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September Surprises

It is always a thrill to stumble across a plant that I may have forgotten about or one that does something unexpected. That has happened several times over the past weeks.  First, the vine pictured above is the Eastern Prince Schisandra vine ( Schinensis chinensis ), also known as "Magnolia Vine".  I purchased it in May of 2023 from One Green World in Portland. I don't know what attracted me to it, other than the fact that I'd never heard of it before and the description sounded nice.  I didn't forget about this plant; in fact, it has grown quite vigorously up an archway at the entrance to our woodland path. It shares space alongside the rose 'Lamarque'.  I did forget that it produces berries, so I was surprised when I looked up and saw them dangling over the top of the arbor.  The berries are used in Chinese medicine. They are called the "Five Flavor Berry" and said to have five flavors in one - sweet, salty, bitter, tangy and sour.  Chinese le...

Tropical Plants at the Kyoto Botanical Garden Conservatory


I failed to share any of these photos previously on Instagram, partly because I wanted to label everything, and I knew that would require some work. I did not recognize 90% of the plants in the Kyoto Botanical Gardens Conservatory. I tried to get photos of the tags although that was not always possible and some plants did not have labels. So here is what I do have. In Part 2, I will show the desert house (or was it called "Cactus House")? I forget!

The conservatory was amazing and a huge complex (the photo above is only a minor portion of it). It is a maze of buildings, and we got lost on more than one occasion. Unfortunately, the outdoor gardens were not as nice and needed work. The conservatory made up for that though and it was well worth the visit.

A few pics taken outside the conservatory which did look nice -



And now, proceeding inside. If you don't see a caption, that means I didn't get the name but wanted to share the photo.




Heritiera littoralis (Looking Glass Mangrove)


Alsomitra macrocarpa  (Javan Cucumber)

Aristolochia goldieana (Goldie's Dutchman's pipe)


Chamadorea elegans (Neanthe bella palm)

Hibiscus schizopetalus (Japanese Lantern)

Fuchsia regia var. Alpestris

Dichorisandra thyrsiflora (Blue Ginger) - I want one of these!


Averrhoa carambola (Star Fruit)

Barringtonia racemosa (Powder Puff Tree)

Carica Papaya 'Red Lady'

Delonix regia (Royal Poinciana)

Tigridiopalma magnifica


Seemannia sylvatica - Bolivian Sunset

Sandoricum indicum - Cotton Fruit


Rhododendron loranthiflorum



Pandanus utilis - Screw Pine


Osmoxylon linea 'Variegata'









Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy

Comments

  1. What a beautiful place! And like other parts of Japan you've shared, the garden appears meticulously maintained.

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    1. This part was but other parts were not. :(

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  2. Wow, thank you for taking the time to I.D. these. Gorgeous, both of the palms really are striking to me. A Botanical garden so large you got lost several times, that sounds fantastic. I cannot WAIT for the Cactus house!

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  3. Osmoxylon linea 'Variegata'... so cool! I also love the walls of ferns, isn't it fabulous to see so many plants you've never laid eyes on before?

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  4. The large trees are amazing. Thank you for taking us on this tour.

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  5. Gorgeousness. Thanks for sharing.

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