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Borago officinalis is an herb with distinctive blue starflowers. Many trichromes give it a hairy appearance. It offers both pollen and nectar to bees. The epithet officinalis means " official," in the pharmaceutical sense.
Common plant names can be misleading: consider the names “ponytail palm,” “cardboard palm,” and “sago palm,” none of which are palms!
Ponytail “palm” is planted in the front landscapes of some lucky Valencia Reserve homes; you can identify it by its wide trunk base, reminiscent of an elephant’s foot plus long, thin leaves that hang down, reminiscent of a ponytail! Three-hundred- fifty- year-old specimens can be found in its native Mexico. The Garden of Extremes at Mounts Botanical Garden in West Palm Beach has a very unusual specimen: it has variegated white and green leaves rather than the usual plain green. Ponytail “palms” are in the agave family, the only similarity to palms being that they are warm-climate, flowering plants that have a trunk topped with leaves. The cardboard “palm” is planted at the front entrance of VR, at the pool, and at residents’ homes. The thick leaves feel like cardboard. This short, shrub-like plant is a cycad, not a palm, and the two are not even closely related. Cycads are a plant type that grew before, during, and after the dinosaurs; palms only evolved at the end of the dinosaur age. Cycads reproduce with male and female cones; palms reproduce with flowers. The sago “palm” is another cycad that is also planted in front of many VR homes. Very green, very shiny leaves form a lovely rosette. The slow growth rate makes it a suitable container plant; after fifty years, the trunk can reach ten feet. Sago is a type of starchy food, usually obtained from the stems of certain palms; but sago can also be obtained from this cycad, if it is carefully prepared, since this plant is poisonous. The ponytail palm is Beaucarnea recuvata, the cardboard palm is Zamia furfuracea, and the sago palm is Cycas revoluta. Note to grandparents , pet owners, and all other people: If ingested, cycads, including cardboard palms and sago palms, are poisonous to humans, dogs, cats, and horses; all parts are toxic, especially the seeds. |
Katherine Wagner-Reiss has her botany Certificate from the New York Botanical Garden, where she is a volunteer tour guide.
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