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The Loquat tree is native to China and Japan and is grown as an ornamental tree in the Southeastern part of the U.S. The tree can reach heights of 20' and the leaves grow to 10 inches in length. They are dark green on the top and fuzzy light green beneath. This tree requires full sun to produce flowers and fruit, but it will do fine in semi shady areas, where you just won't get as many blooms. The furry looking white flowers of Loquat are very fragrant. The Loquat tree makes a nice shade tree, but here in Florida the fallen fruit can be a bit messy and little trees sprout all over beneath the mature plant. Squirrels and Birds will eat the loquat fruit and bees and wasps are attracted to fruit when it is overripe.

Echinacea purpurea is native to eastern North America. It is a perennial that is pollinated by butterflies and bees. Grows best in full sun to partial shade. The Purple Coneflower is one of my favorite perennial garden plants. They spread each year and produce many seeds to sow and share. The coneflowers are butterfly magnets and I think every garden should have purple coneflowers!

Epiphyllum oxypetalum is a very popular and easily cultivated cactus. The plant is fast growing and can attain heights of 20 feet or more. It's an erect and sprawling, profusely branched plant that produces both long rod-like stems and flat leaf-like stems. Eventually, flat-like stems will emerge from the rod-like stems. It is a nocturnal bloomer and the flowers are wonderfully fragrant!

The Camphor tree is a large evergreen tree attaining heights up to 150' and width twice that size. The alternate, glossy oval shaped leaves dangle from long petioles and have a camphor smell when crushed. In spring the foliage is bright green with masses of tiny white flowers followed by clusters of black pea sized berries. The Camphor tree bark is rough and fissured and the trunk can attain up to 15' in diameter. Although it is said to be a good storm and fire resistant tree, it's a non-native invasive species in North America. Here in Florida it is listed as a Category 1 exotic invasive and is disrupting native plant habitats.

Chrysothemis pulchella is a tender tropical perennial that makes a nice ornamental house plant. It blooms spring through summer and goes dormant when temperatures drop below 60ºF. The leaves and stems will die back but it can survive 30-40ºF temperatures for short periods.

Celtis laevigata, commonly called "Sugarberry" is a deciduous North American native tree that can reach heights of 60' to 80'. Sugarberry has an elm-like shape with a broad open crown, drooping branches, and warty bark. The drupes (fruit) start out green, ripen to a purplish black color, and are a favorite of birds.

Here in my area the "Sugarberry" tree is the first to lose its leaves in autumn and also the first tree to leaf out with pretty light green foliage in spring, and it's a beautiful shade tree during the summer months. Mature trees have interesting, corky/warty looking bark.

The Giant White Bird of Paradise tree is native to subtropical Africa and is a close cousin of Strelitzia regina but is much larger, forming huge clumps up to 30', and leaves of 6-8' in length that are arranged in fans atop the trunk. With optimal conditions the trunk can grow to 18' in width. The infloresence has a dark blue bract, white sepals and a bluish-purple tongue. This plant needs a sheltered location in the landscape, away from high winds which will shred the foliage.

The most common and widespread deciduous tree in North America, the Red Maple can attain heights of over 50'. It is used as a shade tree in landscapes and is adaptable to a wide range of conditions. This tree is known for its attractive foliage which turns a deep scarlet color in autumn.

Acalypha wilkesiana is native to Fiji and nearby South Pacific Islands. In frost-free zones it can easily attain a height of 10'. Joseph's Coat is grown for its beautiful, colorful foliage. The small inconspicuous flowers hang from catkin-like racemes, usually hidden by the foliage. There are many cultivars of Acalypha with differing leaf forms and colors.

Dioscorea bulbifera ("Air Potato") is a species of Yam with tubers beneath the soil that resemble oblong potatoes. It is a fast growing, broad leaved perennial vine that can attain heights to 150'. The vine forms bulbils in the leaf axils which then sprout, forming new vines that grow into a thick mass. This plant is an invasive here in Florida, taking over and displacing native plants. Although the foliage is rather attractive, the small white flowers are rarely seen. The uncultivated variety of this plant found in Florida is considered toxic, containing the steroid diosgenin.

Tillandsia utriculata is native to Costa Rica, Mexico, Venezuela, and the United States. The Giant Air Plant is the largest in the Bromeliaceae family, with some specimens reaching 3 feet in height with a spread of almost 3 feet. The foliage is silver/gray in color and the small, inconspicuous pale-yellow blooms are borne on 3 to 4 foot long spikes. It is found in the U.S. from Central Florida southward through the Florida Keys. Like other Bromeliads, it is an epiphyte, using the tree as its host and receiving nutrition from leaf litter and moisture from rain. Tillandsia utriculata is a threatened species due to overcollecting as well as habitat destruction in central and south Florida. It is also listed on the Florida endangered species list due to destruction by the Mexican Bromeliad Weevil.

There was a very large specimen in an oak tree in my neighbor's backyard, but unfortunately the last two extremely cold winters killed it.

"Spanish Moss" is a common sight in the deep south. It is an epiphyte that uses the Southern Live Oak, Bald Cypress, and other trees as its host. The plant has thin stems with alternate, curved, curling, heavily scaled leaves. It grows in a chainlike manner, seeming to "drip" from the trees. Being epiphytic, it does not take nutrients from its host tree but rather absorbs nutrients from air and rainfall. Tillandsia usneoides rarely kills the tree it is attached to, but it blocks light to the tree's leaves, reducing the growth rate of its host.

"Ball Moss" is commonly seen attached to trees in the deep south. It is not parasitic as some believe, deriving only physical support from the host plant that it clings to. It can hinder tree growth by competing for light and nutrients and restricting surface area for new branch formation but doesn't usually affect a healthy host plant. Ball Moss photosynthesizes its own food, receiving water from rain and nitrogen from bacteria. The blooms are rather bland but interesting.