FFF560 - CALLERY PEAR

Pyrus calleryana, the Callery pear known in the USA as the Bradford Pear, is a species of pear native to China and Vietnam, in the family Rosaceae. It is a deciduous tree growing to 5 to 8 m tall, often with a conic to rounded crown. The leaves are oval, 4 to 8 cm long, glossy dark green above, and slightly paler below. 

The white, five-petaled flowers are about 2 to 2.5 cm in diameter. They are produced abundantly in early spring, before the leaves expand fully. The fruits of the Callery pear are small (less than one cm in diameter), and hard, almost woody, until softened by frost, after which they are readily taken by birds, which disperse the seeds in their droppings.

In summer, the foliage is dark green and very smooth, and in autumn the leaves commonly turn brilliant colours, ranging from yellow and orange to more commonly red, pink, purple, and bronze. Their dense clusters of white blossoms are conspicuous and very pretty in early spring, however their smell is commonly found unpleasant by many people (me included!). The smell is often described as 'fishy' and 'putrid'.

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FFF559 - FOTHERGILLA

Fothergilla ‘Mount Airy’ is a hybrid Fothergilla cultivar that was discovered by plantsman Michael A. Dirr at the Mt. Airy Arboretum in Cincinnati, Ohio. This is a vigorous deciduous shrub that grows 1.5 m tall and is noted for its profuse spring flowering, excellent summer foliage, excellent Autumn colour and consistently upright habit.

Terminal, bottlebrush-like spikes (2-5 cm long) of tiny, fragrant, apetulous, white flowers bloom in mid- to late Spring after the foliage emerges. Flower colour comes from the dense clusters of showy stamens (white filaments and yellowish anthers). Flowers have a honey-scented fragrance. Leathery, ovate to obovate leaves (4-10 cm long) are dark green above and bluish-gray beneath.Foliage turns excellent shades of yellow, orange and red-purple in Autumn.

Genus name honours Dr. John Fothergill, 18th century English physician and early collector of American plants. ‘Mount Airy’ may be a cross between two southeastern U. S. natives, F. gardenii and F. major. It is taller than the former but shorter than the latter.

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FFF558 - PURPLE-LEAF PLUM

Prunus cerasifera 'Atropurpurea' is a shrub to a small tree in the rose family that grows 15-25 feet tall and wide with a vase to a rounded shape. The reddish-purple leaves are the attraction to this plant along with the showy white to pink spring flowers, with a honey-like fragrance. The leaves maintain their colour most of the year. They are fairly short-lived and susceptible to insects and diseases. Twigs and fruit drop can be messy. Purpleleaf plum isn't picky about soil type or pH and is moderately drought tolerant once established. Leaf colour is best when grown in full sun.

The tree porduces 2 to 4 cm fleshy fruits, which are reddish-purple drupes. They are produced prolifically and are edible by wildlife and humans. They make excellent jam and can be pickled.

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FFF557 - WINTER JASMINE

Jasminum nudiflorum, the winter jasmine, is a slender, deciduous shrub native to China (Gansu, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Xizang (Tibet), Yunnan). The flower's blossoming peaks right after winter, which is why it is also named Yingchun (迎春) in Chinese, which means "the flower that welcomes Spring". It is widely cultivated as an ornamental and is reportedly naturalized in France and in scattered locations in the United States (Texas, Oklahoma, Georgia, Tennessee, Maryland and New Jersey).

Jasminum nudiflorum is valued by gardeners as one of the few plants that are in flower during the winter months. It is frequently trained against a wall to provide extra warmth and shelter, but also lends itself to groundcover. It tolerates hard pruning and should be pruned in spring immediately after flowering; regular pruning will help to prevent bare patches. It can also be grown as a bonsai and is very tolerant of the wiring methods. It likes full sun or partial shade and is hardy. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. It can be propagated using the layering technique.

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FFF556 - NARCISSUS

Narcissus is a genus of predominantly spring perennial plants in the Amaryllidaceae (amaryllis) 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. The hybrid illustrated here is "Tresamble".

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.

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FFF555 - SCABIOUS

Scabiosa is a genus in the teasel Family Dipsacaceae of flowering plants. Many of the species in this genus have common names that include the word scabious; however some plants commonly known as scabious are currently classified in related genera such as Knautia and Succisa; at least some of these were formerly placed in Scabiosa. Another common name for members of this genus is pincushion flowers.

Members of this genus are native to Europe and Asia. Some species of Scabiosa, notably small scabious (S. columbaria) and Mediterranean sweet scabious (S. atropurpurea) have been developed into cultivars for gardeners. Illustrated here is the Scabiosa columbaria cultivar 'Pink Mist'.

Scabiosa plants have many small flowers of soft lavender blue, lilac or creamy white colour borne in a single head on a tall stalk. Scabious flowers are nectar rich and attract a variety of insects including moths and butterflies such as the Six-spot Burnet. Scabiosa species are also used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Grey Pug.

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FFF554 - MOUNTAIN MARIGOLD

Tagetes lemmonii, or Lemmon's marigold, is a North American species of shrubby marigold, in the family Asteraceae. Other English names for this plant include Copper Canyon Daisy, Mountain Marigold, and Mexican Marigold. It is native to the states of Sonora and Sinaloa in northwestern Mexico as well as southern Arizona in the United States.

Mountain marigold is a shrub sometimes reaching as much as 240 cm tall. Leaves are up to 12 cm long, pinnately compound into 3-5 leaflets, each leaflet narrowly lance-shaped with teeth along the edge. The plant produces many small flower heads in a flat-topped array, each head with 3-8 ray florets and 12-30 disc florets. It grows in woodlands, cliffs, and moist sites.

Tagetes lemmonii blooms from fall into spring and can sometimes be blooming for up to 10 months. The foliage is fragrant (or unpleasantly pungent to some people) when disturbed. The species is very drought tolerant in a Mediterranean climate and much used in California gardens where it tolerates light frosts without damage. It is common in Melbourne, with many gardens having good displays of flowers even in Winter.

Leaves and flowers can be dried and added to potpourri and scented sachets, for their scent and colour, but also for their pest repellent qualities.

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FFF553 - GERBERAS

Gerbera L. is a genus of ornamental plants from the sunflower family (Asteraceae). It was named in honour of the German botanist and naturalist Traugott Gerber († 1743) who travelled extensively in Russia and was a friend of Carolus Linnaeus. It has approximately 30 species in the wild, extending to South America, Africa and tropical Asia. Gerbera is also commonly known as the African Daisy.

Gerbera species bear a large capitulum with striking, two-lipped ray florets in yellow, orange, white, pink or red colours. The capitulum, which has the appearance of a single flower, is actually composed of hundreds of individual flowers. The morphology of the flowers varies depending on their position in the capitulum. The flower heads can be as small as 7 cm (Gerbera mini 'Harley') in diameter or up to 12 cm (Gerbera ‘Golden Serena’).

Gerbera is very popular and widely used as a decorative garden plant or as cut flowers. The domesticated cultivars are mostly a result of a cross between Gerbera jamesonii and another South African species Gerbera viridifolia. The cross is known as Gerbera hybrida. Thousands of cultivars exist. They vary greatly in shape and size. Colours include white, yellow, orange, red, and pink. The centre of the flower is sometimes black. Often the same flower can have petals of several different colours. 

Gerbera is also important commercially. It is the fifth most used cut flower in the world (after rose, carnation, chrysanthemum, and tulip). It is also used as a model organism in studying flower formation. Gerbera contains naturally occurring coumarin derivatives. Gerbera is a tender perennial plant. It is attractive to bees, butterflies and/or birds, but resistant to deer. The soil should be kept moist but not soaked.

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FFF552 - RED GERANIUM

Pelargonium x garden is also known as the common geranium, zonal geranium or bedding geranium and is a common species in the Geraniaceae Family. This species of geranium is most commonly used as an ornamental plant. Hybrids include the usual nursery "seed-grown" and the "cutting grown", which can easily be grown at home by cutting and planting side branches.

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FFF552 - CAMELLIA

Camellia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. They are found in eastern and southern Asia, from the Himalayas east to Japan and Indonesia. There are 100–250 described species, with some controversy over the exact number. The genus was named by Linnaeus after the Jesuit botanist Georg Joseph Kamel, who worked in the Philippines, though he never described a camellia. This genus is famous throughout East Asia; camellias are known as cháhuā (茶花) in Chinese, "tea flower", an apt designation, as tsubaki (椿) in Japanese, as dongbaek-kkot (동백꽃) in Korean and as hoa trà or hoa chè in Vietnamese.

Of economic importance in the Indian subcontinent and Asia, leaves of C. sinensis are processed to create the popular beverage, tea. The ornamental Camellia japonica, Camellia oleifera and Camellia sasanqua and their hybrids are represented in cultivation by a large number of cultivars.

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