Shrubs

Galphimia

Galphimia is a genus in the Malpighiaceae, a family of about 75 genera of flowering plants in the order Malpighiales; the name is an anagram of Malpighia. Galphimia comprises 26 species of large herbs, shrubs, and treelets.








 
Hibiscus

Hibiscus is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is quite large, containing several hundred species that are native to warm-temperate, subtropical and tropical regions throughout the world. Member species are often noted for their showy flowers and are commonly known as hibiscus, sorrel, and flor de Jamaica, or less widely known as rosemallow.



 


Jasmine

Jasminum commonly known as jasmines, is a genus of shrubs and vines in the olive family (Oleaceae). It contains around 200 species native to tropical and warm temperate regions of the Old World. Jasmines are widely cultivated for the characteristic fragrance of their flowers.

Loropetalum

Loropetalum is a genus of 3 species of shrub in the witch-hazel family, Hamamelidaceae, native to China, Japan, and south-eastern Asia.

The name Loropetalum refers to the shape of the flowers and comes from the Greek loron meaning strap and petalon meaning petal. Flowers are produced in clusters during spring and are similar to those of the closely related witch-hazel. Each flower consists of four to six (depending on species) slender strap shaped petals 1-2 cm long.

Murraya

The genus Murraya comprises 12 species in the family Rutaceae, including the Curry Tree. This genus, along with genera Clausena and Glycosmis within the same family, are a major source of carbazole alkaloids. Parts of these trees are used in folk medicine and the leaves of M. koenigii are and ingredient in curry. The genus has important horticultural uses in landscaping, as well.






Pomegranate

The pomegranate Punica granatum, is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub or small tree growing between five and eight meters tall. Native to the area of modern day Iran and Iraq, the pomegranate has been cultivated in the Caucasus since ancient times. From there it spread to Asian areas such as the Caucasus as well as the Himalayas in Northern India.

Today, it is widely cultivated throughout Turkey, Iran, Syria, Spain, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt, China, Burma, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Philippines, the drier parts of southeast Asia, the Mediterranean region of Southern Europe, and tropical Africa. Introduced into Latin America and California by Spanish settlers in 1769, pomegranate is also cultivated in parts of California and Arizona for juice production.




Bird Plant

A Mexican herb (Heterotoma lobelioides) having yellow-and-purple flowers that suggest the form of a bird —called also bird flower, canarybird flower.












Bougainvillea

Bougainvillea is a genus of flowering plants native to South America from Brazil west to Peru and south to southern Argentina (Chubut Province). Different authors accept between four and 18 species in the genus. The first European to describe these plants was Philibert Commerçon, a French botanist accompanying French Navy admiral and explorer Louis Antoine de Bougainville during his voyage of circumnavigation, and first published for him by Antoine Laurent de Jussieu in 1789. It is possible that the first European to observe these plants was Jeanne Baré, Commerçon's lover and assistant whom he sneaked on board (despite regulations) disguised as a man (and who thus became the first woman to circumnavigate the globe).

They are thorny, woody vines growing anywhere from 1 to 12 meters tall, scrambling over other plants with their spiky thorns. The thorns are tipped with a black, waxy substance. They are evergreen where rainfall occurs all year, or deciduous if there is a dry season. The leaves are alternate, simple ovate-acuminate, 4–13 cm long and 2–6 cm broad. The actual flower of the plant is small and generally white, but each cluster of three flowers is surrounded by three or six bracts with the bright colours associated with the plant, including pink, magenta, purple, red, orange, white, or yellow. Bougainvillea glabra is sometimes referred to as "paper flower" because the bracts are thin and papery. The fruit is a narrow five-lobed achene.




Champaca

Champaca is a large evergreen tree, native to the Indomalaya ecozone (consisting of South Asia, Southeast Asia and some parts of China). It is best known for its strongly fragrant yellow or white flowers. It is, however, primarily cultivated for its timber, and is also used in urban landscaping. Its aril-covered seeds are highly attractive to birds.



Cactus

A cactus is a member of the plant family Cactaceae, within the order Caryophyllales. The word cactus derives, through Latin, from the Ancient Greek (kaktos), a name originally used for a spiny plant whose identity is not certain. Cacti are native to the Americas, ranging from Patagonia in the south to parts of western Canada in the north—except for Rhipsalis baccifera, which also grows in Africa and Sri Lanka.

Most cacti live in habitats subject to at least some drought. Many live in extremely dry environments, even being found in the Atacama Desert, one of the driest places on earth. Cacti show many adaptations to conserve water. Most species of cacti have lost true leaves, retaining only spines, which are highly modified leaves. As well as defending against herbivores, spines help prevent water loss by reducing air flow close to the cactus and providing some shade. Cactus spines are produced from specialized structures called areoles, a kind of highly reduced branch. Areoles are an identifying feature of cacti. As well as spines, areoles give rise to flowers, which are usually tubular and multi-petaled.

Cuphea

Cuphea is a genus containing about 260 species of annual and perennial flowering plants native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the Americas. The species range from low-growing herbs to semi-woody shrubs up to 2 m tall. Commonly they are known as cupheas, or, in the case of some species, as cigar plants. The generic name is derived from the Greek word κυφος (kyphos), meaning "bent," "curved," or "humped."

Botanist Shirley A. Graham, currently of the Missouri Botanical Garden, has published widely on the genus. Among Graham's Cuphea contributions are two volumes in the series Systematic Botany Monographs.

 

 
Ribena - Roselle

Roselle, belongs to the family of Hibiscus. Its scientific name is Hibiscus sabdariffa. Many people call this plant "Ribena", but actually Ribena is a name of a blackcurrant drink. Roselle, tt is an annual or perennial herb or woody-based subshrub, growing to 2–2.5 m (7–8 ft) tall.

The leaves are deeply three- to five-lobed, 8–15 cm long, arranged alternately on the stems. The flowers are 8–10 cm in diameter, white to pale yellow with a dark red spot at the base of each petal, and have a stout fleshy calyx at the base, 1–2 cm wide, enlarging to 3–3.5 cm, fleshy and bright red as the fruit matures. It takes about six months to mature.





Thuja

Thuja is a genus of coniferous trees in the Cupressaceae (cypress family). There are five species in the genus, two native to North America and three native to eastern Asia. The genus is monophyletic and sister to Thujopsis.

They are commonly known as arborvitaes (from Latin for tree of life) or thujas; several species are widely known as cedar but because they are not true cedars (Cedrus) it has been recommended to call them redcedars or whitecedars.






Allamanda

Allamanda, also known as Yellow Bell, Golden Trumpet or Buttercup Flower, is a genus of tropical shrubs or vines belonging to the dogbane family (Apocynaceae). The genus Alamanda is native to South and Central America. Their year-round production of large, bright flowers have made the Allamanda popular ornamentals.

A woody, evergreen shrub with vigorous growth, Allamanda may reach a free-standing height of 2 metres or more. The leathery leaves are lancelike, pointed, and may either be opposite or in whorls of three or four. The yellow, trumpet-shaped flowers are 5-7.5 centimetres in diameter; cultivated forms tend towards larger blooms which may also be white, purple, pink or orange in colour. Their scent may be described as delicate and fruity.