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Mexican Butterworts – Pinguicula
Pinguicula laueana x P. emarginata in flower only one week after travelling through the post. The latest arrivals to the tropical greenhouse are a set of Pinguicula species originating in Mexico and...
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The flowering tree nymph in the greenhouse
There’s a special orchid in flower right now in the tropical greenhouse. Its name is Dryadella pusiola, and it’s special because its flowers are very, very small. Small enough to be dwarfed by a 5p!...
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Pinguicula gigantea – natural pest control
Pinguicula gigantea growing in a 15cm (6 inch) clay pan. The butterworts, known botanically as Pinguicula, are a varied and widespread genus. British botanists are used to seeing two species growing...
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Pinguicula laueana – a clever little brute in a pretty scarlet-red suit
Although this plant looks quite innocent and harmless with gorgeous red flowers and small, compact leaved rosettes, it ‘eats’ with great appetite little insects using unique, highly sophisticated and...
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Persea americana: Anachronistic Avocado
Avocado growing in the Reading University tropical glass house. If you’ve ever bought an avocado, you’ll know it’s one of those fruits which seems to take forever to ripen. Botanically, the fruit of...
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Horse tales: all about Equisetum myriochaetum
What’s named after a horse, older than a horse and can keep you warm in winter? So-called because of their bristly appearance, the horsetails are an intriguing group of early plants that have existed...
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You’re a botanist, what’s this then? (Or Tradescantia spathacea, this one’s...
Tradescantia spathacea, from my parents garden.©Phoebe Richardson-Moy That sentence may sound familiar to many of you who frequent this blog (followed closely by “Botany, so you’re a gardener then?”...
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