Nature’s Wonders I Planted Roots in Mexico series – A Glimpse into “The Medicinal Jungle”

By Tommy Clarkson on the Winter 2022/2023 Edition Man does not live nor survive  on meat alone! Vegetative material is a key component in our lives. Be it for food, clothing, household items or their health and healing applications, we need  I’ve pulled verbatim five of these plants. As seen through our first book series, “The Civilized […]

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Nature’s Wonders I Planted Roots in Mexico series-Hibiscus

By Tommy Clarkson on the Winter 2021/2022 Edition Hibiscus Family Malvaceae Also known as Rose Mallows (Regular readers of my weekly column, “Planting Roots in Mexico,” or those who’ve perused the first two volumes of our “The Civilized Jungle” series, are aware that, generally, I strive to write about specific species, not general genera – somehow that […]

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Hybrid Glory Bower Vine – I Planted Roots in Mexico

By Tommy Clarkson on the April 2021 Edition Hybrid Glory Bower Vine Clerodendrum x speciosum Family: Lamiaceae Also known as: Clerodendrom Vine (Before we go one word further, if you’ve read – and remember what I wrote – about the Bleeding Heart (Clerodendrom thomsoniae) in volume I of this series, you already know over 90% of […]

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Snow Bush – I Planted Roots in Mexico

By Tommy Clarkson on the August 2020 Edition Snow Bush Breynia disticha ‘Roseo-picta’ Family Phyllanthaceae Also known as Red-leafed Snow Bush, Redleaf Breynia, Leaf Flower, Hawaiian Snow Bush, Snow-on-the-Mountain, Sweetpea Bush or Ice Cream Bush The genus Breynia is comprised of evergreen trees and shrubs from tropical forests and scrub areas of Asia, Australia, and the […]

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Angel Wing Begonia -I Planted Roots in Mexico

By Tommy Clarkson on the August 2020 Edition Angel Wing Begonia Begonia Hybrid Family Begoniaceae Also known as Cane Begonia (If ever there were a contest to find the most lop-sided leaves on a plant, this might well be a good contender. However, this uniqueness notwithstanding, with delicate, year-round “flowers” of red, pink or white, it […]

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Bougainvillea- I Planted Roots in Mexico

By Tommy Clarkson on the July 2020 Edition Bougainvillea Bougainvillea x buttiana Family Nyctaginaceae Also known as Paper Flower For many of us, this was the first non-potted, “tropical flower-ing plant” which – upon initially seeing it – we may have thought “Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore!” For me, this happened in […]

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Silver Ragwort- I Planted Roots in Mexico

By Tommy Clarkson on the November 2019 Edition Silver Ragwort Jacobaea maritima Family Asteraceae Also known as Dusty Miller A lot of my home gardening friends know this, somewhat sage like, appearing beauty, by the name, Dusty Miller. But such an appellation is also shared with a few other, similar, generally related, plants. Additionally, to my […]

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Anahaw Palm-I Planted Roots in Mexico

By Tommy Clarkson from the October 2017 Edition Anahaw Palm Livistona rotundifolia  var. ‘luzonensis’ Family: Arecaceae Also known as: Round-Leaf Fountain Palm or Footstool Palm Until recently, I thought ours was simply a Livistona rotundifo-lia. But my pal, Anders Lindstrom, of Nong Nooch Gardens near Pattaya in Thailand, patiently explained it to me thusly: “At […]

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