut flowers.
  • Slender vervains grow from rhizomes, and are herbacious perennials with parts of the plants dying off each year.
  • Slender vervains are classified as a weed in South Africa, Australia and some parts of the United States, and are found near roads, inhabiting forests, fields and river areas, as well as cotton farming land.
  • Slender vervains were introduced into Europe by Dr John Gillies, a Scottish botanist and retired navy surgeon, in approximately 1820.
Bibliography:
Bourne V, How to Grow: Verbena Rigidia, 2013, The Telegraph, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/howtogrow/3348813/How-to-grow-Verbena-rigida.html
Verbena Rigidia (Herb), 2010, Global Invasive Species Database, http://www.issg.org/database/species/ecology.asp?fr=1&sts=&lang=EN&si=1371
Verbena Rigida, 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verbena_rigida

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Dianthus

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Dianthus

Smell the sweet fragrance of dianthus.

  • ‘Dianthus’ are also known as ‘carnations’, ‘pinks’ or ‘sweet williams’, although these terms are more specific to certain species.
  • The dianthus genus, includes 300 species of perennial plants with beautiful flowers.
  • Dianthus comes from the family Caryophyllaceae, the pink or carnation family.
  • Dianthus are native to Europe or Asia, but a select quantity of species can be found in either North America or Africa.
  • Dianthus flowers are five-petalled, and they are generally frilled or serrated on the edge, hence the common name ‘pink’ (not a reference to the colour).

Dianthus, Pink, White, Single, Dead, Prim, Frilled, Ten Random Facts, Flower, Australia

  • Dianthus flowers are typically patterned in shades of pink but can also be white, purple, yellow, orange or red in colour.
  • Dianthus flower from spring through to autumn, and some species have a sweet smell of spice.
  • ‘Dianthus’ comes from the Greek words for ‘of Zeus’ (a god in Greek mythology) and ‘flower’, ‘dios’ and ‘anthos’ respectively.
  • Dianthus plants grow between 10 cm (4 inches) and 1.5 metres (5 feet) in height, and often have grey or blue-green foliage
  • Dianthus are often used for cut or decorative purposes, and more than 100 species have earned the Award of Garden Merit from the Royal Horticultural Society in the United Kingdom.
Bibliography:
Dianthus, 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dianthus
Mackey B, Dianthus, Carnations, Pinks, 2014, HowStuffWorks, http://home.howstuffworks.com/define-dianthus-carnation-pinks.htm

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Yellow Tower Cactus

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Yellow Tower Cactus

Yellow tower cacti do not taste like lemons or give you pins and needles.

  • The yellow tower cactus is from the Cactaceae family, which is the family of cacti, and it is also known as a ‘golden ball cactus’ and a ‘lemon ball cactus’.
  • The yellow tower cactus is native to South America’s Brazil, where it can become considerably cold at nights during the winter time.
  • The scientific name of the yellow tower cactus is Parodia leninghausii, and at an earlier stage it was known as a Notocactus leninghausii, and has also been listed in other genera.
  • German Karl Schumann, a botanist, chose the scientific name for the yellow tower cactus, in honour of the 19th century (and early 20th century) German cacti collector, Wilhelm Lenninghaus, or Guillermo Lenninghaus, as he was later known.
  • Yellow tower cactus flowers usually bloom in summer, once the cactus grows to an adult height of 15 to 20 centimetres (6 to 8 inches), and it can take 5 years for the plant to mature.

Lemon Ball Cactus, Double, Yellow Flower, Tower, Green, Bloom, Garden, Ten Random Facts, Val Laird

Tower Cactus
Image courtesy of Val Laird
  • The yellow tower cactus has yellow coloured flowers, approximately 5 cm (2 inches) in diameter, that sit at the top of the cactus, and they have many papery petals.
  • A yellow tower cactus starts off as a ball shape, but as the cactus ages, it grows as a column, with small ones that cluster at its base.
  • Yellow tower cacti are green with a blanket of spines, that are long and golden coloured, and not so harmful.
  • A yellow tower cactus can tolerate a mild frost, as long as the cactus is relatively free of moisture content.
  • The yellow tower cactus can reach a height of up to 1 metre (3 feet) and a diameter of 12 centimetres (5 inches), however, the plant will take many years to reach that height.
Bibliography:
Parodia leninghausii, 2012, Cactus-bg.com, http://cactus-bg.com/kaktusi/notocactus-leninghausii-241/
Parodia leninghausii, 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parodia_leninghausii
http://www.yourgardeninginfo.com/golden-ball-cactusparodia-leninghausii

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Garden Hose

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Garden Hose

SNAKE!!! Oh… it is just a green garden hose.

  • ‘Garden hoses’ are also known as ‘hoses’, ‘water hoses’ and ‘hosepipes’, and are typically green in colour, but can be black, silver or blue, among others.
  • A garden hose is a portable and flexible tube that carries water from a water supply, typically around the garden.
  • Garden hoses commonly have a nozzle or sprinkler attached to focus or disperse water onto a particular area.
  • Garden hoses are generally made of waterproof materials like vinyl or rubber, or a combination of the two, with the addition of reinforcing to add strength.
  • Garden hose materials are typically hardy and strong, although they are not normally made for use with heated water.

Garden hose, lawn, grass, green, gardenpipe, pile, Ten Random Facts, Garden

  • The ends of garden hoses can generally be connected together to make a longer hose.
  • Garden hoses have their origins in fire fighting hoses, originally made from ox intestines from 400BC, and the invention of stitched together leather hoses were by the Dutch inventor (among other things), Jan van der Heyden in the 1600s.
  • In the 19th century, fire hoses saw numerous improvements to the materials and methods of production, that included cotton and rubber hoses, and by the 1900s, people were purchasing the new and improved hoses for garden hose use.
  • Some garden hoses leak poisonous chemicals into the transported water, and are therefore, not safe to drink from.
  • Garden hoses come in various lengths, thicknesses and weights, and it is important to consider these options before purchasing a hose, especially the weight, as some hoses can be quite heavy, especially if they contain rubber.
Bibliography:
Garden Hose, 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garden_hose
Stackhouse J, How to Avoid Kinked Hoses, Homelife, http://www.homelife.com.au/gardening/features/how+to+avoid+kinked+hoses,5423
Swauger D, The Garden Hose, 2012, Snippets from Springdale, http://deannaswauger.blogspot.com.au/2012/06/garden-hose.html

 

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Bamboo

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Bamboo, Tall, Green, Leaves, Grass, Hollow, Running, Ten Random Facts, Australia.

Plant the bamboo… and watch it grow before your eyes!

  • Bamboo are generally very tall, strong, woody, flowering grass plants that are hollow and cylindrical, and those that are particularly sturdy are used as materials in construction and weapons, as well as many other items.
  • There are 1450 species of bamboo, and they come from the family Poaceae, the family of grass, and they fall into two categories, ‘clumping bamboo’ and ‘running bamboo’, which describes the growth pattern of the roots and rhizomes.
  • One species of bamboo grows up to 91 cm (3 feet) in one day, which is the fastest of all plants in the world.
  • Most continents have native species of bamboo, however there are none native to Europe and Antarctica.
  • Bamboo can grow up to 30 metres (98 feet) in height, or more, although common species generally grow a lot less, and can have a diameter of up to 15 to 20 centimetres (6 to 8 inches).

Bamboo, Tall, Green, Leaves, Grass, Hollow, Running, Ten Random Facts, Australia.

  • Bamboo from tropical regions generally can not stand extreme cold, and some other species can survive up to -29°C (-20°F).
  • Bamboo plants are evergreen and may only flower every 30 to 130 years, sometimes with all the same stock plants of a species flowering at the same time throughout the world, and then dying after flowering.
  • Bamboo shoots, although they contain a poison, cyanide, that can negatively affect the digestive system, can be eaten if the shoots are prepared properly, usually by boiling them, and are generally eaten boiled, pickled or fermented .
  • In China bamboo is an important symbolic plant, symbolising moral principles, among others, and it represents friendship in India.
  • Bamboo is used in a similar way to wood, and different species are used for building materials, kitchen utensils, fabric and paper, and are also the food source of a number of animals, including the well known Chinese giant panda.
Bibliography:
Bamboo, 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamboo
The History of Bamboo, 2011, BambooKi, http://www.bambooki.com/blog/the-history-of-bamboo/

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