Banyan Tree Trunks and Roots

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The original Banyan tree is Ficus benghalensis and native to India. The name Banyan refers to banyans, or traders, who commonly sold their merchandise under a Banyan tree in India. Typical leaves on a Banyan are glossy green, large, and elliptical in shape. Banyan trees have a unique root system consisting of both shallow, spreading subterranean roots and aerial “prop” roots that hang from the branches.

The first image at Fullerton Botanical Garden shows only banyan tree trunks, where the tree has not fully matured. The other photos are of a mature banyan tree in India.

Banyan Tree Trunks

Old Banyan Tree

Roots of a Banyan Tree

Mini Angel’s Trumpet

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Mini Angel’s Trumpets (Brugmansia) come in a variety of vibrant pastel and deep colors, including white, yellow, gold, orange, peach, and pink. Some rarer, deep-colored varieties also feature stunning shades of red and green.

Mini Angel’s Trumpet

Yellow Flowers of Prickly Pear Cactus

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Yellow flowers of the prickly pear cactus (Opuntia), at Fullerton Botanical Garden, are vibrant, waxy, cup-shaped blossoms that typically measure 2 to 4 inches in diameter and bloom from late spring through mid-summer. These striking desert blooms emerge singly or in small groups from the upper curved edges of the plant’s flattened, green pads.

Blooming Prickly Pear Cactus

Yellow Flowers of Prickly Pear Cactus

Tower of Jewels

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The towering, striking, and unusual plant, Echium wildpretii, ‘Tower of Jewels.’ While this plant stands at nearly seven feet tall, its tiny, salmon-colored flowers are what make it truly magnificent. Here are some at Fullerton Botanical Garden.

Tower of Jewels

Tower of Jewels Flowering Plant

White Shrimp Plant and Flowers

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At Fullerton Botanical Garden is the White Shrimp Plant (Justicia betonica), also known as the Squirrel’s Tail or Hawaiian Torch, is an eye-catching tropical evergreen shrub celebrated for its distinct, architectural flower spikes.

White Shrimp Plant

White Shrimp Plant Closeup

African Candelabra

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Commonly known as African Candelabra, Ammak, or Desert Cactus, it is a striking succulent plant native to the arid regions of Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Somalia. Clusters of small leaves form along the margins of the Ammak, with flowers budding in the Spring/Summer time.

While it features a tall, columnar growth habit, this one is bent out of shape at Fullerton Botanical Garden.

African Candelabra

Madagascar Palms

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Imagine a plant that looks like a palm tree from a distance, but like a cactus up close. It is a stem succulent that photosynthesizes mainly through its trunk and comes from the island of Madagascar, off the east coast of Africa. Saw some at Fullerton Botanical Garden.

Madagascar Palm

Madagascar Palms

Closer View of Sabal Palm Trunk

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Sabal palm, the Florida state tree, is one of the most prevalent palm species. It has a single, unbranched trunk with a 12- to 18-foot-diameter crown. The durable trunks are used for poles, docks, and wharf pilings.

A closer view of one at Fullerton Botanical Garden. The trunk with leaves cut out creates an interesting design.

Sabal Palm Trunk

Silver Dollar Prickly Pear

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Silver Dollar Prickly Pear is a large species, growing to about 20′ tall by 12′ wide. Individual pads can reach 1′ long by 8″ across, and are generally heavily thorned. Yellow flowers are produced in the spring.

These are grown at the Fullerton Botanical Garden.

Silver Dollar Prickly Pear

Euphorbia Enopla

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Euphorbia enopla (Pincushion Euphorbia) is a beautiful species, with energetic, shrubby, green succulent with fantastical, long ruby spines reminiscent of a sea urchin. It isn’t an actual cactus.

Here is one grown at Fullerton Botanical Garden.

Euphorbia Enopla or Pincushion Euphorbia

Euphorbai Enopla

Ombu Tree

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Although it is grown in Fullerton Botanical Garden, it is found in the Pampas grasslands of South America, where it is a tree called the Ombu. It is the only tree-like plant that lives on the Pampas because it does not require much water to survive. The Ombu can be found in Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay.

Ombu Tree

Ombu Sign

Palo Verde

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From colorful flowers at Fullerton Botanical Garden, we move to the beauty of desert trees and plants.

In 1954, the State of Arizona named the Palo Verde as its State Tree. The legislature did not distinguish between the two species of this tree that are native to the State; therefore, both the highly contrasting Foothill and the Blue share the honor. The dry desert adapted Foothill Palo Verde shown below is very common (>95%) compared to the desert wash-adapted Blue Palo Verde

Palo Verde Tree