Fuchsia — Fuchsia is a genus of flowering plants, mostly shrubs, which were identified by Charles Plumier in the late 17th century, and named by Plumier in 1703 after the German botanist Leonhart Fuchs (1501–1566). The English vernacular name Fuchsia is the same as the scientific name. There are about 100–110 species of Fuchsia. The great majority are native to …

Evening Primrose — Oenothera is a genus of about 125 species of annual, biennial and perennial herbaceous flowering plants, native to North and South America. It is the type genus of the family Onagraceae. Common names include evening primrose, suncups, and sundrops. The species vary in size from small alpine plants 10 cm tall (e.g. O. acaulis from Chile), to …

Dahlia — Dahlia is a genus of bushy, tuberous, perennial plants native to Mexico, Central America, and Colombia. There at least 36 species of Dahlia. Dahlia hybrids are commonly grown as garden plants. The Aztecs gathered and cultivated the dahlia for food, ceremony, as well as decorative purposes , and the long woody stem of one variety was used for …

Cosmos — Cosmos is a genus of about 20-26 species of annual and perennial plants in the family Asteraceae, native to scrub and meadow areas in Mexico (where the bulk of the species occur), the southern United States (Arizona, Florida), Central America and northern South America south to Paraguay. They are herbaceous perennial plants growing 0.3-2 m tall. The leaves …

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 …

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 …

Robin — The American Robin or North American Robin (Turdus migratorius) is a migratory songbird of the thrush family. It is named after the European Robin because of its reddish-orange breast, though the two species are not closely related, with the European robin belonging to the flycatcher family. The American Robin is widely distributed throughout North America, wintering south of …

Roadrunner — The roadrunners are two species of bird in the genus Geococcyx of the cuckoo family, Cuculidae, native to North and Central America. These two species are the ground foraging cuckoos. Greater Roadrunner, Geococcyx californianus (Mexico and southwestern United States) Conkling’s Roadrunner, Geococcyx californianus conklingi – prehistoric Lesser Roadrunner, Geococcyx velox (Mexico and Central America) Roadrunner species generally range …

Kingfisher — Kingfishers are a group of small to medium sized brightly coloured birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species being found in the Old World and Australia. The group is treated either as a single family, Alcedinidae, or as a suborder Alcedines containing three families, Alcedinidae (river kingfishers), Halcyonidae (tree kingfishers), and Cerylidae …

Kingbird — The genus Tyrannus is a group of large insect-eating birds in the Tyrant flycatcher family Tyrannidae bird order Passeriformes. The majority are named as Kingbirds. The kingbird comprises the genus Tyrannus of the New World family, Trannidae, known as tyrant flycatchers. Despite their relatively small size, kingbirds are boldly aggressive against intruders, especially birds of prey. They measure …