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Plant Highlights By Date

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Wooleya farinosa

November 2020

South Africa is home to many plants in the Ice Plant Family (Aizoaceae), and they are well-represented in the winter-rainfall area in the west of the country. A few of these are widely grown, but others are seldom seen in cultivation, as is the case with Wooleya farinosa.

Trithrinax campestris

October 2020

At the Ruth Bancroft Garden we grow Trithrinax campestris, a palm native to northern Argentina and Uruguay. This species is known as the caranday palm, or alternatively as the blue needle palm, with the latter name referring to its sharp-tipped leaves.

Coryphantha tripugionacantha

September 2020

Coryphantha is a genus of relatively small globular or short-columnar cacti native to the southwestern U.S. and Mexico. While some Coryphantha species are found over a large area, others are quite localized. One such localized species is Coryphantha tripugionacantha, which is found only in a remote area of far western Zacatecas in west-central Mexico.

Tulista pumila

August 2020

The biggest of all is Tulista pumila, which has several synonyms under its old placement in Haworthia: Haworthia margaritifera, Haworthia maxima, and Haworthia pumila

Aloe pearsonii × distans (Aloe ‘Hellskloof Bells’)

July 2020

Among South Africa’s many species of Aloe are Aloe pearsonii and Aloe distans, two related species from the winter-rainfall region in the western part of the country. Read about what happened when the two species were hybridized.

Boophone disticha

June 2020

Plants in the Amaryllis Family (Amaryllidaceae) are found around the world. Among the African species are several featured prominently in the plantings at the Ruth Bancroft Garden, and one of these is Boophone disticha.

Ferocactus pilosus

May 2020

Most of the cacti commonly referred to as “barrel cacti” belong to the genus Ferocactus, and these are found in the southwestern United States and through much of Mexico. One of the large species is Ferocactus pilosus, found in north-central to northeastern Mexico.

Banksia formosa (syn. – Dryandra formosa)

April 2020

The plant named Banksia formosa was originally published as a Dryandra, and its common name of “showy dryandra” reflects this.

Yucca brevifolia

March 2020

The genus Yucca is widespread in the southern part of the U.S. and southward to southern Mexico. Among the tree-like species, one of the better known is Yucca brevifolia, often referred to as the Joshua Tree.

Leucadendron ‘Ebony’

February 2020

The Proteaceae, or Protea Family, has two important centers of diversity, in South Africa and in Australia. An example that has attracted much attention in recent years is Leucadendron ‘Ebony’.

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