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/
This is a rambling episode about beer cans in the wild, plant gestalt, and instincts about places. Oh, and an interesting plant called Sideroxylon...
Petey encounters raccoons at his job and needs to do something before they wreak more havoc. Careful Petey! I can’t believe I didn’t mention...
Growing Native- Black Swallowtail The scientific name of the black swallowtail is Papilio polyxenes. Papilio is Latin for butterfly and the specific epithet polyxenes...
