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
At Fullerton Botanical Garden, Euphorbia grandicornis is a great-looking upright, multi-stemmed succulent shrub with strong spines resembling cows’ horns. It has angular, zigzag-shaped stems, making it a good ornamental choice.
Cow Horn Cactus
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
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
The golden barrel cactus has a globe-like appearance and is recognized by its magnificent color that comes from vertical yellow ribs that line its edges. A few of them at Fullerton Botanical Garden.
Golden Barrel Cacti
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
Mexican Fence Post Cactus at Fullerton Botanical Garden has clean, upright columns, deep green color, and a bold desert presence. This cactus can grow up to 15 feet tall and develops multiple branches over time,
Mexican Fence Post Cactus
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
The candelabra tree at Fullerton Botanical Garden can grow to 30-40 feet (10 m) tall. The branches all grow from one trunk and look like little cacti near the top, giving it the shape of a candelabrum. It has little yellow flowers in mid-winter.
Candelabra Tree
Ocotillo, mostly in Mexico, is a spiny shrub to 20 ft. with many long, whip-like, unbranched green stems growing from the base. Stems are leafless most of the year, covering themselves with bright green leaves after a rain. Here is one in the Fullerton Botanical Garden.
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
This tree-sized succulent, at Fullerton Botanical Garden, is a member of the agave family and is named for the long, delicate leaves that drape over the branches, giving it a “ponytail” effect.
Ponytail Palm Tree
Ponytail Palm
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
An abundance of yellow in different forms at Fullerton Botanical Garden in California.
Prairie Zinnia (Zinnia grandiflora) is a tough, low-spreading native perennial that excels in hot, dry, sunny landscapes where many other plants struggle.
Aloe buhri, commonly known as yellow aloe, is a succulent perennial adapted to many summer-dry climate gardens. This unique plant features striking yellow flowers that add a pop of color to any garden space. Aloe buhri grows in a rosette form, with thick, fleshy leaves.
Prairie Zinnia
Aloe Buhrii
A combination of colored flowers at Fullerton Botanical Garden.
California Fuchsia (Epilobium canum) is a beautiful species of willowherb, native to the California foothills and coastal areas.
California poppy, the state flower of California, is native to the Pacific slope of North America from Western Oregon to Baja California. Seeds of this plant were introduced into English gardens in the nineteenth century. Some examples at Fullerton Botanical Garden.
California Fuchsia and Poppies
Senna didymobotrya, commonly known as African Senna, is an evergreen shrub with a hairy, aromatic presence, native to open woodlands and grasslands in the mountainous regions of East Africa, including countries such as Kenya and Uganda, and is also grown at Fullerton Botanical Garden.
African Senna
Clusters of pinkish-white, 5-petaled, rose-like flowers in spring give way to firm blackberries of excellent eating quality that mature in summer. Rubus Fruticosus flowers, but no blackberries at Fullerton Botanical Garden.
Rubus Fruticosus
Nasturtiums have fragrant, showy flowers ranging from yellow to red. An edible plant with a peppery taste, it is often used in salads. The leaves, seeds, flowers, and flower pods are all edible.
Nasturtiums Flowers
Vibrant Nasturtiums
Seen at the Fremont Botanical Garden, Datura wrightii, or “Sacred Datura”, is the name of a flowering and poisonous ornamental plant of the Nightshade Family (Solanaceae), endemic to southwestern North America.
Sacred Datura
Cream-colored garden roses offer a luxurious, romantic aesthetic, blending soft butter, ivory, and faint peach tones. They are highly sought after for elegant bouquets and centerpieces due to their dense, ruffled petals and high petal counts, which often mimic peonies.
Found one with a bud at Fullerton Botanical Garden.
Cream-colored Garden Rose