FFF404 - NARCISSUS

Narcissus is a genus of predominantly spring perennial plants in the Amaryllidaceae family. Various common names including daffodil, daffadowndilly, narcissus, and jonquil are used to describe all or some members of the genus. Narcissus has conspicuous flowers with six petal-like tepals surmounted by a cup- or trumpet-shaped corona. The flowers are generally white or yellow (orange or pink in garden varieties), with either uniform or contrasting coloured tepals and corona.

Narcissus were well known in ancient civilisation, both medicinally and botanically, but formally described by Linnaeus' in his Species Plantarum (1753). The genus is generally considered to have about ten sections with approximately 50 species. The number of species has varied, depending on how they are classified, due to similarity between species and hybridisation. The genus arose some time in the Late Oligocene to Early Miocene epochs, in the Iberian peninsula and adjacent areas of southwest Europe.

The exact origin of the name Narcissus is unknown, but it is often linked to a Greek word for intoxicated (narcotic) and the myth of the youth of that name who fell in love with his own reflection. The English word 'daffodil' appears to be derived from "asphodel", with which it was commonly compared. The species are native to meadows and woods in southwest Europe and North Africa with a centre of diversity in the Western Mediterranean, particularly the Iberian peninsula.

Both wild and cultivated plants have naturalised widely, and were introduced into the Far East prior to the tenth century. Narcissi tend to be long-lived bulbs, which propagate by division, but are also insect-pollinated. Known pests, diseases and disorders include viruses, fungi, the larvae of flies, mites and nematodes. Some Narcissus species have become extinct, while others are threatened by increasing urbanisation and tourism. Dafffodil breeding has introduced a wide range of colours, in both the outer perianth tepal segment and the inner corona. In the registry, daffodils are coded by the colours of each of these two parts. Thus in the photo below of Narcissus 'Geranium', Tazetta (Division 8) has a white outer perianth and orange corona and is classified as 8 W-O.

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FFF403 - WAX FLOWER,

Philotheca myoporoides, commonly known as long-leaf wax flower, is a shrub in the family Rutaceae. The species is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It is usually up to 2 metres high and produces white flowers in spring and autumn. The species was first formally described in 1824 by Swiss botanist Augustin Pyramus de Candolle who gave it the name Eriostemon myoporoides. It was transferred to the genus Philotheca in 1998.

Five subspecies are currently recognised in the Australian Plant Census:

P. myoporoides subsp. acuta

P. myoporoides subsp. brevipedunculata

P. myoporoides subsp. euroensis - occurs in the Garden Range near Euroa, Victoria

P. myoporoides subsp. myoporoides

P. myoporoides subsp. petraeus - occurs on Mount Stewart in East Gippsland, Victoria.

In recent years a number of subspecies have been raised to species status including Philotheca conduplicata, P. epilosa, P. glasshousiensis (syn. P. myoporoides subsp. leichhardti), P. obovatifolia and P. queenslandica. Philotheca myoporoides occurs in dry forest and heathland in New South Wales.

In Victoria, it is recorded in woodland in rocky, mountainous areas in association with Eucalyptus regnans. It is also found in Queensland. Caterpillars of the Orchard Butterfly feed on this species. The species is well adapted to cultivation, and plants are commercially available at nurseries in Australia. The species prefers a well-drained position in light shade. Established plants tolerate both dry periods and moderate frost. Plants may be propagated from semi-mature cuttings, though some forms are slow to take root.

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FFF402 - CORAL TREE

Erythrina crista-galli is a flowering tree in the family Fabaceae, native to Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil and Paraguay. It is widely planted as a street or garden tree in other countries, most notably in the United States, Australia and South Africa. It is known by several common names within South America: Ceibo, seíbo (Spanish), corticeira (Portuguese) and the more ambiguous bucaré, to name a few. In English it is often known as the Cockspur Coral Tree. 

The ceibo is the national tree of Argentina, and its flower the national flower of Argentina and Uruguay. This species characteristically grows wild in gallery forest ecosystems along watercourses, as well as in swamps and wetlands. In urban settings, it is often planted in parks for its highly decorative, bright red flowers. Even in the temperate climate of Melbourne the tree does very well and is a feature of many parks, gardens and nature strips along streets. The flowers will produce patterned bean-like seeds in pods.

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FFF401 - VIOLETS

Viola is a genus of flowering plants in the violet family Violaceae. It is the largest genus in the family, containing between 525 and 600 species. Most species are found in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, however some are also found in widely divergent areas such as Hawaii, Australasia, and the Andes. Some Viola species are perennial plants, some are annual plants, and a few are small shrubs. A large number of species, varieties and cultivars are grown in gardens for their ornamental flowers.

In horticulture the term "pansy" is normally used for those multi-coloured, large-flowered cultivars which are raised annually or biennially from seed and used extensively in bedding. The terms "viola" and "violet" are normally reserved for small-flowered annuals or perennials, including the type species.

Viola odorata is a species of the genus Viola native to Europe and Asia, but has also been introduced to North America and Australia. It is commonly known as wood violet, sweet violet, English violet, common violet, florist's violet, or garden violet. The sweet scent of this flower has proved popular throughout the generations particularly in the late Victorian period, and has consequently been used in the production of many cosmetic fragrances and perfumes. The scent of violet flowers is distinctive with only a few other flowers having a remotely similar odour.

References to violets and the desirable nature of the fragrance go back to classical sources such as Pliny and Horace when the name ‘Ion’ was in use to describe this flower from which the name of the distinctive chemical constituents of the flower, the ionones – is derived. The leaves are edible and contain mucilage.

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FFF400 - MADONNA LILY

Lilium candidum (popularly known as the Madonna Lily) is a true lily in the Liliaceae family. It is native to Greece, the western Balkans and the Middle East, and naturalised in other parts of Europe (France, Italy, Ukraine, etc.) as well as in North Africa, the Canary Islands, Mexico, and other places.

It forms bulbs at ground level, and unlike other lilies, has a basal rosette of leaves through the winter, which die back in summer. A leafy flower stem, typically up to 1.2 metres high, sometimes up to 2 metres high, emerges in late spring and bears fragrant flowers in summer. Flowers are white, flushed yellow at the base. It has long been cultivated, but is susceptible to virus diseases of lilies, and to Botrytis fungus. One possible way to avoid problems with viruses is to grow plants raised from seed. 

The Madonna lily is often described as being the basis of the fleur-de-lis, though the shape of this stylised flower more strongly resembles that of a flag iris. Madonna lilies are depicted in a fresco at the Minoan palace of Knossos. The Madonna Lily symbolises purity for Roman Catholics. Medieval depictions of the Blessed Virgin Mary often show her holding these flowers.

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