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Emu bush describes one of Australia’s most genuinely diverse native plant genera, a group so large and actively studied that taxonomists working through its considerable internal complexity expect the final species count to keep climbing for years to come. Built almost entirely around survival in the harshest, driest parts of the Australian interior, the genus … Read more

The boreal forest biome is the largest land biome on Earth, a vast band of coniferous forest that rings the entire northern hemisphere between roughly 50 and 65 degrees north latitude. Also called taiga, a Russian word now used almost interchangeably with “boreal forest” in scientific literature, it forms a distinct ecological zone sandwiched between … Read more

Australia’s Largest Plant Genus Wattle is the common name for Acacia, a genus so large and so central to the Australian landscape that it has become a national symbol in its own right. According to the CSIRO, more than 1,000 wattle species grow across the continent, ranging from towering 30-meter forest trees to tiny groundcovers … Read more

The pecan (Carya illinoinensis) is a species of hickory native to the southern United States and northern Mexico in the region of the Mississippi River. The tree is cultivated for its seed primarily in the U.S. states of Georgia, New Mexico, and Texas, and in Mexico. The word “pecan” is derived from an Algonquian word … Read more

Weeds with purple flowers cause more lawn identification confusion each spring than almost any other single color group, and according to North Carolina State University’s Nash County Extension, the most common culprit suddenly appearing in yards and landscapes each spring is usually one of 2 closely related plants, purple deadnettle or henbit, both members of … Read more

Plants with purple leaves and yellow flowers combine 2 pigment systems that work almost independently of each other, since the purple in the foliage comes from anthocyanins concentrated in the leaf tissue, while the yellow in the flowers typically comes from an entirely separate group of pigments called carotenoids or flavonoids. That independence explains why … Read more

Plants with blue and black leaves get their striking coloring from two completely different sources, neither of which involves an actual blue or black pigment, since no such pigment exists in plant foliage. According to Oregon State University’s Landscape Plants database, the silvery-blue color seen on plants like Colorado blue spruce comes from a waxy … Read more

Native berry bushes are some of the most useful plants you can add to a wildlife garden. Their berries provide seasonal food for birds and other animals, while their flowers can support pollinators and their branches and foliage offer shelter and nesting habitat. Unlike many ornamental shrubs, native berry-producing plants are adapted to the climates … Read more

Poplar trees are tall deciduous trees valued for ornament, shelter belts, pulp and wood, and include cottonwood and aspen. Poplar trees produce bright green leaves. In the fall the leaves sometimes take on a bright yellow or gold color. The flowers of the poplar are yellowish catakins that form on the tree in the spring before … Read more

There is something particularly striking about a weeping evergreen that you don’t fully appreciate until you see one growing in a garden. I remember how different these trees looked from ordinary upright conifers—the branches seemed to pour downward rather than simply extend outward. What surprised me most was how much personality individual trees could develop. … Read more