Yellow saraca - Currently in bloom Feb 2010 at TSG

5) Brunfelsia eximia / Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow flowers [at garden entrance]

Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow - Multi coloured fragrant flowers

6) Lagerstroemia speciosa / Giant -Crape Mrytle [behind putat on Heliconia/ ginger walk]

This perennial is a dessiduous plant which means it loses its leaves at certain times of the year – usually during its flowering time. [more on dessiduous vs. evergreen next week]

Biennial [not typical of tropical flowers]

A biennial plant is a flowering plant that takes two years to complete its biological lifecycle. In the first year the plant grows leaves, stems, and roots, then it enters a period of dormancy over the colder months. Usually the stem remains very short and the leaves are low to the ground, forming a rosette.

Annual [not typical of tropical flowers]

In gardening, annual often refers to a plant grown outdoors in the spring and summer and surviving just for one growing season. Many food plants are, or are grown as, annuals, including most domesticated grains. Some perennials and biennials are grown in gardens as annuals for convenience, particularly if they are not considered cold hardy for the local climate.

Many annual flowering plants can behave like perennials in the tropics as it drops its seeds in autumn before the frost of winter sets in.

Examples of annuals at Tropical Spice Garden:

1) Musa paradisiaca / Banana flower – annual plants that flower all year round!

Musa paradisiaca - flower a.k.a. banana heart

2) Cannas – can be grown as an annual in colder climates

Catch us next week when we look into dessiduous vs. evergreen shrubs