Miscellaneous
Cecropia albida - Amazon Snake TreeThis plant is so striking with its giant silver leaves and red leaf bracts. Seed was collected by Dick from the Amazon basin. The tree has hollow stems with stacked 'pill boxes' inside the stem. In South America Amazon Fire Ants make their nests in these 'pill boxes'. They protect the tree from foreign invaders which may harm the tree. The trees at Landsendt are really impressive, not a plant seen in many NZ gardens.
Schizolobium parahybum - Brazilian Fern TreeThis fast growing legume is an amazing looking plant. As a young tree it has a solitary stem with an umbrella shaped top of feathery leaves. It multi stems as it gets larger. In winter it drops all its leaves and is a stick for a few months.
Schefflera - CondorThis plant was introduced to NZ by Dick. It is a typical Schefflera with umbelliferous leaves. The leaves are large and leathery. This plant has flowered only 3 times in 30 years at Landsendt. A reason why it remains rare. When Dick found it in Ecuador it had not been formally classified. He named it 'Condor' after the Condor mountain range where he found it.
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