- Sleepy Orange (Eurema nicippe),
- Cloudless Sulphur (Phoebis sennae)
- Orange-barred Giant Sulphur (Phoebis philea)
Winter Cassia (Cassia bicapsularis) is yet another of the plants to bear the irritatingly common name of "Butterfly Bush" that refers to about a dozen unrelated species. This cassia is native to the tropical areas of the Americas and is so named Winter Cassia because it puts on a showy bloom of yellow each winter. When blooming, the Winter Cassia is a mass of eye catching yellow that is sure to turn heads and generate lots of requests for cuttings and seed sharing.
Sicklepod Cassia (Cassia obtusifolia) is so named for its long sickle-shaped seed pods which begin to form in late summer and mature in the fall. A true annual, Sicklepod will die back entirely each winter in the frost and will sprout from seeds around the beginning of summer. Blooming with small golden flowers, this plant is fast growing and attractive often reaching heights near to six foot. Sicklepod cassia is lovely in a garden but care should be taken to control its spread. This plant is known as a nuisance weed and tends to spread readily among food crops. Due to its fast growing nature this Cassia can outperform food and grain crops making it a serious problem for farmers. The seeds of Sicklepod Cassia can be poisonous if ingested in large quantities, especially by poultry and cattle. This species is not recommended for home gardens.
I really enjoyed your posting about Cassias. I own a Cassia plant and am enjoying watching Cloudless Sulphurs come to it to lay eggs. I raise many other species which you can see on my blog http://elizabethssecretgarden.blogspot.com/ . I found you on twitter and will now enjoy following your tweets. I hope my family and I will be able to make a trip to Tampa, Florida to visit BioWorks Butterfly Garden.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth I am so glad you enjoyed the post. Your blog is really great and I will be reading it regularly! Please do let me know if you will be over in Tampa to visit. I'd love to meet you!
ReplyDeleteThank you, we will let you know if we are in the area and can visit. I live in NE Orlando, Florida if you would like to stop by and visit me.
ReplyDeleteKristen, I wanted to let you know that I now have a column, Elizabeth's Secret Garden, on Costa Rica News. http://www.thecostaricanews.com/
ReplyDeleteIf you scroll down you will see a picture of me in a cowboy hat on the front page.
I wanted to do a blog entry about Bioworks Butterfly Garden. Will you be working Friday Nov. 13 or Saturday Nov. 14? Would there be many butterflies around if I visited in November?
ReplyDeleteIs it toxic to animals?
ReplyDeleteNot to our knowledge but we would recommend more research just to be safe.
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