Tag Archives: Vegetation

Camellia

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Camellia

Beautiful flowers.

  • Camellias are flowering small trees or shrubs that are evergreen and are from the family Theaceae, the tea family.
  • Camellias are native to Eastern and Southern Asia, most notably China, Japan, Korea, India and Indonesia, and China’s native name for camellias means ‘tea flower’.
  • Camellia sinensis is usually called ‘tea plant’, as it is the most common plant in the world to be used to make tea, usually from young leaves that can be made into green tea, black tea, white tea, oolong tea and other types of tea.
  • Depending on the species, camellias generally grow no more than 6 metres (20 feet) in height and some species, especially sasanqua, can be grown as hedges, topiaries and espaliers.
  • Camellia flowers can be white, cream, pink, red, purple, yellow or variegated, and come in a variety of forms like single, double, rose, peony and so on.

Red Pink, Camellia, Two, Bloom, Bud, Lots, Leaves, Bush, Australia, Flower, Ten Random Facts, Tea Flower

  • The most popular type of camellias are sasanqua, japonica and reticulata, although their are approximately 300 species, as well as 3,000 cultivars and hybrids.
  • Rain and winter frost can often damage camellia flowers, and sometimes bud drop occurs, often due to the bush producing too many buds, and this is usually nothing to be concerned about.
  • Camellia flowers range in size from 1 – 13 cm (0.4 – 5 inches) and they bloom in autumn, winter and spring.
  • Camellia bushes can live up to 100 to 200 years, although the oldest living camellia, planted in 1347, can be found in China’s Panlong Monastry.
  • Camellias have dark, glossy leaves that can be attacked by red spider mites, which are nearly invisible to the naked eye.
Bibliography:
Camellia, 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camellia>
Camellia Care & Culture Notes, 2013, Camellia Glen, <4rewwww

Onion

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Onion

Sniff, Sniff – it’s the onions.

  • Most edible onions are from the family Allium cepa, which is from the family of Allium which is the family of onions, leeks, garlic and chives.
  • Onions are a type of bulb with fleshy layers, and are also known as ‘bulb onions’ and ‘common onions’, and range in size from 2.5 – 11.5 cm (1 – 4.5 inches).
  • Onions are a vegetable that are often used in stir-fries, stews, casseroles, soups, pasta dishes, and other main meals, and they can be eaten raw in salads, and can be included in sauces and condiments like gravy, chutney or pickles.
  • Onions have been cultivated and eaten for thousands of years, and it is thought that Ancient Egyptians believed that onions symbolised eternity, or eternal life, and so they were often used in burials, and have even been found in the eye sockets of the pharaoh Ramses IV.
  • Onions were thought to have raised a dog’s, cat’s or cattle’s fertility, however, it is dangerous to let some animals eat onions, including cats, dogs, guinea pigs and monkeys, as they are poisonous to them as they make the animal anemic, which can be fatal.

 Onion, Cut, Halve, Brown, Orange, Skin, Rings, Australia, three, Ten Random Facts

  • Onions are yellow/brown, red/purple or white in colour, and their skins can be used to make a dye, and onion juices can be used to make a repellent against moths.
  • Onions have large cells, so they are sometimes used for scientific purposes as a teaching tool about cell structure.
  • Onions contain approximately 89% water and are a good source of fibre and manganese, and are very high in vitamins C and B6, as well as folic acid.
  • Red onions, known as Spanish onions, generally have a milder flavour than other varieties, and for this reason are often used raw as a garnish or in salads.
  • Onions are said to lower insulin levels in diabetics, help maintain good healthy bones, have anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties, help protect the body from some common cancers,  have cardiovascular benefits, and reduce cholesterol.
Bibliography:
Onion, 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onion>

Orange Trumpet Creeper

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Orange Trumpet Creeper

Trumpeting Creeping Flowers – NOT.

  • Orange trumpet creepers are also known as ‘flame vines’, ‘venusta vines’, ‘Japanese honeysuckles’ (although the vine isn’t a honeysuckle), ‘Chinese cracker flowers’ and ‘golden showers’.
  • Orange trumpet creepers are from the family Bignoniaceae, and are a relative to Jacarandas.
  • The scientific name of the orange trumpet creeper is ‘pyrostegia venusta’, a combination of Greek and Latin words meaning ‘ beautiful flame covering’.
  • Orange trumpet creepers are large and long evergreen vines that grow quickly and flower mainly in winter, although they often flower in autumn and sometimes  during spring.
  • Orange trumpet creepers have beautiful, grouped, tubular, red, orange or yellow coloured flowers, that are 4 to 8 cm (1.6 to 3.1 inches) in length.

Orange Trumpet Creeper, Flame, Orange, Vine, Plant, Flower, Vegetation, Pretty Beautiful, Ten Random Facts, Australia.

  • Orange trumpet creepers can grow up to 30 meters (98 feet) in length and are a popular garden plant because of their stunning flowers and their good foliage that can grow over and cover large supports like fences, tanks, carports, and large archways.
  • Orange trumpet creepers are native to Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia and Paraguay.
  • Orange trumpet creepers can be easily grown from cuttings and the plant can sometimes spread due to branches taking root in the ground.
  • Orange trumpet creepers are found in forest, shrubby and rocky habitats and they prefer warmer climates and do not like the cold.
  • Orange trumpet creepers are considered a weed in some countries and are said to be an invasive plant in some areas because they are easily grown and can smother trees and native vegetation.
Bibliography:
Orange Trumpet Creeper, 2006, Burkes Backyard, <http://www.burkesbackyard.com.au/factsheets/Climbers/Orange-Trumpet-Creeper/2109>
Pyrostegia Venusta, 2011, Some Magnetic Island Plants, <http://www.somemagneticislandplants.com.au/index.php/plants/299-pyrostegia-venusta>
Rix, M 2011, Pyrostegia Venusta, Kew, <http://www.kew.org/plants-fungi/Pyrostegia-venusta.htm>

Prickly Pear

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Prickly Pear

Prickly monster.

  • Prickly pear is also known as ‘nopal cactus’ and ‘paddle cactus’ and comes from the genus Opuntia which contains more than 150 species.
  • Prickly pears are from the family Cactaceae, which is the family of cacti and are native to North and South America and some of the surrounding islands.
  • Prickly pears have green, flat, oval shaped leaves called pads, that have long and short prickles that break off easily and irritate human skin.
  • Prickly pears have become an invasive weed in parts of Africa, Australia and Europe, where they were introduced as ornamental plants, fences and barriers, and for stock feed.
  • Prickly pears have edible fruit known as ‘cactus fruit’, ‘cactus fig’, ‘Indian fig’ and ‘tuna’, and are mainly red in colour, although other varieties include yellowy orange and green, and are high in Vitamin C.

 Prickly Pear, Invasive, Green, Fruit, Tall, Desert, Bare, Australia, Fruitful, Ten Random

  • Cochineal, a scale insect, is a common pest on prickly pear plants, and the insects are collected to make a valuable red dye called cochineal, which is used to dye fabric, cosmetics, and food.
  • The fruit and pads of prickly pears can be eaten, once the skin and prickles are removed, and the pads can be cooked like a vegetable and have been used in Mexican cooking for hundreds of years.
  • In 1788, prickly pears were introduced in Australia for the purpose of producing cochineal to dye the red coats required for the British army, however, by the 1920s prickly pears had invaded 58 million acres (24 million hectares) of land, much of it good farming land, so the cactoblastis moth was introduced to control the cactus, and was so effective, that much of the land was reclaimed.
  • The fruit of prickly pears are said to taste like a combination of bubblegum and watermelon, and can be made into candy, jam or beverages, or eaten raw, although some people do not like to eat the hard edible seeds.
  • A prickly pear can be found on the Mexican coat of arms and is said to symbolise the hard times and difficulties that have passed and will come.
Bibliography:
Opuntia, 2013, Wikipedia, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opuntia>

Rhaphiolepis

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Rhaphiolepis

Another pretty flower.

  • Rhaphiolepis is a flowering genus that is from the family Rosaceae, the family of roses, and the genus is a close relative to loquats.
  • Rhaphiolepis is an evergreen plant that grows as a small shrub or as big as a small tree, and are generally best grown in full sun.
  • South East Asia is the native home of Rhaphiolepis, and it can be found in southern Japan, Korea and China, as well as Thailand and Vietnam.
  • There are fifteen species of Rhaphiolepis, the most common, Rhaphiolepis indica is known as Indian hawthorn, despite being native to China, and is considered as a weed in some areas.
  • Rhaphiolepis can grow from 60 cm to 10 metres (2 to 32.8 feet) in height, depending on the species.

Flower, Pink, Raphiolepis genus, blue, berries, flower, leafs, Ten Random Facts, Australia

  • Rhaphiolepis has five petal flowers that are white to pink in colour, that usually have a sweet smell, and small berries, pomes, that range from purple, blue and black in colour.
  • In humid environments, Rhaphiolepis is quite vunerable to the disease leaf spot, where dark spots, caused by a fungus, form on the plant’s leaves.
  • Rhaphiolepis are commonly used as a hedging plant, and Rhaphiolepis indica makes an excellent bonsai specimen.
  • The hardiest species of Rhaphiolepis, Rhaphiolepis umbellata, is known as Yeddo hawthorn, or Japanese hawthorn, and can withstand temperatures as low as -15 °C (5 °F), strong winds and salt spray, and is native to Japan and Korea.
  • The fruit of some species of Rhaphiolepis can be cooked into jam, and the bark of the Japanese hawthorn, Rhaphiolepis umbellata is used to make a brown dye.
Bibliography:
Rhaphiolepis, 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhaphiolepis>

Bougainvillea

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Bougainvillea

Everyone look at me!

  • Bougainvilleas are a woody vine from the family Nyctaginaceae, which is the family of Four O’Clock plants.
  • Bougainvilleas are also known as Napoleón, veranera, trinitaria, Santa Rita and papelillo.
  • South America is the native home of bougainvillea plants, and in its natural tropical growing environment, it flowers all year.
  • Bougainvilleas grow 1-12 metres (3 to 39 feet) in height depending on the species, and can be grown in pots, as a bonsai, in hanging baskets, along walls, over trellises, as a hedge and other places in the garden.
  • Bougainvilleas were first recorded by the Europeans, by French botanist Philibert Commerçon, in the 1760s.

Bougainvillea, Pink, Flowers, Bunch, Stem, House, Australia, Ten Random Facts

  • The bougainvillea was named by Commerçon, after the French admiral, Loui-Antoine de Bougainville, who was an explorer, and whom Commerçon had joined for an expedition around the world.
  • Bougainvilleas are evergreen and grow well in warm to hot climates, although they can become dormant and lose their leaves in winter if it becomes too cold, and they can be damaged  by frosts.
  • Bougainvillea flowers are generally white or cream coloured, and are sometimes overlooked, as the papery bracts surrounding them easily distract with their vibrant colours of pink, white, orange, purple or burgundy.
  • Bougainvilleas need good drainage, are very hardy once established, can tolerate salty environments, and are not usually attacked by pests.
  • Bougainvilleas are a popular garden plant, due to their stunningly coloured bracts and their versatility in the garden.
Bibliography:
Bougainvillea 101, 2013, BGI,  <http://www.bgi-usa.com/kb/bougainvillea-101/>
Plant Profile: Bougainvillea, 2011, Gardening Australia, <http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s1866496.htm>
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