Mullein or "Velvet Plants"
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Radical - Our only one is about a metre tall, flowers yellow and sits in the front garden in all its majesty.
The mulleins (sg. /ˈmʌlɨn/,[1] genus Verbascum, /vɜrˈbæskəm/;[2] also known as velvet plants) are a genus of
about 250 species of flowering plants in the figwort family (Scrophulariaceae).
They are native to Europe and Asia, with the highest species diversity in the Mediterranean region.
They are biennial or perennial plants, rarely annuals or subshrubs, growing to 0.5–3 m tall.
The plants first form a dense rosette of leaves at ground level, subsequently sending up a tall flowering stem.
Biennial plants form the rosette the first year and the stem the following season.
The leaves are spirally arranged, often densely hairy, though glabrous (hairless) in some species.
The flowers have five symmetrical petals; petal colours in different species include yellow (most common),
orange, red-brown, purple, blue, or white. The fruit is a capsule containing numerous minute seeds.
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Tradescantia or Spiderwort
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Radical- Ours spreads over its alloted area. Its about a half a metre high, has pretty deep blue triangular flowers with yellow centres appearing from its spider like leaves. Its easy to control and transplant and makes for great ground cover.
Tradescantia ( /ˌtrædɨˈskæntiə/),[2] the Spiderworts, is a genus of an estimated 71 species of perennial
plants in the family Commelinaceae, native to the New World from southern Canada south to northern Argentina.
They are weakly upright to scrambling plants, growing to 30–60 cm tall, and are commonly found individually or in clumps in wooded areas and fields.
The leaves are long, thin and bladelike to lanceolate, from 3–45 cm long.
The flowers can be white, pink, or purple, but are most commonly bright blue, with three petals and six yellow anthers.
The sap is mucilaginous and clear.
A number of the species flower in the morning and when the sun shines on the flowers in the afternoon they close, but can remain open on cloudy days until evening. Unlike most wildflowers of the United States and Canada (other than orchids and lilies), spiderworts are monocots and not dicots.
Though sometimes considered a weed, spiderwort is cultivated for borders and also used in containers. Where it appears as a volunteer, it is often welcomed and allowed to stay.
