Get to know 20 plants selected from Fiji. Discover their scientific names, identifying features and growing needs.
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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Codiaeum variegatum, commonly known as croton, is a striking evergreen shrub grown primarily for its bold, leathery leaves. The leaves come in a dazzling array of colors including green, yellow, orange, red, and purple, often with variegate
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Cocos nucifera
A single-stemmed palm, forming a tree to 25m in the tropics, prized for its elegant form and edible seeds (coconuts). In frost-prone areas, young specimens can be grown as short-lived foliage plants in a warm conservatory, or as houseplants
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Hibiscus rosa-sinensis
A compact evergreen shrub with ovate to broadly lance-shaped glossy dark green leaves. Single 5-petalled flowers 10cm across with yellow anthered red stamens are produced from the leaf axils from summer to autumn, though in cultivation semi
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Psidium guajava
An evergreen shrub or small tree up to 6m tall with prominently-veined, ovate to oblong leaves up to 15cm long with serrated margins. White flowers to 2.5cm across with brush-like clusters of long stamens are borne singly or in small groups
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Terminalia catappa
Terminalia catappa is a large deciduous tree reaching 15–25 m in height with a spreading, umbrella-shaped canopy. Its broad, obovate leaves are 10–25 cm long, turning brilliant shades of red, orange, and yellow in autumn before falling. Sma
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Asplenium nidus
An evergreen fern forming a striking rosette of strap-shaped, undivided, bright green, fronds to 1.2m in length
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Tradescantia spathacea
An evergreen perennial to 30cm, forming a clump of rosettes of narrowly lance-shaped, dark green leaves, deep purple beneath, to 30cm in length; axillary clusters of small white flowers with leaf-like purple bracts
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Alpinia purpurata
A tender perennial up to 4m high, with lance-shaped, slightly glossy green leaves to 80cm long. In summer, produces long, semi-upright flower spikes, with small white flowers surrounded by overlapping, bright red bracts
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Heliconia rostrata
H. rostrata is a very large, evergreen perennial with banana-like leaves up to 2m long. In spring and summer it produces hanging inflorescences made up of bright red bracts, each tipped with yellow and green, with yellowish-white flowers
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Philodendron hederaceum
A fast-growing, tropical evergreen climber between 3-6m in height, with heart-shaped, bronze-green leaves to 30cm long, red-tinted beneath, with large, overlapping basal leaf lobes; purple flower-spathes are 5cm long and may be produced on
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Cordyline fruticosa
Cordyline fruticosa is an evergreen shrub reaching up to 2-3 meters in height. It has erect stems with a tuft of sword-shaped or lanceolate leaves at the top, each 30-60 cm long. The foliage exhibits a wide range of colors, including deep g
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Cassia fistula
Cassia fistula, commonly known as the golden shower tree, is a medium-sized deciduous tree reaching 10–20 m tall with a spreading, open crown. Its compound leaves are pinnate, with 3–8 pairs of ovate leaflets, and it produces spectacular pe
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Acalypha hispida
An erect evergreen shrub of open habit, to 2.5m in height, with large ovate leaves and pendulous fluffy red catkin-like flowerheads to 45cm in length, produced sporadically throuhout the year
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Carica papaya
A tree-like, evergreen,herbaceous plant that can reach 6m in tropical conditions. The single, upright stem is topped with a palm-like spread of large, long stemmed, deeply divided leaves. Cream, scented flowers, which may be male, female or
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Fuchsia magellanica
An attractive hedge in milder areas, where it can remain semi-evergreen. Flowers have scarlet sepals with a purple corolla
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Hibiscus schizopetalus
H. schizopetalus is an erect evergreen or semi-evergreen shrub, to 3-4m, with slender arching to drooping branches. Leaves are simple, ovate-elliptic, to 12cm long. Flowers are pendulous on long thin stalks, bright orange-red with deeply-cu
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Euphorbia milii
A more or less evergreen shrub to 1m, with thorny, succulent branches, leathery obovate leaves and axillary clusters of very small yellow flowers with showy, bright red bracts
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Bougainvillea glabra
A virgorous climber with semi-glossy leaves to 13cm long. In summer it bears flowers formed of papery, petal-like magenta bracts. It requires the protection of a temperate glasshouse or conservatory, although potted plants can be moved outs
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Schefflera actinophylla
Schefflera actinophylla is a fast-growing evergreen tree or large shrub, reaching up to 15 metres in its native habitat but typically 2-3 metres indoors. It features large, palmate leaves with 7-16 glossy, dark green leaflets radiating from
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