Neomarica

Neomarica (Walking Iris or Apostle Plant) is a genus of 16 species of plants in family Iridaceae, native to tropical regions of western Africa, and Central and South America, with the highest diversity (12 species) in Brazil.

They are herbaceous perennial plants that propagate by way of a thick rhizome and new plantlets that develop from the stem where flowers once emerged. The plants grow erect, and have long slender lanceolate leaves from 30-160 cm long and 1-4 cm broad, depending on the species. They produce very fragrant flowers that last for a short period of time, often only 18 hours.

The flowers emerge from what appears to be just another leaf, but is really a flower stalk structured to look like the other leaves; they are 5-10 cm diameter, and closely resemble Iris flowers. After pollination, the new plantlet appears where the flower emerged and the stalk continues to grow longer. The weight of the growing plantlet causes the stalk to bend toward the ground, allowing the new plantlet to root away from its parent. This is how it obtained the common name of "Walking Iris". The other common name "Apostle Plant" comes from the belief that the plant will not flower until the individual has at least 12 leaves, the number of apostles of Jesus.


Cultivation and uses
Some Neomarica species such as Neomarica northiana, Neomarica longifolia, and Neomarica caerulea are common ornamental plants that are easily cultivated both in gardens in subtropical and tropical regions, and as houseplants in temperate areas.


Species
Neomarica capitellata

Neomarica silvestris

Neomarica portosecurensis

Neomarica paradoxa

Neomarica rotundata

Neomarica imbricata

Neomarica longifolia

Neomarica rupestris

Neomarica nitida

Neomarica northiana

Neomarica sabini

Neomarica caerulea

Neomarica caulosa

Neomarica fluminensis

Neomarica gracilis

Neomarica variegata

Dasylirion

Dasylirion is a genus of 17 species of flowering plants in the family Ruscaceae, all native to Mexico, with three species also extending into the southwestern United States.


Some species
Dasylirion... more >>>

Telopea - Waratah

Waratah (Telopea) is a genus of five species of large shrubs or small trees in the Proteaceae, native to southeastern Australia, from New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania. They have spirally arranged leaves 10-20 cm long and 2-3 cm broad... more >>>

Tabebuia

Tabebuia is a neotropical genus of about 100 species in the tribe Tecomeae of the family Bignoniaceae. The species range from northern Mexico and the Antilles south to northern Argentina, including the Caribbean islands of Hispaniola... more >>>

Elaeocarpus

Elaeocarpus is a genus of tropical and subtropical evergreen trees and shrubs. The approximately 350 species are distributed from Madagascar in the west through India, Southeast Asia, Malaysia, southern China, and Japan, through Australia to... more >>>

Terminalia

Terminalia is a genus of large trees of the flowering plant family, Combretaceae, comprising around 100 species distributed in tropical regions of the world. This genus gets it name from Latin terminus, referring to the fact that the leaves... more >>>