Iowa, in the heart of the Midwest, is a state in transition. Its location marks a transition from the eastern hardwood forests in its northeast to the prairies that stretch westward to the Rockies. With agricultural industries in its eastern cities, particularly Waterloo and DAVENPORT, it marks a transition between the eastern manufacturing belt and the less industrial West. The …

Quince — The Quince, or Cydonia oblonga, is the sole member of the genus Cydonia and native to warm-temperate southwest Asia in the Caucasus region. It is a small deciduous tree, growing 5-8 m tall and 4-6 m wide, related to apples and pears, and like them has a pome fruit, which is bright golden yellow when mature, pear-shaped, 7-12 …

Nutmeg — The nutmegs Myristica are a genus of evergreen trees indigenous to tropical southeast Asia and Australasia. They are important for two spices derived from the fruit, nutmeg and mace. Nutmeg is the actual seed of the tree, roughly egg-shaped and about 1 inch (20–30 mm) long and 3/4 inch (15–18 mm) wide, and weighing between one quarter and …

Magnolia — Magnolia is a large genus of about 210 flowering plant species in the subfamily Magnolioideae of the family Magnoliaceae. The natural range of Magnolia species is rather scattered and includes eastern North America, Central America and the West Indies and east and southeast Asia. Some species are found in South America. Today many species of Magnolia and an …

Hornbeam — Plants in the genus Carpinus (Cár-pi-nus) are commonly called Hornbeams. They are relatively small hardwood trees. Many botanists place the hornbeams in the birch family Betulaceae, though some group them with the hazels (Corylus) and hop-hornbeams (Ostrya) in a segregate family, Corylaceae. The 30-40 species occur across much of the north temperate regions, with the greatest number of …

Hop Hornbeam — Hophornbeam, Ostrya is a genus of eight to ten small deciduous trees belonging to the birch family Betulaceae. Its common name is Hophornbeam in American English and Hop-hornbeam in British English. It may also be called ironwood, a name shared with a number of other plants. The genus is native in southern Europe, southwest and eastern Asia, …

Fuchsia — Fuchsia is a genus of flowering plants, mostly shrubs, which were identified by Charles Plumier in the late 17th century, and named by Plumier in 1703 after the German botanist Leonhart Fuchs (1501–1566). The English vernacular name Fuchsia is the same as the scientific name. There are about 100–110 species of Fuchsia. The great majority are native to …

Dogwood — The Dogwoods comprise a group of 30-50 species of deciduous woody plants (shrubs and trees) in the family Cornaceae, divided into one to nine genera or subgenera (depending on botanical interpretation). Four subgenera are enumerated here. Most species have opposite leaves and a few have alternate. The fruit of all species is a drupe with one or two …

Dieffenbachia — Dieffenbachia is a genus of tropical plants in the Family Marantaceae noted for their patterned leaves. Members of this genus are popular as houseplants because of their tolerance to shade. The Dieffenbachia is often referred to as the “King of Plants”. The cells of the Dieffenbachia plant contain needle-shaped calcium oxalate crystals called raphides. If a leaf is …

Bougainvillea — Bougainvillea is a genus of flowering plants native to South America from Brazil west to Peru and south to southern Argentina (Chubut Province). Different authors accept between four and 18 species in the genus. The name comes from Louis Antoine de Bougainville, an admiral in the French Navy who discovered the plant in Brazil in 1768. They are …