FIDDLE LEAF TOBACCO
(sp. Nicotiana Repanda)
It’s named for its Fiddle-Shaped
basal leaves and is often called:
Tobacco Cimarron. It grows well
in Rockport and doesn’t mind being close to our salty bay. It’s one
of the more beautiful flowers that
this genus (Nicotiana) has to offer
- five white petals with a wine-red
star right in the middle - and they’re
night bloomers that close up during
the day and unfold in the late evening. The flower is quite similar to
N. plumbaginifolia, which is common around Brownsville, but the
Fiddle Leaf Tobacco flower has a
longer floral tube.
By the way, all parts of this plant
are considered poisonous.
ROCKPORT IRIS
(sp. Iris var.)
(sp. I. brevicaulis)
This flower grows from either a bulb
or creeping rhizomes, and there are
more than 200 different species, and
some of them reside in our area. Iris
virginica, I. fulva and I. brevicaulis
are a few to look for.
LORE: Iris juice has been used to
remove freckles and treat skin diseases. Its essential oils are used in
perfumes.
(sp. I. virginica)
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