Scientific name: Penstemon jamesii Benth. Common names: James' penstemon, James' beardtongue Plant Family: Plantaginaceae (Plantain) A native evergreen perennial, Penstemon jamesii, will begin to bloom in May with medium to large, tube shaped, broad lavender or lavender-blue flowers with five lobes, or [...]

Scientific name: Forsythia species, Forsythia x intermedia Suggested pronunciation:  for-SITH-ee-aa  in-ter-MEE-dee-uh Common names:  Forsythia, golden bell, Easter tree Family:  Oleaceae - olive (suggested pronunciation: oh-lee-AY-see-ee) Forsythia in bloom. Photo by Janice Tucker. USDA Plant Zones 5-8 Text by [...]

Scientific name: Penstemon barbatus (Cav.) Roth Suggested pronunciation: "PEN-stem-on" "bar-BAY-tus" Family: Plantaginaceae (formerly Scrophulariaceae) Common names: scarlet bugler, St. Joseph’s staff, beard lip penstemon, plantain, figwort, twizzle scarlet Article by Jeanne Gozigian Photo by Joy Mandelbaum The Penstemon [...]

Scientific Name: Malus × 'Indian Magic' Common name: 'Indian Magic' crabapple Family: Rosaceae (rose) Article by Susan Bruneni 'Indian Magic' crabapple (Photo by Cristina Salvador) The plant collections of Santa Fe Botanical Garden at Museum Hill include two [...]

Scientific name:  Centranthus ruber (pronounced sen-TRAN-thus  ROO-ber) Common names: Jupiter’s beard, red valerian, keys-to-heaven, kiss-me-quick Family name:  Caprifoliaceae (honeysuckle)  (pronounced cap-ree-foh-lee-AY-see-ee) Jupiter's Beard in full bloom. Photo by Janice Tucker. Article by Janice Tucker. Photos by: Janice [...]

Scientific name: Ulmus pumila Pronunciation: UL-mus pu-MIL-a Common names: Siberian elm, Asiatic elm, dwarf elm, but not Chinese elm (they are Ulmus parviflora) Family: Ulmaceae Article by Jeanne Gozigian Photo by John Hilty, Illinois Wildflowers Ah, Siberian elms, [...]

Scientific name: Artemisia tridentata Nutt. Common Name: big sagebrush, Great Basin sagebrush Family: Asteraceae (Aster Family) Article by Susan Bruneni The vast landscape of the American West is often portrayed in art forms with seas of big sagebrush. Artemsia tridentata has [...]

Scientific name: Symphyotrichum novae-angliae (L.) G. L. Nesom Pronounced: sim-fy-oh- TRY-kum  NO-vee ANG-lee-a Synonym: Aster novae-angliae. Pronounced: ASS-ter  NO-vee ANG-lee-a Common names: New England aster, Michaelmas daisy (MI-kull-muhs), New England daisy, hairy Michaelmas daisy New England asters with bee. [...]

Scientific name: Verbesina encelioides Common names: cowpen daisy, golden crownbeard, butter daisy Family: Asteraceae (Compositae) Article by Jeanne Gozigian Close up of Verbesina encelioides (cowpen daisy) leaves and flowers. Photo by Janice Tucker. How could such a lovely [...]

Scientific name: Ericameria nauseosa (Pursh) G.L.Nesom & G.I.Baird Common names: rubber rabbitbrush, gray rabbitbrush, chamisa, chamiso Family: Asteraceae By Susan Bruneni Photo: Joy Mandelbaum A prominent feature in northern New Mexico landscapes is rubber rabbitbrush, locally known as [...]

Scientific name: Cleome serrulata (Pursh) (klee-OH-me ser-yoo-LAY-tuh) Synonym: Peritoma serrulata (per-eye-TOH-muh) Common names: Rocky Mountain beeplant, bee plant, bee spider plant and others Plant family: Cleomaceae (spider plant) (klee-ohm-AY-see-ee) Other Plant families mentioned:  Capparaceae (caper) (kap-ar-AY-see-ee), Brassicaceae (mustard)  (brass-ih-KAY-see-ee) Article and [...]