In flower: Solanum pyracanthos

S.pyracanthos

A couple of years ago I obtained at Malvern Flower Show a plant of Solanum pyracanthos, the Porcupine Tomato. The reason for the name is pretty obvious – it is heavily armed on the stem and even the leaves with serious spikes.

In flower: Pelargonium reniforme

P.reniforme flower

 Just come into flower in my conservatory is a new plant of Pelargonium reniforme, the kidney-leaved pelargonium. This species originates from the Eastern Cape province in South Africa, where it grows on dry flats which are subject to fairly regular fires. It is a small plant, growing as a shrub around 30cm tall, sometimes to 1m. The leaves are kidney-shaped (hence the name) and are covered with downy hairs which help reduce evaporation.

In Flower: Haworthia pygmaea

Haworthia pygmaea

Living across southern Africa is a large group (150+ species) of mostly small, rosette forming succulent plants in the genus Haworthia. Like their relatives the Aloes they are leaf succulents, storing water over the long dry season in fleshy leaves. Currently in flower in my conservatory is one of the smaller species, Haworthia pygmaea.

In Flower: Pelargonium aridum

Pelargonium aridum

One of the most familiar of garden and house plants in much of the world are the various forms of what are often called Geraniums or storksbills, when they are not referred to as their proper generic name of Pelargonium.

Pleione Orchids

P.hookeriana

One of my interests has always been odd or unusual plants, and last year I decided to experiment with growing some of the near-hardy terrestrial orchids known as Pleione. After flowering some last year in the spring, I grew them on over the summer and have now produced a new set of flowers.

Nature of Corsica 4: Trees and Shrubs

Umbrella Pine, Pinus pinea

With very little level ground for fields, most of northern Corsica that we saw is covered with forest and scrub.  Starting at the coast, on sunny hillsides can be found Euphorbia dendroides, Tree Spurge, the only non-herbaceous Euphorbia native to the mainland of Europe. It has a range around the Mediterranean, but because of its ornamental appearance it has been used in gardens in other parts of the world. As with many such plants, in some places it has “jumped the fence” and become an invasive weed in some places (California for example). This is especially a problem as like all Euphorbias it has a toxic latex and may cause dermatitis in people who come in contact with it

Nature of Corsica 3: Herbaceous plants

G.asclepiadea

In areas with more constant water supply, such as by the sides of streams or under trees, there are a wide variety of herbaceous plants and shrubs, many of which are known as ornamental garden plants or as culinary or medicinal herbs. One of the most ornamental of those in flower at the time of our visit is the Willow Gentian, Gentiana asclepiadea. This is a much taller growing plant than the alpine gentians more familiar to most gardeners, and reached around 70cm in some of the clumps we found – these were mostly by the edge of streams. In cultivation they need humus-rich, moist soil in shade, similar to their native habitat, which is primarily montane woodland across Europe from the Alps eastwards. Although the usual form has deep blue flowers, pale forms are also found – see the example below:

Nature of Corsica 2: Bulbs

Cyclamen hederifolium

Before the arrival of people, Corsica and Sardinia were home to a range of endemic large mammals. Although these are now sadly gone, there are still a huge range of native plants, many endemic to the island, although they are usually closely related to those in Italy or other parts of southern Europe, especially those around the coast. At higher elevations are found plants more widespread across Europe and into Asia across the temperate and alpine zones. Many are spring flowering, but other flower all year or only in the autumn, so I got some reasonable photos. I will cover them over the next few posts, but I will start with the bulbs and others.

Quest for the wild canary 10: Other non-passerines

Laurel Pigeon

Of the remaining non-passerines to be covered, the most important are the pigeons. Six species breed on the islands, of which two are endemic. We managed to see the two endemic pigeons, Laurel Pigeon Columba junoniae and Bolle’s Pigeon C.bolii, on La Gomera, after some searching in the laurasilva forest.

Halloween: Behold the Great Pumpkin

For the last week the zoo has had its Halloween week, with among other special events some displays of pumpkins and squashes grown by the gardeners. Traditionally, the only members of the pumpkin family grown on any scale in the UK were marrows and their smaller relatives the courgette (zucchini), but with more varieties for sale in supermarkets more people are growing other varieties, such as butternut squash and, of course, pumpkins.

Hot off the press

C.annuum

How on earth did people come to decide that chilli peppers were a good addition to a meal? Here is a plant that comes from a family (the Solanaceae) which are often poisonous, and whose fruits contain a compound that specifically attacks mammalian pain receptors, causing a severe burning sensation. Nonetheless, about 8 or 9 thousand years ago, someone in Central or South America tried one and thought ”Hey, that’s great! I will put it in all my food!”

The day of the gingers

Just a brief interruption on the series on Bristol’s parrots to cover one of the plant collections we have here. Bristol holds two national collections as part of the National Council for the Conservation of Plants and Gardens (now renamed Plant Heritage), which is a gardeners organisation in the UK dedicated to the preservation, conservation, and research on garden plants. As part of its work, Plant Heritage regulates no less than 650 plant collections held by both public bodies like Bristol Zoo or Kew gardens, and also keen amateur gardeners. For more on the NCCPG see the link here: http://www.nccpg.com/

Trees of Bristol 1: The Whitebeams and others

Outside the aquarium at Bristol there is a small garden containing various rare or endemic plants of the Avon Gorge, among them are several trees, including two endemic forms of Sorbus, the genus that contains the Whitebeams and Rowan trees. The South West of England is a major global centre of diversity in Sorbus, with at least 16 native species plus another two naturalised European forms in the Avon Gorge that runs by the zoo, and more being identified all the time. In addition, more endemic species can be found nearby in north Devon, the Cheddar Gorge, and Symonds’ Yat.