Heliotrope and Strobilanthes with Glechoma

Heliotrope 'Scentropia Dark Blue'

Link to Heliotrope:

Persian Shield (Strobilanthes dyerianus)

Link to Strobilanthes:
Link to Strobilanthes dyerianus:
Link to Strobilanthes dyerianus:

near the edge of the container, Variegated Creeping Charlie (Glechoma hederacea).

Link to Glechoma hederacea:

Picture taken August 30, 2009.

Honorine Jobert Anemone

This hybrid anemone is Honorine Jobert Anemone.

Picture taken August 30, 2009.

Link to Honorine Jobert Anemone:

Ipomoea x multifida

The vine with the toothy leaves and red flowers is Cardinal climber, Ipomoea x multifida. This is a hybrid of Ipomoea coccinea and Ipomoea quamoclit.

The more normal-looking cordate leaves belong to another kind of morning glory.

Link to Ipomoea x multifida:

Link to Ipomoea x multifida:

Picture taken August 30, 2009.

Blue mistflower

Eupatorium coelestinum is a synonym for this native Indiana flower, currently the blue mistflower is placed in the Conoclinum genus as Conoclinum coelestinum.

Link to botanical treatment of blue mistflower:

Conoclinum coelestinum looks a lot like its relative white snakeroot, but it has blue flowers instead of white. White snakeroot is everywhere in the woods, but blue mistflower is much harder to find.

Link to blue mistflower:

Link to white snakeroot:

Picture taken August 27, 2009.

Chamaesyce hypericifolia

This is Chamaesyce hypericifolia 'Breathless White'. Picture taken August 27, 2009.

Link to Euphorbiaceae:

The common milk purslane is in the same Chamaesyce genus, here is a link:

Link to Chamaesyce hypericifolia used in Lafayette:

Obedient plant

This is the obedient plant, Physostegia virginiana. The cultivar is 'Pink Bouquet'. It's fun to push these flowers around. Be careful if you plant it, it has a tendency to become invasive. Picture taken August 27, 2009.

Link to obedient plant (native form):

Link to obedient plant:

Zinnia marylandica with Painted lady

A painted lady butterfly (Vanessa cardui) feeds on Zinnia in Hort Gardens. The Zinnia is Zinnia marylandica 'Zahara Rose Starlight'.

Zinnia marylandica is a hybrid of Zinnia angustifolia and Zinnia violacea. I suppose the plant breeders were trying to get the look of Zinnia violacea without the mildew but it still looks like Zinnia angustifolia to me. Picture taken August 27, 2009.

Link to Zinnia marylandica:

Link to Zinnia:

Link to Zinnia marylandica:

Link to Zinnia angustifolia:

Link to Zinnia violacea:

Link to painted lady butterfly:

Link to Zinnia marylandica 'Zahara Rose Starlight':

Callistephus

This is China Aster, Callistephus chinensis. Picture taken August 24, 2009.

Link to Callistephus:

Link to Callistephus chinensis:

Parasol mushroom

This parasol mushroom popped up next to Horticulture Gardens yesterday. It is Chlorophyllum molybdites. You can find it on the east side of the Horticulture Building, just north of the Marstellar St. side of Purdue Horticulture Gardens. Picture taken yesterday, August 25, 2009.

Link to Chlorophyllum molybdites:

Link to post on the June 2010 appearance of this mushroom:

Block P with Lysimachia

Lysimachia nummularia 'Goldilocks' is growing on the Block P here in front of the greenhouse. To the left is the Ensete and to the right is the Musa basjoo. Picture taken August 15, 2009.

Link to Lysimachia nummularia:

Lysimachia nummularia can be found growing wild in many places in Indiana, often in spots that are periodically wet. It's not native, but it spread from people's gardens many years ago.

Link to a post on Lysimachia nummularia in Bishop's Woods:

Link to previous post on Ensete:

Link to previous post on Musa basjoo:

Musa basjoo

This is Musa basjoo, a banana plant that is relatively cold-hardy. Picture taken August 11, 2009. Note the three pups sprouting from the base and the newest leaf at the top, still furled.

Link to Musa basjoo:

Link to Musa basjoo:

Tecoma stans

This is Tecoma stans. It is also called yellow elder. This picture was taken August 15, 2009.

Link to Tecoma stans:

Link to Tecoma stans:

Tecoma stans is in the plant family Bignoniaceae, the trumpet creeper family. For comparison there is a trumpet creeper vine nearby. From the Tecoma stans patch, take forty steps on the sidewalk towards campus and you are in front of the fence with the trumpet creeper vine.

Link to trumpet creeper:

Blood banana

Blood banana, at Purdue Horticulture Gardens. This blood banana is one of the plants in the genus Musa, that we call bananas. The smaller plants in the pot with the blood banana are Calibrachoa 'Cabaret Red Improved'. The top picture was taken August 15, 2009. The second picture was taken August 11, 2009.

Link to Musa acuminata 'Zebrina':

Link to Musa:

Link to blood banana:

Link to previous post on Calibrachoa:

Mandevilla splendens

This pot was supposed to contain Stephanotis floribunda, hence the label, but this pink flowered vine turned up here instead. It's not Stephanotis but Mandevilla splendens. You can find a larger Mandevilla splendens vine at the base of the wooden deck in the center of the gardens. Maybe the Stephanotis will appear later.

Stephanotis and Mandevilla don't look much alike, but they're both in the dogbane family of plants (Apocynaceae).

Picture taken August 15, 2009.

Link to Mandevilla:

Link to Mandevilla:

Link to Stephanotis:

German Statice

This is Goniolimon tataricum, also called German Statice. Picture taken August 15, 2009.

Link to Limonium:

Link to Goniolimon tataricum:

Sanvitalia

This is Sanvitalia speciosa 'Cuzco Yellow', Picture taken August 15, 2009.

Link to Sanvitalia:

Link to Sanvitalia procumbens:

Tree mallow

This tree mallow (Lavatera trimestris) is getting a bit scraggly and falling to the ground but still has a few nice flowers. Picture taken August 15, 2009.

Link to Lavatera trimestris:

Link to Lavatera:

White Gaura

This is Gaura lindheimeri 'Apple Blossom Grass', also known as White Gaura. It is in Purdue Horticulture Gardens just behind the southwest corner of the Horticulture Building. Picture taken August 12, 2009.

Link to Gaura lindheimeri:

Gaura lindheimeri is native to Texas. Our own native Gaura is Gaura biennis. Instead of planting foreign plants and risking the spread of them outside the garden, why not find some of our own Indiana native Gaura biennis and put that in your garden?

Link to Gaura biennis:

Ensete, the Abyssinian banana

This banana-like plant is Ensete ventucosum 'Maurelii', the Abyssinian Banana. The other smaller plant in the same vase is Ivy Geranium 'Corriente Taj Mahal'. Picture taken August 11, 2009.

Link to Ensete:

Link to Ensete ventricosum 'Maurelii':

Link to ivy geranium (Pelargonium peltatum)

Everybody who lives in the part of Ethiopia where the ensete grows has ensete growing around their round house which is made of ensete.

Link to Youtube featuring ensete:

Link to a song on Youtube about ensete:

Amaranthus tricolor

This plant is Amaranthus tricolor 'Joseph's Coat'. The label in the garden also calls it Summer Poinsettia, which is an ill-advised name for it. As one of the amaranth family of plants it's not related at all to real poinsettias, which are in the euphorbia family. You can't eat poinsettias and other euphorbias, but like many of the amaranths, this plant is good to eat. Picture taken August 11, 2009.

Link to Joseph's Coat Amaranth:

Link to Amaranthus tricolor:

Link to Amaranth:

Blackberry lily

Blackberry lilies (Belamcanda chinensis), at Purdue Horticulture Gardens, at Marstellar Street, August 7, 2009. Come back to this plant later in the year to see the distinctive blackberry seed cluster.

Link to Belamcanda chinensis:

Belamcanda chinensis could be an obsolete name for the blackberry lily, its closest relative has been shown to be an iris, Iris divaricata, and a new name, Iris domestica, is proposed:

Link to Belamcanda chinensis:

Link to Iris domestica (syn. Belamcanda chinensis):

Black-eyed Susan

Here are three kinds of black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) planted at Purdue Horticulture Garden. This is Rudbeckia hirta 'Cappucino'.

Link to Rudbeckia hirta:


This is Rudbeckia hirta 'Denver Daisy'.


This is Rudbeckia hirta 'Cherokee Sunset'.

These cultivars are a bit more showy than our native Rudbeckia hirta, which is usually seen with plain yellow ray flowers. Commercial cultivars like these are being spread all over the outdoors though, no doubt they will persist to replace the old kind in many places. "Wildflower garden" is an oxymoron. If you plant it, it's not a wild flower. If you wish to reestablish prairie land as a native ecosystem, take care that you use plants that belong there.

All pictures taken August 6, 2009.

Link to Rudbeckia hirta:

Spider flower

This is the spider flower, Cleome hassleriana. The cultivar is 'Sparkler Mix'.

Find it behind the horticulture building. Pictures taken August 6, 2009.

Link to Cleome hassleriana:

Link to Cleome:

A related plant, Cleome gynandra, almost uses C4 photosynthesis.

Link to Cleome gynandra:

Link to C4 photosynthesis:

Resurrection lilies

These resurrection lilies (Lycoris squamigera) have come up at Horticulture Gardens. These are popular plants to have in your yard, some people call them surprise lilies or naked ladies. You didn't see these here a few days ago. Picture taken August 6, 2009.

Link to Lycoris squamigera:

Link to Lycoris squamigera:

Ornamental catnip

This is Nepeta x faasenii 'Alba'. This is a hybrid relative of catnip (Nepeta cataria). This is quite commonly used in landscapings around here, maybe your cat will like it.

Picture taken August 3, 2009.

Link to Nepeta x faasenii:

Link to Nepeta:

Nepeta cataria grows wild in many places in the Lafayette area, it's not hard to find, here is a link to some:

Spider Webs on Juniper

There's a big sculpture on Marstellar St. just north of the Horticulture Gardens. The juniper bushes surrounding the sculpture are home to many grass spiders (Agelenopsis). Pictures taken August 2, 2009.

Link to Agelenopsis spiders:

These shrubs are surrounding the Aizkorbe sculpture "Transformation", here is a link:

Sweet Alyssum

This is Sweet Alyssum (Lobularia maritima) 'Wonderland Lilac Lace Mix'. Purdue Horticulture Gardens, August 2, 2009.

Link to Lobularia maritima:

Link to Lobularia maritima:

Link to Lobularia maritima as a native plant:

Amaranthus cruentus 'Fat Spike'

Purple amaranth 'Fat Spike' (Amaranthus cruentus), at Purdue Horticulture Gardens, August 2, 2009.

Res ipsa loquitur.

Link to Amaranthus cruentus:

Celosia spicata

This is Celosia spicata 'Flamingo Feather', at Purdue Horticulture Gardens, August 2, 2009. This insect on the flower is a sphecid wasp, about a half dozen of these wasps had bypassed the rest of the garden to feed on these Celosia.

Link to Celosia spicata:

Link to Celosia:

Link to another post on sphecid wasps:

Bachelor button

Bachelor button (Centaurea cyanus 'Blue Diadem'), at Purdue Horticulture Gardens, July 30, 2009.

Link to Centaurea cyanus: