produced intensively smelling spe-cies. The Common Oleander plant contains substances that could cause cardiac arrest. In South France the pulverized bark is used as rat poison. Even wood and leaves are poisonous.
35
In the Gardens
Chinese Hibiscus, Rose of China
Hibiscus rosa sinensis
Bloom time
All year round.
Characteristics
The shrub is 1-3 m (3,3-10‘) tall and develops a dense net of branches. The leaves are heart-shaped and serrated. The blossoms consist of five petals that form a funnel with up to 10 cm (4‘‘) width. Colours range from red and pink trough white to orange and yellow. The pistil pro-trudes far out of the bloom.
Site:
On Madeira you will find this shrub in parks and gardens up to an altitude of 400 m (440 yd.). For its dense growth it is often used for cultivating hedges. The hardy Rose of Sha-ron (Hibiscus syriacus) is a rare relative with smaller, pink flowers and very upright twigs.
Interesting to know:
The Chinese Hibiscus is one of the most popu-lar ornamental shrubs. In its native habitat in South East Asia it has already been cultivated for a long time. Female Asians used to colour their hair and eyebrows with the sap. The wild species has shining red blossoms, cultivars may have flowers in varying colours, stuffed or enlarged blossoms and speckled leaves. The blossoms are extremely short living but the abundant development of buds makes up for the fact that each flower will only last one day.
36
In the Gardens
Brazilian Spider Flower
Tibouchina urvilleana
Bloom time
All year round.
Characteristics
The shrub grows up to 3 m (10‘) tall and has oval, tapered, velvety leaves. Each leave is conspicuously sub-divided by several longitu-dinal veins from which are branching smaller, vertical leaf nerves. The flowers con-sist of five bluish-purple pet-als. The stamens are thread-shaped and curved like horns.
Site:
Mainly situated in the north of the island, the Brazilian Spider Flower can be found in gardens and parks at an altitude of 200-700 m (220-765 yd.). It prefers a more shady and humid hab-itat. You may for example find various speci-mens in the Quinta do Santo da Serra (196).
Interesting to know:
The Brazilian Spider Flower is native to Brazil and the adjoining countries. Today it is a popu-lar ornamental plant in all tropical and subtrop-ical regions for its showy blossoms. The genus’ name derives from a denomination in a native Guiana language. It was introduced in litera-ture by the French natural scientist Aublet who visited Guiana in 1762. The genus Tibouchina consists of about 250 species, all of them con-taining plentiful aluminium. The Indian medi-cine appreciates the plant for its styptic effects.
37
In the Gardens
Popcorn Bush,
Peanut Butter Cassia
Senna didymobotrya
Bloom time
All year round, mainly in spring and summer.
Characteristics
The decorative shrub grows 1,5-3 m (5-13’) tall and has upright twigs at which extremes you find sever-al racemes of golden yellow blossoms at erect stalks. The brown buds open from bot-tom to top; a part of the bud remains closed for a long time. The large, evergreen leaves are monopinnate.
Site:
The Popcorn Bush is often cultivated on Madeira; most easily you will find it in the south of the island up to an altitude of 450 m (490 yd.). You may also frequently discov-er the plant not only in the city of Funchal, but also in Caniço and in Caniço de Baixo.
Interesting to know:
The Popcorn Bush is native to tropical East Af-rica. It is often mixed up with the Candle Bush. Anyway, the latter has yellow buds; thus the en-tire inflorescence seems to be made of wax. This plant is not cultivated on Madeira. A noticeable characteristic of the Popcorn Bush is the slight-ly unpleasant smell that is exuded by the leaves or by buds when crumbling them. This smell re-minds of rancid peanut butter or old popcorn.
38
In the Gardens
Lobster Claw, Parrot’s Beak
Clianthus puniceus
Bloom time
From March to May.
Characteristics
The shrub with a height up to 2 m (6,6‘) is easily mixed up with smaller specimens of the related Cock’s Comb Coral Tree (cf. p. 25). Anyway, Lob-ster Claw’s clusters of orange flowers hang downwards. Single blossoms remind of parrots’ beaks. The leaves are finely pinnate, the twigs are conspicuously curved.
Site:
On Madeira, Lobster Claw prefers altitudes of 350-700 m (385-765 yd.); anyway it can also be found at coastal levels. It is quite frequently cultivated in gardens, parks and at roadsides - among others mainly in Funchal and Caniço.
Interesting to know:
Lobster Claw is native to New Zealand. For overgrazing of its habitats it is nearly extinct there and ranges among the most threatened plant species of the world. Fortunately it can easily be cultivated. Especially in England it is very popular as an ornamental plant for its dense inflorescence. It tolerates light frost and can thus be grown outdoors. Moreover it is to be found in greenhouses of botanical gar-dens or in many private vineyards in Central Europe. As a climbing plant it is popular for being grown in hanging baskets or at trellis-es. Apart from specimens with orange flow-ers you can find cultivars in pink and white.
39
In the Gardens
Stiff Bottlebrush
Callistemon rigidus
Bloom time
From