Shaving Brush Plant – I Planted Roots in Mexico

By Tommy Clarkson on the January 2021 Edition Shaving Brush Plant Pseudobombax ellipticum Family Bombacaeae Also known as Pink Bombax or Wool and Cotton Tree Upon seeing the flowers of the Shaving Brush Tree, one instantly comprehends how and why it got its name. But, beyond looking a great deal like what its name implies, they […]

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Night Blooming Jasmine – I Planted Roots in Mexico

By Tommy Clarkson on the January 2021 Edition Night Blooming Jasmine Cestrum nocturnum Family Solanaceae Also known as Lady of the Night, Night Queen, Queen of the Night. Night Jasmine, Night Jessamine, Dama de Noche, Night Syringo, Night Cestrum, Night-Blooming Jessamine or Night Blooming Cestrum With some of those other names, one might confuse it with a […]

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Narrow-Leaf Chalksticks – I Planted Roots in Mexico

By Tommy Clarkson on the December 2020 Edition Narrow-Leaf Chalksticks Senecio vitalis Family Ateroceae Also known as Blue Chalk Fingers or Senecio (Right now, I am sorely dismayed, displeased and disgusted with a specific species of the insect world. How, why, what and where so? Well, to be specific, it is one particularly horned and ugly […]

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Christmas Cactus – I Planted Roots in Mexico

By Tommy Clarkson on the December 2020 Edition Christmas Cactus Schlumbergera bridgessi Family Cactaceae Also known as Thanksgiving Cactus, Easter Cactus, Holiday Cactus or Crab Cactus (Once again, I am reminded that the mind is a terrible thing to lose – but, then again, that’s taking the premise that I ever really started out with much […]

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Watermelon Pepperomia – I Planted Roots in Mexico

By Tommy Clarkson on the November 2020 Edition Watermelon Pepperomia Peperomia argyreia Family Piperaceae Also known as Baby Rubber Plant, Blunt-Leaved Peperomia or Pepperface In Volume I of “The Civilized Jungle”, I wrote about the herbaceous perennial, Pepperface (Peperomia obtusifolia), which is the pure and basic, green-leafed species of the Peperomia genus. (By the by, the […]

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Texas Palmetto – I Planted Roots in Mexico

By Tommy Clarkson on the November 2020 Edition Texas Palmetto Sabal Mexicana Family Arecaceae Also known as Rio Grande Palmetto, Texas Sabal Palm, Texas Palm, Mexican Palmetto or Palmetto Cabbage (We’ve been able to grow almost any palm in Ola Brisa Gar-dens. But not this one! I’ve striven, repeatedly, to acquire one from “the wild”, from […]

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Curiosity Plant- I Planted Roots in Mexico

By Tommy Clarkson on the October 2020 Edition Curiosity Plant Cereus hildmannianus v. monstrose Family Cactaceae Also known as Cereus monstrose (For more, read on!) Curious and concerned about the health and well-being of various – like me, aging – family and friends, I recently took off from Manzanillo, embarking upon a nearly six week driving […]

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Arrowhead Philodendron – I Planted Roots in Mexico

By Tommy Clarkson on the October 2020 Edition Arrowhead Philodendron Syngonium podophyllum Family Araceae Also known as Arrowhead Plant, Arrowhead Vine, Goosefoot, African Evergreen or American evergreen, Tri -Leaf Wonder, Nephthytis or Five-fingers (In Volume II of this series, I wrote about the Arrowhead Vine (Syngonium podophyllum). For all intents and purposes, this is the very […]

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Red Aglaonema – I Planted Roots in Mexico

By Tommy Clarkson on the September 2020 Edition Red Aglaonema Aglaonema Creta Family Araceae Also known as Chinese Evergreen In Volume I of “The Civilized Jungle” series, I wrote about theChinese Evergreen (Aglaonema commutatum) or, sometimes, called an A. pseudo bracteata. Ours prolifically grow beneath a large and beautiful Bougainvillea to the left and on the […]

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Choco Palm – I Planted Roots in Mexico

By Tommy Clarkson on the September 2020 Edition Choco Palm Astrocaryum mexicanum Family Arecaceae Also known as Lancetilla or Chichon The genus Astrocaryum is comprised of eighteen, very spiny, pinnate leaved palms. As a whole, they grow naturally in the West Indies, through Mexico, through Central America and into South America. The genus name is derived […]

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