pride of Madeira

species: Echium candicans

common name: pride of Madeira

family: Boraginaceae

where & when encountered: Monterey & Los Angeles counties - 2012

This relative of the aforementioned tower of jewels is native to Madeira, an island off the shores of Portugal. I had been noticing the blooms everywhere that year, not only throughout Monterey county but also on a visit to Venice Beach (above) in Los Angeles county. A true Mediterranean shrub, it thrives in California's Mediterranean climate.

mile-a-minute weed

species: Polygonum perfoliatum

common name: mile-a-minute weed

family: Polygonaceae

where & when encountered: Old Westbury, NY - 2013

Another roadside discovery from the summer of 2013 was this mile-a-minute weed, a fast-growing (as the name suggests) invasive from tropical Asia, possessing distinctively triangular leaves and barbed stems that spread as a vine over other shrubs. Evidently it is popular with certain bugs, who turn the leaves into Swiss cheese. 

tower of jewels

species: Echium wildpretii

common name: tower of jewels

family: Boraginaceae

where & when encountered: Soledad & Gonzales, CA - 2012

While working in the Salinas Valley one day a homeowner asked if I recognized the strange plant growing in his yard, a plant he had no idea of how it got there. I later learned it is called tower of jewels, a real curiosity hailing from Madeira and the Canary Islands. It does well in California's Mediterranean climate and so is grown ornamentally. As to how it got in that man's yard, the answer is birds. The red flowers attract bees, butterflies and birds, the latter of which spread the seeds haphazardly.

pokeweed

species: Phtyolacca americana

common name: pokeweed

family: Phytolaccaceae

where & when encountered: Old Westbury, NY - 2013

I saw a lot of this pokeweed growing wild in the summer of 2013. I didn't realize that "poke salad" was a staple in the rural South, and that due to its toxicity it must be boiled multiple times before eating. Nor was I aware of the 1968 song "Polk Salad Annie" written by Tony Joe White and made famous by Elvis Presley. Now I am.

Canna indica

species: Canna indica
common name: African arrowroot
family: Cannaceae 
when & where encountered: Salinas, CA - 2012

This native of tropical America is now grown throughout the tropical world. Used both ornamentally and as a source of food starch, the ones here are very obviously and very successfully ornamental. 

flowering tobacco

species: Nicotiana (various)

common name: flowering tobacco

family: Solanaceae

when & where encountered: Old Westbury, NY - 2013

I had previously encountered tobacco in some of its wild forms, but this was the first time I had seen it grown ornamentally. As a flower, it is really lovely. As something to smoke, maybe not so much. The genus is named for Jean Nicot, the French ambassador to Portugal who famously introduced tobacco to France in the sixteenth century.

Tahitian screwpine

species: Pandanus tectorius

common name: Tahitian screwpine

family: Pandanaceae

when & where encountered: Costa Rica - 2015

A mature Pandanus tectorius (also known as Tahitian screwpine) is a striking sight, and although native to the South Pacific, I recall seeing my first in Costa Rica, at a lodge near the Arenal Volcano.

seagrape

species: Coccoloba uvifera

common name: seagrape

family: Polygonaceae

when & where encountered: Mexican Caribbean - 2005

To the best of my knowledge I first encountered seagrape in Mexico and Jamaica, but this stand by the harbor in Port Aransas, TX in 2011 was perhaps the most photogenic. To me they are one of the signature plants of the American tropics, specifically the Gulf Coast and the Caribbean.