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In Bloom

Leucadendron argenteum can be found in and near the South Africa Garden in Beds 26a, 27h, 32a and 30, and at the end of the Entry Garden in Bed 5.

Location Scientific Name Leucadendron argenteum Common Name Silver Tree Family Proteaceae Plant Type Evergreen shrubs or small trees Environment Site in full sun with good drainage. Prefers lean, acid soil and thrives in foggy coastside conditions. Bloom Most noted for its beautiful foilage, which looks best on younger trees. Uses Wonderful tactile element in the garden. Used most for striking silver color. Young plants make great container subjects. More Info South African site with photos The Protea Atlas Project Tropical Flowering Plants: A Guide to Identification and Cultivation by Kirsten Albrecht Llamas A book with information about many South African plants. Profile Contributor: Fred Bové

The Cape Province of South Africa, an area of 100 square miles at the tip of the continent, is a botanical wonderland. Two-thirds of its plants are endemic, meaning they occur nowhere else in the world. This peninsula, isolated from other land masses by two oceans, with Table Mountain rising 3,500 feet above Cape Town, offers great varieties in elevation, and has a mild mediterranean climate like our own. This climate, wet in winter and dry in summer, encourages enormous diversity. In fact, more than 8,550 plant species have been counted here, twice as many as in California.

The Silver Tree is native only to the slopes of Table Mountain. It is called silver because its soft, 6 - 8" elliptical leaves, which remain on the trees for several years giving it evergreen status, are covered with hairs that look astonishingly like silver in the daylight. Leucadendron argenteum can reach fifty feet in height and develops beautiful, vanilla-scented apricot flowers the size of a golf ball. Its bark is corky and pale gray in color with distinctive horizontal furrows as it ages. Sadly, it was once abundant in its native range, seeding readily after brush fires, but it is now endangered because of a beetle that bores into its bark causing mortal injury.

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Magnolia campbellii January	Magnolia denudata February	Magnolia x veitchii March
Iris douglasiana April

Acer palmatum 'Sango kaku' January	Magnolia campbellii 'Darjeeling' February	Bomarea spp. March
Rhododendron occidentale April	Polystichum munitum May	x Chiranthofremontia lenzii June
Salvia leucantha July	Hydrangea seemannii August	Wollemia nobilis September
Cyathea cooperi October	Pinus radiata November	Correa spp. December

Garrya elliptica January	Magnolia x soulangeana February	Senecio glastifolius March
Ribes spp. April	Oxalis oregana May	Calandrinia grandiflora June
Taxus baccata July	Romneya coulteri August	Passiflora parritae September
Malvaviscus arboreus October	Monterey Cypress November	Aloe arborescens December

Aloe plicatilis January	Banksia seminuda February	Zantedeschia aethiopica March
Magnolia laevifolia April	Araucaria heterophylla May	Toxicodendron diversilobum June
Clarkia sp. July	Agapanthus August	Brugmansia September
Cedrus spp. October	Protea repens November	Camellia sinensis December

Thujopsis dolabrata January	Gordonia longicarpa February	Rojasianthe superba March
Echium spp. April	Iris douglasiana May	Digitalis purpurea June
Felicia amelloides July	Ceroxylon quindiuense August	Amaryllis belladonna September
Ginkgo biloba October	Acer morrisonense November	Ilex aquifolium December

Picea sitchensis January	Telanthophora grandifolia February	Aeonium arboreum 'Schwartzkopf' March
Leptospermum April	Salvia gesneraeflora May	Lavandula spp. June
Pelargonium July	Fuchsia paniculata August	Luma apiculata September
Luculia October	Arbutus unedo November	Cycad December

Restionaceae January	Hellebores February	Ceanothus March
Rhododendron April	Psoralea pinnata May	Fremontodendron californicum June
Leucadendron argenteum July	Crocosmia August	Gunnera tinctoria September
Pellaea rotundifolia October	Fuchsia boliviana November	Erica canaliculata December

Magnolia campbelli January	Magnolia denudata February	Camellia March
Geranium maderense April	Acmena smithii May	Eschscholzia californica June
Dendromecon harfordii July	Romneya coulteri August	Eupatorium purpureum September
Epilobium canum sp. October	Grevillea spp. November	Drimys winteri December