Unusual Blooms

Here are a few plants blooming in the greenhouse right now. This Peperomia caperata 'Purple Ripple' has flowers that look like a rat's tail.

 I've never seen a Euphorbia tirucalli bloom before, so I was surprised to discover this bloom the other day. Looks like there are a bunch more on the way in the cluster below the open bloom (in the foreground).

I'm pretty sure this is Mammillaria elongata, or Golden Star cactus. I was also surprised to find this little guy flowering.

Begonias in Bloom

Our indoor begonia collection is blooming at full blast right now. These plants are mostly grown for their interesting foliage, so it's a treat to see them put on a show for us.

Here's Begonia 'Pegasus', a variety from Proven Winners. We grew this in the trial garden a couple years ago, and this plant made it's way into the greenhouse at the end of the season. We can't propagate from it because it's a copyrighted variety, but it's a fun plant to have in our collection.

These are the flowers of what I believe to be Begonia erythrophylla, or pond lily begonia. We have a lot of unlabeled plants in our collection, so I've been doing my best to identify them.

Here are the flowers of Begonia ricinifolia (again, my best guess at the i.d.), known as the star begonia.

Here's a closer look at the flower stalks of another specimen. They are just starting to open.

Now on to Begonia bowerae 'Tiger'. This plant was given to us by our perennial garden manager. She had kept it as a houseplant for many years, so it's a nice large specimen. This one has really fun foliage, so I actually think the flower stalks detract from it (and make it look a little unkempt).

I've yet to be able to identify this one. If you have any suggestions, please let me know. I'm currently calling it "the unknown sandpapery reddish green leaf begonia". It's just starting to flower, so it's a little behind the others.

Faucaria 'Jaws'

Here's one of the cutest succulents I've ever seen: Faucaria 'Jaws'. These rooted cuttings were donated last fall to be used for some of our undergraduate horticulture classes. The leftovers have been potted up for our plant sale fundraiser coming up in May. They remind me a little of Venus fly traps and look like they could bite your finger off if you touch them (hence the name Jaws).

Although the spines look sharp, they're actually soft and bendable to the touch. I've never grown Faucaria before, so I'm looking forward to tracking it's progress. I have a feeling that these will form offsets and develop into a clump over time.

One of the plants I potted up for our collection has started to flower! It's the only one out of the whole batch that's flowering, so I must have given it some extra attention. Here's the tag, if you're interested: