plant taxonomy

Agave bracteosa 'Monaco Princess'

Lusting after the Princess of Monaco

I remember first seeing on-line images of Agave bracteosa ‘Monaco Princess’ over two decades ago, and it was lust at first sight. Tracking down my new found target of desire proved much more difficult than I could have ever imagined. After some deep on-line dives, I was able to determine that the plant was discovered

Lusting after the Princess of Monaco Read More »

Machilus thunbergii

Thunberg’s Bay

Looking great in the garden, as we turn the page on a new year is the Japanese bay tree. I first met Machilus thunbergii (Lauraceae) thanks to my horticultural mentor, the late J.C. Raulston, who extolled the virtues of this evergreen tree, native to Taiwan, Southern China, Vietnam, Korea, and Japan. J.C. had been frustrated,

Thunberg’s Bay Read More »

Mahonia hybrid seedling

Re-imagining Mahonia

Mahonias are highly prized by gardeners as winter-flowering evergreen shrubs, but the majority of mahonias that most people know are the Mahonia x media (M. japonica x lomarifolia) selections, that originated in the UK. With age, these can reach 10-12′ tall, and are highly prized for their fragrant winter flowers, and ability to feed pollinators

Re-imagining Mahonia Read More »

Echinoagave albopilosa

Mexican Peter Cottontail

While most folks think of wabbits when the hear Peter Cottontail, I can’t help but think of a very special Mexican century plant, Agave albopilosa. Agave albopilosa is simply the most amazing agave species ever discovered, and one that took the succulent world by storm when it was first published in 2007. The small population

Mexican Peter Cottontail Read More »

Hellenia speciosa 'Wizard of Oz'

Costumed in the Garden

We’ve long been fans of the tropical crepe ginger, Costus speciosus. We’ve trialed it several times, however, with no long term winter hardiness here in Zone 7b…until…a group of friends were botanizing in far Northern Vietnam, near the Chinese border, when plantsman Ozzie Johnson spotted it growing there at 3,900′ elevation. Returning home with a

Costumed in the Garden Read More »

Podophyllum peltatum 'Maid Marion'

March flowers bring May Apples, along with a Taxonomic headache

We’ve been fascinated by mayapples of the genus Podophyllum, ever since first studying them in my NC backyard over 60 years ago. It was always a bit disappointing that they went dormant in late May, and often seem to be afflicted by several foliar diseases. It was not until three decades later (mid-1990s) that I

March flowers bring May Apples, along with a Taxonomic headache Read More »

Agave ovatifolia 'Vanzie'

Re-arranging Limbs on the Family Tree – When is an Agave not an Agave?

The botanical world has long been a tug of war between the taxonomic world of lumpers and splitters. Lumpers prefer to combine as many plants as they can into a single genus or species, while splitters prefer to categorize in the opposite direction, creating new genera and species when they feel the science dictates. We

Re-arranging Limbs on the Family Tree – When is an Agave not an Agave? Read More »

Scroll to Top