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Wedelia

Wedelia is the low groundcover that trails around the labyrinth. Its low-spreading nature and deep, glossy green leaves are highlighted by small stems with bright yellow daisy-like flowers.

This is reminiscent of the Angelita Daisy that was the original plant in the labyrinth. It did not do well, and neither did the Trailing Indigo Bush that followed.

The Wedelia seems to be thriving in that space. This exemplifies the multiple micro-climates that can occur in an arid space where differing levels of shade and other ecological challenges can mean the difference between a plant thriving in one spot and declining in another.

Native to Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean, it is invasive in the neo-tropics.

Damianita

The ground under the Palo Verde trees that ring the Great Lawn is one of the most challenging parts of the garden to cultivate. Moving from sun to shade around the circle, it’s difficult in the low desert climate to find a groundcover that is consistent from full sun to full shade and meets the color aesthetic required for the gardens.

Prior to Damianita, Green Santolina was in this space but it did not do well. Damianita, though not perfect, has done better. In full sun it thrives and creates a solid mound of yellow, daisy-like flowers on a low-mounding green hedge. The shade is a challenge, and in areas where there is full shade, the blooms are much less. That being said, this trailing species has done well overall and is enjoyed by visitors.

Our Lord’s Candle

Our Lord’s Candle can grow in two varieties, as a single or multi-clumped growth pattern. This is another species that can appear to be a rather large bunch grass or multi-mounded bunch grass, but is indeed a Yucca down to its sharp and rigid leaves. The long, blue-green to gray-green leaves are teethed and grow outward to create a globe shape to the plant.

This Yucca’s flowering stem can grow up to 13 feet, displaying bright white flowers that may have a purple tint. The stigma on Our Lord’s Candle is green, brush-like, and ends in a compact head, which is unique to this species. Like the agaves, this species of Yucca is monocarpic, meaning it will die after it blooms. In the mounding (or clumped) variety, each individual plant will bloom before completing its lifecycle. This can take many years, and some will live up to fifty years.

Our Lord’s Candle naturally occurs in chaparral and coastal scrub habitats in southern California and Baja California. Other varieties occur in the Mojave Desert and at the Grand Canyon in Arizona. It is heavily cultivated in the southwestern United States and in Europe.

Beaked Yucca

Beaked Yucca is most obvious in the wildflower field. Entering from the path that starts in the middle of the parking lot and taking the route to the left, it lies immediately ahead on the left side of the path. When it was originally planted at ground level, it appeared like rigid bunch grass. In recent seasons, it began to be more obvious as a trunking species that will rise up between 6 and 15 feet. As each new row of leaves dies, it falls downward to create a skirt effect on the trunk. It can grow single or multi-headed branches. Its leaves are mostly rigid and may or may not have a slight curve.

Rostrata, like other yuccas, is truly in its glory when it blooms. Its large candelabras of pure white blooms signals that it is another species attractive to nocturnal pollinators, which is common in the desert. The main pollinator of yuccas is the Yucca Moth. They have a special symbiotic relationship with this genus and, although other pollinators may visit, the Yucca Moth is the real partner. The plant’s fruit is shaped with a point like a beak, which is why it is nicknamed Beaked Yucca.

The distribution of Beaked Yucca is in the states of Chihuahua and Coahuila in northern Mexico, and western Texas in the United States.

Moroccan Mound

Another popular plant at Sunnylands is the Moroccan Mound, which grows in a dome shape created from chunky square stems. In the right conditions, it can spread up to 30 feet, but in the gardens, it’s spread is a maximum of 3 feet. It does well in poor soil and prefers full sun to partial shade. The plant can be grown for visual interest as its sculptural shape does catch attention.

Euphorbias have a unique flower from other genera. In late winter or early spring, they grow what is called a cyathium (plural – cyathia), which is a small flower cluster. On Moroccan Mound, the flowers are bright yellow and grow along the plant margins near the tops of the stems.

Moroccan Mound is native to the Atlas Mountains of Morocco.

Lady Slipper/Slipper Flower

One of the most asked about plants in the gardens is the Lady Slipper, which is best described as a cluster of giant green beans growing directly out of the ground. This plant grows upright for about a foot or two and then drapes over or twists around into a truly sculptural display. This perennial succulent can be grown in the ground or in pots as a focal point, but it also does well as a backdrop to smaller plants. It is extremely versatile with one exception. It cannot be grown in locations that freeze, unless it can be brought inside during the cold months.

In summer, bracts (modified leaves) appear at some tips of the plant. They display a red triangular bloom, which looks like a tiny red slipper. The fun of this plant is that it can be propagated by seed and by cuttings, so collecting one stem can result in additional plants.

Lady Slipper is a native of the Mexican states of Baja California and Sonora.

Euphorbia vs. Cactus

Euphorbias may be referred to as an “Old World” plant compared to those that are Cactaceae (cactus), which are referred to as a “New World” plant. “Old World” refers to plants with origins in Africa, Asia, and Europe. The “New World” refers to North, Central, and South America. While possibly meaningful for the purpose of biogeographic classifications, it is problematic because it places a colonial lens on the origin of species.

The origin of these terms according to the World Atlas:

‘‘Amerigo Vespucci, a Florentine explorer, coined the term New World (Mundus Novus). He quoted the term in a letter he had written to his friend Lorienzo di Pier in the spring of 1503. In his letter, he asserted that the lands discovered by European navigators were not the edges of Asia as Christopher Columbus stated. Instead, they belonged to an entirely distinct continent, the “New World.” Another explorer, the Italian born Peter Martyr, supported the context of the New World. He used the term ‘Orbe Novo’ translated as ‘New Globe’ upon discovering the Americas in 1511.”

Euphorbias are indeed found in the Americas. Some Euphorbias at Sunnylands are native species to the Americas, so those looking for native species in the gardens can include this species on that list.

A better way to distinguish Euphorbia, which can sometimes look similar to a cactus, is by the white, milky latex that is in Euphorbia. Cactus will have a clear sap. This latex does have a toxicity level and may cause skin rashes if handled.

Formerly called Pedilanthus macrocarpus.

African Bulbine

African Bulbine was part of the original plant list for the Center & Gardens. After struggling for a few seasons, it was removed. In 2018, the Sunnylands landscape team decided to give it another try, and so far it has shown success. This beautiful Euphorbia creates a delicate display of bright green leaves that form a rosette, but its long, narrow leaves look more like a mounding grass with tall flowering stalks. It has been doing well in the shaded parts of the gardens while showing some sensitivity in full sun.

The bloom can an be orange and yellow star shape with six distinct petals that reach back, away from from a fuzzy, yellow stamen. Seedpods are small, and when mature, the seeds are dispersed to the mercy of desert winds to carry them to a suitable germination spot.

Its origin is the African continent and its range extends from South Africa north to Mozambique.

Fish Hook

Fish Hook is found in specimen beds between the café and solar field, and around the wildflower field. This barrel, from the same genus as the Blue Barrel, is easy to distinguish by the variety of its spines’ shapes. The name comes from large, flat spines that appear on this cactus and curve to form a hook. These central spines have been used by the local Seri people as fish hooks, and all parts of the cactus have been used for food or tools.

Flowers range from yellow to orange, followed by yellow ovoid fruit.

Distribution includes central and southern Arizona, New Mexico, southwestern Texas; and Chihuahua, Sonora, and Sinaloa in northern Mexico.

Golden Barrel

The Golden Barrel cactus forms dense wooly caps, from which it can grow crowns of yellow, cup-shaped blooms in spring and summer. These cactuses, like agaves and many other succulents, also produce clones and can create a colony of barrels all stemming from one parental plant.

At Sunnylands, this showstopper is planted in the scoria-mulched beds under the Palo Breas, adjacent the Center. Planted alone in rows, it draws visitors with cameras trying to capture unique views that emerge below the Palo Brea trees. In other parts of the gardens, it shares the spotlight with the San Pedro cactus.

Mary Irish, horticultural consultant on the project, describes these spotlights: “San Pedro cactus and Golden Barrel cactus are set like twin jewels on the dark base. This dramatic presentation is one of the artistic gems visitors find while wandering through the gardens.”

At sunset, the bright green flesh and yellow spines create a glowing effect that looks as if they radiate light.

This cactus, included on the Convention for International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) list, is endangered in the wild. Transport across international lines is restricted as the demand for certain desirable species often results in their depletion at their home of origin, as they are poached and transported to private collections around the world. Now heavily commercially cultivated, they are more available, but as the plants grow to larger sizes, their price point increases, leaving older, wild specimens in danger of being poached.

Spineless Prickly Pear

The Spineless Prickly Pear, known as Ellisiana, is a cultivar of the Opuntia cacanapa. A popular, cold-hardy variety, it can be found in the specimen beds between the café and the solar field. It boasts high heat tolerance and cold tolerance to zero degrees, making it a desirable choice for deserts with wide temperature ranges. It has a spreading nature, so it can fill in larger spaces.

It blooms in summer with bright yellow flowers followed by dark red edible fruit.

It originates from species in southern Texas and Mexico.

Santa Rita

Santa Rita is found in the specimen beds between the café and the solar field among a variety of other Opuntias. This species grows in mounds and doesn’t form a central stem that some other of the genus will. Santa Rita’s pad is very round, rather than obovate (egg-shaped), and is a blend of gray-green and violet-purple.

The cup-shaped flowers have a red base that turn yellow moving up the petal. Its bloom is followed by spineless, purplish-red fruit.

Distribution of Santa Rita is southeastern Arizona, southern New Mexico, western Texas, and northern Sonora, Mexico.

Prickly Pear

Planted in the specimen beds between the café and the solar field, Prickly Pear is one of the earliest Opuntias recorded by traveling European botanists, listed by Ferdinand Lindheimer in 1768. Prickly Pear is one of the most known names in popular culture for Opuntias, becoming a generalized name applied to all padded cactus. Prickly Pear can grow low, creating a shrubby appearance, or may ascend on a single, tree-like stalk. Spines (leaves) may be absent or irregular in growth.

Its cup-shaped flowers bloom yellow to red and are followed by green, orange, or red fruit.

A highly cultivated species, its origins are not confirmed, though it is likely native to Mexico. There has been significant collection transport of this species, as well as cultivation. It is now naturalized in South Africa, Australia, and the Mediterranean.