education

There are few flowers that inspire the type of awe that orchids do. They come in some seriously weird and wacky forms and I’m not quite sure there’s such a thing as an ordinary orchid, unless you’re comparing it against other orchids. All orchids belong to a single family of monocots, Orchidaceae. You might find members growing in the soil or

Probably the most famous desert-dwelling plant family, the cacti family are a group of dicots native to the Americas. There are 127 genera in this clade with 1750 known species in total. When we look at a cactus, it can be hard to decide which part is the leaf and which is the stem. Cactaceae plants have evolved to change

Crassulas, stonecrops or hen-and-chicks, are the typical plant one thinks of when we hear the word “succulent”. In fact, not all succulent plants are crassulas, and not all crassulas are succulent (though the vast majority are). They are usually desert dwellers that love plenty of sun and well-draining soil; just don’t keep their feet wet for too long as this

Plants in the Araceae family, colloquially known as aroids, are usually pretty easy to identify, especially if you can see “one” of their “flowers” (actually an inflorescence). Monstera deliciosa is an example of an aroid with an edible fruit, however it’s important to note that the fruit must fully ripen which can take up to a year, because under-ripe monstera fruits can be toxic.

On the surface, there doesn’t seem to be much that holds this family together as a group. It certainly wouldn’t seem obvious that figs and mulberries belong in the same family at first glance, at least not to me. Description Members can come in all shapes and sizes including vines and shrubs, but this family is generally associated with trees.

The Ficus genus is home to around 850 species of plants in the dicotyledenous Moraceae family that come in a range of shapes and sizes, but can most easily be recognised by their round or pear-shaped fruit or infructescence (inflorescence before pollination). Plants in this genus can be sensitive to location change; perhaps if you’ve ever taken a rubber plant home from

Members of the dicotyledonous protea family largely originate from the southern hemisphere, especially Australia and southern Africa. Even though we tend to lump them all in as “natives” in Australia, some of them originate overseas, most notable proteas. The banksias, grevilleas, waratahs and macadamias are examples of Aussie natives, though there are many other truly native branches of the family

Named after Proteus, the Greek god who could change his form at will, the variance of forms within this genus is impressive. Protea is the type genus of its family, Protaceae.

Other members of the family include waratahs, grevilleas and banksias. Like those genera, protea are often pollinated by birds, small marsupials and invertebrates. Unlike those genera which originate in Australia, the proteas are from southern Africa.

Banksia is a genus of shrubs, trees and shrubby trees within the Protaceae family, along with warratahs, grevilleas and proteas. Like many other members, these plants provide great food for pollinators such as lorikeets, rosellas, bats, possums and invertebrates.

Description

A fluffy or fuzzy inflorescence called a spike or candle exists at the terminal tip on the branch. As the bisexual flowers (in pairs of 2) are pollinated and age, they brown off and a number of dehiscent seed pods appear.