Hibiscus acetosella - False Roselle

Scientific name: Hibiscus acetosella

Common names:
False Roselle, Rose Mallow, Red-Leaf Hibiscus, Cranberry Hibiscus, Bronze Hibiscus
Malay name: Rosel Palsu, Gamet (Indonesia)

Family: Malvaceae

Origin: Tropical Africa

Category: Annual or perennial herb
Photo taken at: Hibiscus Garden Kuala Lumpur

How to grow

Light : Full to partial sun

Soil : Moist, well-draining

Water : Regular but do not over-water

Prune : To maintain a compact shape of the plant, also to promote new shoots and more flowering

Fertilize : Balance fertilizer once a fortnight

Propagate : Seeds or soft-wood cuttings

Features :

The plant is grown as an ornamental for its attractive burgundy red foliage. Leaves appear glossy and bright even under the sun. It can be grown on the ground or in a container. In Indonesia, the young leaves and shoots are eaten as ulam.

Cosmos caudatus - Ulam Raja

Scientific name: Cosmos caudatus

Common name: Wild Cosmos
Malay name: Ulam Raja (King's Salad)

Family:Asteraceae
Origin: Mexico and Latin America
Category: Annual herb
Photo taken at: My home garden

Read more from my NST article titled, "Witihin the Cosmos" here.

How to grow

Light : Full sun to partial shade

Soil : Fertile, moist but well-drained

Water : Adequate watering is needed especially when young. Do not let soil dry out

Prune : Regular harvesting of leaves will encourage new shoots and more leaves
Propagate : Seeds

Features :
Besides having edible leaves that taste like young mango, it also has lovely pink cosmos flowers.

Oxalis corniculata - Creeping Wood Sorrel

Scientific name: Oxalis corniculata Linn.*

Synonyms: Xanthoxalis corniculata, Acetosella corniculata

Common names: Creeping Wood Sorrel, Procumbrent Yellow Sorrel, Sleeping Beauty, Weedy Oxalis

Chinese name: :酢浆草 (ju jiang cao)
Malay name: Belimbing Pasir (Sand Carambola), Calincing, Semanggen, Semanggi Gunung, Daun Asam

Family: Oxalidaceae

Category: Annual / short-lived perennial 

Origin: Unknown **

For more information, visit My Nice Garden post here.

*Source of plant ID: 1001 Garden Plants in Singapore.

**According to the book, "Upland Rice Weeds of South and Southeast Asia" by Marita Ignacio Galinato, Keith Moody, Colin M. Piggin, International Rice Research Institute, Philippines Edi. 1999 the plant is "believed to have originated in tropical Asia, Malaysia, Australasia or the Western Pacific and probably indigenous to the Americas" (Page 60).

Canna x generalis 'Sirikit'

Scientific name: Canna x generalis 'Sirikit'

Common name: Canna lily hybrids

Chinese name: 美人蕉 (mei ren jiao - beautiful lady banana)
Malay name: Bunga Tasbih

Family: Cannaceae

Origin: Horticulture

Category: Perennial herb

Photo taken at: Rooftop Secret Garden of 1 Utama

The name "Canna" originates from the Celtic word for a cane or reed.(Source: Wikipedia)

How to grow

Light : Full sun

Soil : Rich, moist but well drained

Water : Regular

Prune : Remove dried flowers and cut off dead leaf stalks to ground level

Propagate : Division of young rhizomes with 1-2 growing buds.

Grow numerous plants on the ground e.g.in flower beds and borders. This will lead to continuous flowering of one after another.

Features :

Canna leaves look like banana leaves. The leaves are overlapping aerial shoots which arise from underground rhizomes.  There are about 5-10 leaves on each aerial shoot. At the centre is the flowering shoot which bears a few large heads of flowers. Each flower head has about 3-30 flowers. The flowers lasts 1-3 days. The attractive and brightly coloured 'flowers' are enlarged stamens. 

Canna x generalis 'Isabella'

Scientific name: Canna x generalis

Cultivar name: Canna 'Isabella'

Common name: Canna lily hybrids

Chinese name: 美人蕉 (mei ren jiao - beautiful lady banana)
Malay name: Bunga Tasbih

Family: Cannaceae

Origin: Horticulture

Category: Perennial herb

Photo taken at: Rooftop Secret Garden of 1 Utama

The name "Canna" originates from the Celtic word for a cane or reed.(Source: Wikipedia)

How to grow

Light : Full sun

Soil : Rich, moist but well drained

Water : Regular

Prune : Remove dried flowers and cut off dead leaf stalks to ground level

Propagate : Division of young rhizomes with 1-2 growing buds.

Grow numerous plants on the ground e.g.in flower beds and borders. This will lead to continuous flowering of one after another.

Features :

Canna leaves look like banana leaves. The leaves are overlapping aerial shoots which arise from underground rhizomes.  There are about 5-10 leaves on each aerial shoot. At the centre is the flowering shoot which bears a few large heads of flowers. Each flower head has about 3-30 flowers. The flowers lasts 1-3 days. The attractive and brightly coloured 'flowers' are enlarged stamens. 

Canna x generalis 'Sunrise'

Scientific name: Canna x generalis

Cultivar name: Canna 'Sunrise'

Common name: Canna lily hybrids

Chinese name: 美人蕉 (mei ren jiao - beautiful lady banana)
Malay name: Bunga Tasbih

Family: Cannaceae

Origin: Horticulture

Category: Perennial herb

Photo taken at: Rooftop Secret Garden of 1 Utama

The name "Canna" originates from the Celtic word for a cane or reed.(Source: Wikipedia)

How to grow

Light : Full sun

Soil : Rich, moist but well drained

Water : Regular

Prune : Remove dried flowers and cut off dead leaf stalks to ground level

Propagate : Division of young rhizomes with 1-2 growing buds.

Grow numerous plants on the ground e.g.in flower beds and borders. This will lead to continuous flowering of one after another.

Features :

Canna leaves look like banana leaves. The leaves are overlapping aerial shoots which arise from underground rhizomes.  There are about 5-10 leaves on each aerial shoot. At the centre is the flowering shoot which bears a few large heads of flowers. Each flower head has about 3-30 flowers. The flowers lasts 1-3 days. The attractive and brightly coloured 'flowers' are enlarged stamens. 

Paederia foetida - The stinky skunk vine

Scientific name: Paederia foetida

Synonyms: P. tomentosa, P. scandens

Common names: Stink Vine, Skunk Vine, Chinese Fever Vine

Chinese names:
牛皮冻 (niu pi dong - cow hide vine)，鸡矢藤 (ji shi teng - chicken vow vine?)，
红骨蛇 (hong gu she - red bone snake)，臭腥藤 (chou xing teng - fishy smelly vine)，
鸡香藤 (ji xiang teng - chicken smell vine)，鸡粪藤 (ji fen teng) 

Malay name: Pokok Daun Sekentut, Akar Kentut-kentut, Daun Kentut,
Kesimbukan, Dangdangking, Pokok Balek Adap

Family: Rubiaceae

Origin: East and southern Asia

Category: Evergreen perennial climber

Photo taken at: By a roadside fence in Pushing, Perak.

Features

The leaves and stems exudes a strong sulphurous odor when crushed. In Malaysia, it is found growing wild in open / vacant spaces and scrambling over other trees and shrubs. It grows vigorously, loves the full sun and adaptable to many types of soil.

Ipomoea cairica - The wild morning glory

Scientific name: Ipomoea cairica

Common names: 

Railway Creeper, Ivy Leaved Morning Glory, 

Cairo Morning Glory, Coastal Morning Glory, Mile a Minute Vine, Messina Creeper

Chinese name: 五爪金龍 (wu zhua jin ling - 5 clawed golden dragon)

Malay name: Seri Pagi Jalar

Family: Convolvulaceae
Origin: Africa

Native range: From Cape Verde in Portugal to the Middle East and Northern Africa

Category: Perennial creeper (Wildflower / Weed)

Photo taken at: Rubbish dump in Ipoh.

The species name 'cairica' could have been derived from "Cairo", the capital of Egypt.

Features

It is commonly found growing wild in vacant land and rubbish dumps where it grows well under the full sun. The flowers open in the morning and are closed by afternoon. There are 5 lobes on each leaf with the centre lobe being the largest. Propagation is by cuttings. 

Sugar Cane Flowers

Scientific name: Saccharum hybrids

Common name: Sugar Cane

Family: Poaceae

Origin: Horticulture

Category: Perennial grass

Photo taken at: Garden by the ditch in my neighbourhood

How to grow

Light : Full sun

Soil : Moist, well-drained

Water : Regular

Prune : Strip off older, faded leaves and stems to keep the plant tidy

Propagate : Cuttings

Features : 

There are many cultivars differentiated by stem (skin) colours such as green, purple, red, to brownish black.

Tridax procumbens

26.

Scientific name: Tridax procumbens

Common names: Coat Buttons, Tridax Daizy
Chinese name: 长柄菊 (chang bing ju - long stalk chrysanthemum) , 羽芒菊 (yu mang ju)
Malay name: Kancing Baju
cadillo chisaca (Spanish), herbe caille (French), Jayanti veda (Sanskrit), ghamra (Hindi),
gletang (Indonesia) vettukaaya poondu (Tamil), kotobukigiku (Japanese)

Family: Asteraceae

Origin: Tropical America

Category: Weed

Photo taken at: Malaysia

Thunbergia erecta

Scientific name: Thunbergia erecta

Common name: Bush Clockvine, King's Mantle

Family: Acanthaceae

Origin: West Africa

Category:  Shrub

Photo taken at: Seen Hock Yeen Temple, Chemor, Perak

How to grow
Light : Full sun. There will be less flowering when planted in the shade
Soil : Moist, well drained soil
Water : Regular
Prune : Can be shaped into a bushy shrub or hedge
Propagate : Cuttings

Features
This free-flowering shrub can grow to about 1.5m tall. It has weak woody stems. 

Macfadyena unguis-cati - The Cat's Claw Creeper

Scientific name: Macfadyena unguis-cati

Synonyms: 
Doxantha unguis-cati, Batocydia unguis-cati, Bignonia tweedieana, Bignonia unguis-cati , Doxantha unguis-cati 

Common name: Cat's Claw Creeper/Ivy, Yellow Trumpet Vine
(Its tendrils look like cat's claws)
Chinese name: 猫爪藤 (mao zhua teng)

Family: Bignoniaceae

Origin: Tropical America

Category: Evergreen perennial clinging climber
Photograph taken at the rooftop Secret Garden of 1-Utama

More pictures and information here.

How to grow

Light : Full to partial sun

Soil : Sandy or clay soil

Water : Regular needs, plant is drought tolerant

Maintenance : Prune to check vigorous growth. 

Propagate : By seeds, cuttings or underground tubers

Features :
Spectacular flowers and dense foliage. It forms a thick screen / wall cover.

Saintpaulia spp - Persian Violet

Scientific name: Saintpaulia spp
Common name: African Persian Violet

Chinese name: 非洲堇 (fei zhou jin)

Family: Gesneriaceae
Origin: Africa
Category: Shrubs
Photo taken at: Floria 2012

The genus is named after Baron Walter von Saint Paul-Illaire (1860–1910), the district commissioner of Tanga province who discovered the plant in Tanganyika (now Tanzania) in Africa in 1892 and sent seeds back to his father, an amateur botanist in Germany. (Note: This sentence is taken from Wikipedia). 

How to grow
Light : Bright, filtered/indirect light shaded from the direct sun.
Soil : Well drained aerated soil.
Water : Only when the surface is dry to touch. Avoid getting the leaves wet. Do not over-water
Prune : Deadhead spent flowers
Propagate : Leaf and stem cuttings or offsets.
Diseases : Prone to crown and root rot diseases

Features
It is suitable for growing indoors, by the window sill or in a terrarium.

Brassica olearacea

Scientific name: Brassica oleracea 

Common names: Ornamental Cabbage, Ornamental Kale

Family: Brassicaceae

Origin: Horticulture

Category: Ornamental plant

Photo taken at: Floria 2012

Zantedeschia aethiopica - Calla Lily

Scientific name: Zantedeschia aethiopica 

Synonym: Calla aethiopica

Common names: Calla Lily, Arum Lily, Varkoor (pig's ear in Africaans)

Family: Araceae

Origin: South Africa

Category: Rhizomatous herbaceous perennial plant

Photo taken at: Genting Theme Park Hotel Garden

How to grow :
In Malaysia, calla lilies grows best on wet soil in the highlands (Genting Highlands, Cameron Highlands, Frazer's Hill and Kundasang on the foothills of Mt Kinabalu). They flower the whole year round. In the lowlands, we buy calla lilies as cut flowers from the florists.

Nyctanthes arbor-tristis - The Indian Night Jasmine

Scientific name: Nyctanthes arbor-tristis

Common names: Arbor-Tritis, Night Jasmine, Lover's Tree, Tree of Sadness

Chinese name: 夜花茉莉 (ye hua mo li meaning night jasmine)

Kembang Seri Gading (Malay),
Parijat/Parijata (Hindi), Pavazhamalli (Tamil), Sephalika (Sanskrit), Siuli (Bengali)
Coral Jasmine (Philippines), Salikaa (Indo-China), Karanikaa (Thailand), Lai Tau (Vietnam)

Family: Oleaceae 

Origin: South Asia, India

Category: Shrub

Photo taken at: Ditch garden in my neighbourhood

Nyctanthes is derived from two Greek words 'nyx' (night) and 'anthos' (a flower) which collectively means night bloomer and arbor tristis in Latin, meaning Sad tree or dull coloured tree. (Reference book "Flowers of India" by DS Pandey and N.P. Singh).

How to grow 

Light : Full sun to partial shade

Soil : Moist, well-drain soil

Water : Moderate

Prune : For shape

Propagate : Seeds and stem cuttings

Features :
The highly scented flowers open only after sundown and fall off to the ground before sunrise the next morning. The fragrance is honey-sweet and intoxicating. The plant has medicinal properties and essential oils are extracted from the flowers. The flowers are sacred to Hindus and Buddhist and used as prayer offerings in temples and homes. Stories abound in Indian mythology about this flower. It is regarded as one of the 5 wish granting tree from heaven.

Pithecellobium dulce 'Dwarf Albino'

Scientific name: Pithecellobium dulce 'Dwarf Albino'

Common name: Madras Thorn, Manilla Tamarind, Bread and Cheese, Asam Keranji

Family: Fabaceae (pea family)

Origin: Central America

Category: Tree

Photo taken at: rooftop Secret Garden of 1 Utama

The original plant in the wild is a medium sized tree with thorns that can grow to 10-15m tall.

How to grow
Light : Full to partial sun
Soil : Rich, moist but well-draining soil
Water : Regular
Prune : To maintain shape
Propagate : By marcots

Features
The flowers are greenish white. The dwarf variety has snowy white leaves that turns green as it matures.