There is only one species Mandevilla in Arizona, but there are over 100 species found (maybe as many as 200 spp.?) if you start going south into Mexico and Central and South America. It’s overwhelming. And there are numerous cultivars…be careful!
The old botanical name of this cool night bloomer was Macrosiphonia brachysiphon and translated to “large tube short tube,” which I thought was just a wonderful way to remember it, but that’s just me.
I wonder what critters visit this fragrant night bloomer? Bats? Hawk moths? Maybe early in the morning before the flowers close up, native bees? Well, it belongs in a night blooming pollinator garden at your casa, right? Mine too.
The photos are by the botanist Sue Carnahan and taken from SEINet. I thank her and here is a link to that marvelous site: https://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/
The genus Asclepias is in the Milkweed family Aclepiadaceae and there are about 30 species of Asclepias found in Arizona from low deserts to...
Anxious for some early morning light and something green in the grassland, Petey remembers an early blooming wildflower to look for in the nearby...
When we first moved out to Cochise County we were so lucky to have a few springs with abundant Mexican poppy (Eschscholzia mexicana) displays....
