Get to know 20 plants selected from Niger. Discover their scientific names, identifying features and growing needs.
Olea europaea
Has a rugged, much-branched habit and slow growth, eventually 4.5-9m. Leaves are narrowly obovate or oval, to 7.5cm long, leathery, silvery beneath. Very small white flowers are borne in axillary racemes to 5cm long. Many cultivated varieti
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Spathiphyllum wallisii
S. wallisii is an evergreen perennial with erect, lance-shaped, glossy dark green leaves, and ovate white flowering spathes to 15cm in length, each with a slender cream spadix within
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Delonix regia
A tropical, evergreen tree to 10m tall and wide in its native Madagascar. It bears elegant, fern-like leaves and clusters of exotic-looking, bright red flowers. In frost-prone areas grow in a temperate greenhouse as foliage plants, since th
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Salvia rosmarinus
A bushy, evergreen shrub, variable in habit from prostrate to upright, from 15cm to 2m tall. Aromatic, linear, dark green leaves 1.5-5cm long have pale, felty undersides. Flowers usually pale violet-blue and white, can also be pinkish or bl
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Adenium obesum
A succulent, shrubby perennial with very swollen stem-like caudex tapering to a branched apex bearing small clusters of red, pink or white flowers, which open before the ovate leaves
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Aloe vera
An evergreen perennial to 0.6m, forming rosettes of fleshy, narrow, dull green leaves with spiny margins, with long racemes of tubular greenish-yellow flowers 3cm in length in racemes to 90cm in length
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Callistemon citrinus
An evergreen, arching shrub which may eventually reach a height of around 5m. Leaves are narrowly oblong to lanceolate and lemon-scented when bruised. Bright red flowers arranged in cylindrical spikes up to 10cm long are borne in summer
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Cornus amomum
A vigorous, multi-stemmed, suckering deciduous shrub with an open, rounded habit when mature. Mid to dark-green leaves appear in spring to summer, turning red to purple in the autumn and falling to reveal red-purple stems throughout the wi
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Cuphea hyssopifolia
A compact, bushy spreading evergreen shrub to 45cm in height, with small, lance-shaped dark green leaves and small clusters of light purple, pink or white flowers 1cm across
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Dracaena fragrans
An upright, evergreen, tropical shrub with cane-like stems and glossy, strap-shaped leaves to 40cm long. Its slender habit and tolerance of a range of conditions make it a popular houseplant
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Echinocactus grusonii
A barrel-shaped stem to 50cm in height, with deep ribs bearing yellowish spines and, on mature plants, yellow flowers to 6cm in length
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Ficus benjamina
An evergreen shrub or tree to 3m or more, with pendulous branches bearing glossy, slender-pointed ovate leaves to 12cm in length. Flowers insignificant, followed by reddish-orange fruits 1cm in length, becoming black
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Ficus carica
A large shrub or small, spreading tree to around 3m tall and 4m wide with rounded, lobed leaves. Insignificant flowers are followed by edible fruit that ripen to shades of green and purple. Many cultivated varieties of fig have been develop
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Hydrangea arborescens
A species of small to medium deciduous shrub with dark green foliage, strong sturdy stems and large snowball-shaped white flowers appearing in mid-summer
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Laurus nobilis
A large, erect, evergreen shrub with aromatic, narrowly ovate, leathery, glossy leaves up to 10cm long and 2-4cm wide. Dried or fresh leaves are popular flavouring in meal preparation. Flowers are 5mm small, pale greenish-yellow, in dense c
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Melissa officinalis
An aromatic, bushy perennial up to 1m tall and wide. Heart-shaped leaves are lemon-scented with scalloped edges are 2-8 cm long. Leafy spikes of creamy-white or pale purple flowers are full of nectar, attracting bees and other pollinators i
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Onoclea sensibilis
A deciduous, rhizomatous fern forming extensive colonies of broad, light green, pinnate fronds to 60cm in length, the pinnae deeply lobed. Shorter, narrow fertile fronds have much reduced, blackish lobes
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Pandanus utilis
A tender, evergreen, palm-like tree to 6m, bearing glossy, sword-shaped leaves with stiff red spines along the margins. The foliage is arranged in a spiralling formation at the branch tips
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Phlebodium aureum
A tender fern grown as a houseplant with wavy blue-green fronds appearing from creeping, hairy rhizomes (modified stems). The fronds are lobed and can grow up to 40cm.
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Protea cynaroides
P. cynaroides is a sparsely branched evergreen shrub with leathery, elliptic leaves and terminal, bowl-shaped flowerheads 15-30cm across, with red to pink or cream bracts
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