Sage (Salvia Microphylla)

Date Collected: April 2, 2012
Location Collected: In my backyard, the Mar Vista area.
Clade: Salvia belongs to the vascular plants along with the eudicot angiosperms. 

Habitat: Sage grows at its best in sixty to seventy degrees Fahrenheit, full sun, and moist, well-drained soil; it can tolerate few watering.

Nativity: Native to the Mediterranean region, it is now also grown in Central Europe and Asia Minor.

Special notes: Salvia divinorum, a hallucinogen, meaning sage of the seers or sacred sage was used in ceremonies by Central American Indians.

Resources: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/516221/sage

                 http://www.selfsufficientish.com/sage.htm

Passion Flower (Passiflora Kewinsis)

Date Collected: April 2, 2012
Location Collected: At my aunts house in the Mar Vista area.
Clade: The Passion flower belongs to the vascular plants. It can also be classified into the Eudicot Angiosperms. The Passion Flower also gives off fruit.

Habitat: This beautiful area grows in partially shaded, dry areas and along wood and fences all around the United States of America.

Nativity: It is native to the southeastern portions of the Americas but is now being cultivated all around Europe.

Special notes: It was initially used in the Americas and Europe as a calming herb for anxiety, insomnia, seizures, and hysteria. Up to this date it is still being used to treat insomnia and anxiety.

Resources: http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/passionflower-000267.htm

                  http://www.springboard4health.com/notebook/herbs_passion_flower.html

Heliotrope (Heliotropium)

Date Collected: April 6, 2012
Location Collected: My aunts backyard in Mar Vista.
Clade: Heliotrope belongs to the vascular plant family. It can also be classified as a eudicot angiosperm.

Habitat: Thrives in an environment with full sun and well-drained moist soil. It grows all year long averaging one to three feet tall and one or two feet wide.

Nativity: The Southeastern states of New Jersey and Florida are where this plant is native. It commonly grows in New England and Australia, which is where it affects the cattle.

Special notes: Southeastern Europe uses the heliotrope for different fragrances while ironically Australia constantly fights against it because of the poisoning of its cattle.

Resources: http://www.bhg.com/gardening/plant-dictionary/annual/heliotrope/

                  http://mason.gmu.edu/~sejtemai/projects/poison.htm#origin

Lantana (Lantana Camara)

Date Collected: April 6, 2012
Location Collected: In my aunts backyard in Mar Vista.
Clade: The Lantanas belong to the vascular plants along with the eudicot angiosperms. 

Habitat: Lantanas need regular watering the first couple of weeks until the roots have spread out. They require sunlight and not too much fertilizer since it will cause them to be prone to diseases. Although they are drought tolerant, being in too dry of an environment will decrease their bloom, performance, and growth rate.

Nativity: They are native to tropical regions of the Americas and Africa but also grow as invasive plants in Asia and Australia.

Special notes:  Lantana berries are edible only when ripe. Due to Lantana being naturalized in the southeast , areas of the United States such as Florida, Carolina, and the Gulf Coast are now referred to as “Egg and Ham”.

Resources: http://www.flowersgrowing.com/lantana/

Cactus (Gymnocalycium Mihanovichii)

Date Collected: April 4, 2012

Location Collected: The Cactus was in my backyard near Mar Vista. 

Clade: The Gymnocalycium Mihanovichii belongs to the vascular plants. It is also a eudicot angiosperm.

Habitat: This chin cactus is seen growing under the bushes where it is only under direct sunlight a few number of times a year.

Nativity: It is indigenous to Chaco Boreal in Paraguay but also distributed in other areas of South America like Argentina and Bolivia.

Special notes: These plants die as seedlings unless placed onto another cactus that has chlorophyll (due to the fact that photosynthesis requires chlorophyll).

Resources: http://www.cactus- art.biz/schede/GYMNOCALYCIUM/Gymnocalycium_mihanovichii/Gymnocalycium_mihanovichii/Gymnocaly cium_mihanovichii.htm

                  http://www.cactusinhabitat.org/index.php?p=specie&id=76&l=en