Combretum rotundifolium

Family: Combretaceae •
Genus: Combretum •
Species: rotundifolium •
Country of Origin: South America •
Synonyms: Combretum aubletii •
Common Names: Monkey Brush •

This is one of my favorite vines. I picked this up at a Fairchild plant sale. It blooms in late winter/early spring here in South Florida. It has amazing flowers and stunning foliage. It is a semi-deciduous climber that can grow up to 20' without trimming. Monkey Brush does best with fertile well drained soil and thrives in areas like South Florida that have seasonal dry winters. Full to partial sun. The beautiful leaves change color as they mature from red to yellow and finally green, they are typically 5 to 6 inches long and roughly 2 to 3 inches wide. The flowers are red with long yellow stamens that turn orange then red and are about 6 to 8 inches long. This plant is cold sensitive and I lost a lot of leaves this year when it got down to into the thirties, but it is putting on new growth since it started warming up, and the cold didn't affect the flower buds that were forming. I'd highly recommend this vine to anyone who lives in a frost free area. Zones 10-11


Combretum rotundifolium by Eric Bronson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at www.flickr.com

Warren's House Virtual Tour

This is a virtual tour of fellow rare fruit enthusiast Warren Condon's yard. I was there in November and I took these photos of his yard and the various tropical fruits he grows. Warren has been a mentor to me with school and rare fruits. He has been the source for many of the rare species in my fruit collection and is also member of Miami Rare Fruit Council International and the Friends of the Fruit and Spice Park. So let me give you a virtual tour of his beautiful Kendall yard,

Theobroma grandiflorum - Cupuaçu

No ID ornamental with a very unusual seedpod

Bunchosia argentea - Peanut Butter Fruit, Flowers

No ID ornamental

Eugenia aggregata - Cherry of the Rio Grande, Tree

Eugenia aggregata - Cherry of the Rio Grande, Trunk

Musa acuminata - "AeAe" Banana

Pimenta dioica - Allspice

Aechmea blanchetiana?

Guaiacum officinale - Lignum vitae "wood of life"

No ID ornamental

Vanilla  planifolia - Vanilla

Theobroma cacao - Chocolate "Red pod"?

Garcinia intermedia - Lemon Drop Mangosteen

Hylocereus undatus - Red Pitaya "Pink Polinator"

Musa acuminata - "Dwarf Cuban Green"

Hylocereus polyrhizus

Dovyalis caffra - Kei-apple

Bambusa oldhamii w/Ananas sp.

Bouea macrophylla - Maprang

As you can see Warren has an extensive collection of exotic fruits and rare ornamental plants. I wanted to add that these pictures were taken in November which is after our main fruiting season. I plan to go back in spring, sample more fruits and take more photos of his amazing yard.



Warren's House Virtual Tour by Eric Bronson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at www.flickr.com