Also, it’s in the yam family. That’s right. This is a yam.

Brighamia insignis, often sold under the name vulcan palm, has an interesting backstory. Its native habitat is dry, rocky ledges on the Hawaiian islands of Kauaʻi and Niʻihau, where it is known as Ālula or 'Olulu. It is critically endangered in the wild; its pollinator, a moth, is believed to be extinct, and various invasive animal species eat the plants. Despite these challenges, it can be successfully hand-pollinated and is fairly easy to grow. There are now thousands of plants in commercial cultivation, compared to the single wild plant observed in 2014. Work is underway to reintroduce more. This plant requires very good drainage, as it grows in very thin soil in habitat. Currently mine is in a standard succulent mix, but I plan to heavily amend that with scoria in the spring. Since it arrived here in the middle of summer, I put it in the front entryway with the orchids and ferns. It's been reasonably happy there, but it's leaning a bit, so it will get moved to a brighter location. B. insignis is a fall bloomer with fragrant flowers that are said to smell like honeysuckle. Mine was still settling in during that time, but I'm hopeful it'll bloom next year.

It’s a young and beautiful Calibanus hookeri, Asparagaceae! It’s a Mexican caudiciform, one of those plants which form an enlarged base. Thank you for your submission!

#succulents

Adenium ‘Velvet Dream’ (second flower) and hibiscus ‘King Kamehameha’.

The nursery had several other cultivars, but only one had open flowers at the time; it was a red single with a very thin but ultramarine blue(!) edge to the petals, This guy had very dark buds but no open flowers. Since I was limiting myself to one, I ultimately chose this one for the same reason I chose ‘Super Noble Concubine’: unusually broad leaves. Adenium hybrid leaves seem to be all over the place, and it doesn’t seem many people breed for shape or size. Since you spend more time overall looking at leaves than flowers, I think attractive leaves are an asset. If I ever get both of them blooming at the same time, I’ll try crossing them and see what happens.