Crepe Myrtle or Crape Myrtles are best known for their colorful and long-lasting flowers. Most species of Lagerstroemia have showy stems and branches with a mottled appearance that arises from the bark that sheds throughout the year. The leaves are opposite and simple, with entire margins, and vary from 2–8 inches. Lagerstroemia in is habitat can to 100 feet in height, however there are small to medium multiple-trunked trees and shrub cultivars’ that vary from 4 to 30 feet tall.

Flowers are borne in summer and autumn with panicles of crinkled flowers that are crepe-like textured. Colors vary from white, red and purple to red, with almost every shade in between. The fruit is a capsule, green and succulent at first, then ripening to dark brown or black dryness. It splits along six or seven lines, producing teeth much like those of the calyx, and releases numerous, small, winged seeds.

The wood of some species has been used to build bridges, furniture, and railway ties.

The Southeast Asian Lagerstroemia speciosa is commonly known as banaba has been traditionally consumed in various forms in the Philippines for treatment of diabetes and kidney-related diseases.

This modern high-rise cactus is one of the most attractive and cleanest-looking cacti.  Many villages in Mexico use this columnar cacti to construct a living fence along the roadways.

Mexican Fence Post Cactus’ tall stems branch out from the base to form a fence-like cluster of tall, cylindrical posts, some as high as 20 feet; it’s deep green ribs have short minor white spines along the edges of the stem.  The central stem is smooth and has five to nine ribs.  In spring, the cactus produces tubular, yellowish flowers that are very showy.

Following the bloom cycle, it develops spiny fuzzy red fruit with black seeds.

Aloe africana is native to Eastern Cape in South Africa where it grows within thickets of shrubs from sea level to nearly 1,000 feet in elevation; it’s solitary and often unbranched small tree-like aloe which usually grows up to 6 feet in height with rosettes that are densely crowded with gracefully arching 2 foot long lance-shaped thick grayish blue-green leaves that have prominent sharp red teeth along the margins.

This species flowers from late fall to early spring with un-branched to few-branched 2 to 3 foot inflorescence of erect long-tapering terminal spikes of flowers that are orange in bud and turn yellow just prior to opening from the bottom of the spike upwards. The individual flowers are held in a downward inclination but uniquely turn upwards towards the tips.

Plant is full sun in a well-drained soil and irrigate regularly to very little.  Keep it back from walkway paths as the teeth are sharp and catch clothing and cut the skin.

This perennial or biennial herb is a branching stem that reaches 7 to 30 inches in height.

Stem branches bear linear- to lance-shaped leaves 1 to 7 inches in length.

The green herbage is hairy, sticky, and scented. The wide cluster of flowers envelope into a bract of bright white phyllaries.

The flowers are very long lasting when dried and are used in flower arrangements and is a larval food source for the American Painted Lady butterfly.

Native Americans of California brewed a tea from the stems and leaves to treat lower back pain, colds, coughs, and stomach ailments and was also used as an eyewash.