Get to know 11 plants selected from Samoa. Discover their scientific names, identifying features and growing needs.
Artemisia vulgaris
An upright, rhizomatous, herbaceous perennial growing up to 2.5m tall with aromatic, petiolate, deeply lobed, deep green leaves. Creamy-yellow flowers appear in late Summer as dense, leafy panicles. A well known medicinal plant with edible,
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Clerodendrum thomsoniae
An evergreen climber to 4m in height, with twining stems bearing ovate leaves and terminal panicles 10cm across, of crimson flowers with conspicuous white calyces
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Cymbidium sinense
A small-sized, evergreen orchid producing a small clump of egg-shaped pseudobulbs. Each pseudobulb is 2-6cm long and 2cm wide and is enclosed with broader, leaf-bearing sheaths. Leaves are linear, 60-90cm long and 2-3cm wide. Three to five
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Syngonium podophyllum
S. podophyllum is an evergreen climber, to 2m tall, compact when young with large arrow-shaped leaves veined and suffused with silvery-white; adult leaves are divided into 5-11 finger-like leaflets. Arum-like flowerheads with cream spathes
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Physalis peruviana
A lax, branching, herbaceous perennial with soft, hairy leaves and small, yellow flowers with chocolate-brown centres in mid- to late summer. These are followed by edible, orange berries. each enclosed in a papery, lantern-shaped husk
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Allamanda cathartica
A vigorously climbing evergreen shrub with simple, whorled leaves and trumpet-shaped bright yellow flowers 12cm in length, borne in axillary or terminal cymes in summer and autumn
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Chenopodium album
A fast-growing, upright, branching annual to 2m high, with silvery green, lightly toothed leaves, which are narrower further up the plant, and mealy white underneath. Produces spikes of small, tightly clustered green flowers, which can go o
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Jatropha podagrica
J. podagrica is a shrubby perennial with a short stout caudex and branched fleshy, spiny stems bearing leathery 3 or 5-lobed leaves, whitish beneath, clustered at the tips, and small bright scarlet flowers in branched terminal clusters in s
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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
Learn more →Bidens pilosa
Bidens pilosa is an erect, freely branching annual or short-lived perennial, usually 30–150 cm tall. The opposite leaves are pinnately divided into three to five toothed leaflets, giving the plant a somewhat feathery appearance. Small daisy
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Dracaena reflexa is an evergreen shrub or small tree with slender, upright, often branching stems. Its glossy, lance-shaped leaves are arranged in loose rosettes and may be solid green or variegated with cream or yellow stripes, depending o
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