Wisteria — Wisteria is a genus of about ten species of woody climbing vines native to the eastern United States and the East Asian states of China, Korea, and Japan. Aquarists refer to the species Hygrophila difformis, in the genus Hygrophila, as Water Wisteria. Wisteria vines climb by twining their stems either clockwise or counter-clockwise round any available support. They …

Willow, Babylon Weeping — Salix babylonica (Peking Willow or Babylon Willow) is a species of willow native to dry areas of northern China, but cultivated for millennia elsewhere in Asia, being traded along the silk road to southwest Asia and Europe. It is a medium-sized to large deciduous tree, growing up to 20-25 m tall. It grows rapidly, but has …

Water Hyacinth — The seven species of water hyacinths comprise the genus Eichhornia of free-floating perennial aquatic plants native to tropical South America. With broad, thick and glossy ovate leaves, water hyacinths may rise some 1 metre in height. The leaves are 10-20 cm across, supported above the water surface by long, spongy and bulbous stalks. The feathery, freely hanging …

Walnut, English — Juglans regia (the Common walnut, Persian walnut, or English walnut), is the original walnut tree of the Old World. It is native in a region stretching from the Balkans eastward to the Himalayas and southwest China. The largest forests are in Kyrgyzstan, where trees occur in extensive, nearly pure walnut forests at 1,000–2,000 m altitude (Hemery 1998)—notably …

Violet — Viola, commonly called Violets, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Violaceae, with around 400-500 species distributed around the world. Most species are found in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, however viola species are also found in widely divergent areas such as Hawaii, Australasia, and the Andes in South America.Many violas are also found in Texas. Most …

Viburnum — Viburnum (Viburnum) is a genus of about 150-175 species of shrubs or (in a few species) small trees that were previously included in the family Caprifoliaceae. Genetic tests by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group showed however that they are correctly classified in the family Adoxaceae. They are native throughout the temperate Northern Hemisphere, with a few species extending into …

Turmeric — Turmeric (Curcuma longa) is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial plant of the ginger family, Zingiberaceae which is native to tropical South Asia. It needs temperatures between 20 and 30 deg. C. and a considerable amount of annual rainfall to thrive. Plants are gathered annually for their rhizomes, and re-seeded from some of those rhizomes in the following season. It …

Tumbleweed — Salsola (also known as Tumbleweed, Saltwort or Russian thistle) is a genus of herbs, subshrubs, shrubs and small trees in the family Amaranthaceae, native to Africa, Asia, and Europe; they typically grow on flat, often dry and/or somewhat saline soils, with some species in saltmarshes. Recent genetic studies have however shown that the genus as traditionally circumscribed is …

Tulip — Tulipa commonly called Tulip is a genus of about 100 species of bulbous flowering plants in the family Liliaceae. The native range of the species include southern Europe, north Africa, and Asia from Anatolia and Iran in the east to northeast of China. The centre of diversity of the genus is in the Pamir and Hindu Kush mountains …

Torreya — Torreya is a genus of conifers comprising five or six species, treated in either the Cephalotaxaceae, or in the Taxaceae when that family is considered in a broad sense. Four are native to eastern Asia, the other two native to North America. They are small to medium sized evergreen trees reaching 5-20 m, rarely 25 m, tall. The …