Boxwood — Buxus is a genus of about 70 species in the family Buxaceae. Common names include box (majority of English-speaking countries) or boxwood (North America). The boxes are native to western and southern Europe, southwest, southern and eastern Asia, Africa, Madagascar, northernmost South America, Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean, with the majority of species tropical or subtropical; only …

Bougainvillea — Bougainvillea is a genus of flowering plants native to South America from Brazil west to Peru and south to southern Argentina (Chubut Province). Different authors accept between four and 18 species in the genus. The name comes from Louis Antoine de Bougainville, an admiral in the French Navy who discovered the plant in Brazil in 1768. They are …

Beech American — The American Beech Fagus grandifolia is a species of beech native to eastern North America, from Nova Scotia west to southern Ontario in southeastern Canada, west to Wisconsin and south to eastern Texas and northern Florida in the United States. Trees in the southern half of the range are sometimes distinguished as a variety, F. grandifolia var. …

Balsa — Balsa (Ochroma pyramidale, synonym O. lagopus) is a large, fast-growing tree that can grow up to 30m (100ft) tall, native to tropical South America north to southern Mexico. It is evergreen, or dry-season deciduous if the dry season is long, with large (30¨C50 cm, 12-20 in) weakly palmately lobed leaves. The name balsa derives from Spanish for a …

Avocado — The avocado (Persea americana) is a tree native to Mexico, Central America, and Guam, classified in the flowering plant family Lauraceae. The name “avocado” also refers to the fruit of the tree with an egg-shaped pit. P. americana has a long history of being cultivated in Central and South America; a water jar shaped like an avocado, dating …

Amaranth — Amaranthus, collectively known as amaranth or pigweed, is a cosmopolitan genus of herbs. Approximately 60 species are presently recognised, with inflorescences and foliage ranging from purple and red to gold. Members of this genus share many characteristics and uses with members of the closely related genus Celosia. Although several species are often considered weeds, people around the world …

Sea Otter — The sea otter (Enhydra lutris) is a marine mammal native to the coasts of the North Pacific, from northern Japan, the Kuril Islands and Kamchatka east across the Aleutian Islands and along the North American coast to Mexico. Adult sea otters typically weigh between 14 and 45 kg, making them the heaviest members of the weasel family, …

Rabbit — Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world. There are seven different genera in the family classified as rabbits, including the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), cottontail rabbit (genus Sylvilagus; 13 species), and the Amami rabbit (Pentalagus furnessi, endangered species on Amami Oshima, Japan). There are many other …

Prairie Dog — The prairie dogs (Cynomys) are small, burrowing rodents native to the grasslands of North America. On average, these stout-bodied rodents will grow to be between 12 and 16 inches (30 and 40 cm) long, including the short tail. They are found in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. In the U.S., prairie dogs are primarily found west …

Oryx — An Oryx is one of three or four large antelope species of the genus Oryx, typically having long straight almost upright or swept back horns. Two or three of the species are native to Africa, with a fourth native to the Arabian Peninsula. Small populations of several oryx species, such as the “Scimitar Oryx”, exist in Texas and …