The fallen seeds from the Thai Red Roselle I planted last year volunteered this summer and they are nice, verdant and bushy from all of the rain we’ve been getting. #Perennials are a must for me in the garden. You put in effort one year and, if all goes well, you reap what you sewed for years to come.
The other plant is Davis green cotton, also a hibiscus relative. It’s the very first flower on this plant. I can’t wait to see a green cotton boll. #gardening #Florida #Zone10
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I was looking closely at this photo last night and wondered what all of those tiny dots are in between the leaf veins.
It turns out they are gossypol glands. Gossypol is one of the many chemical defenses #cotton contains to defend it from the vast majority of pests. The boll weevil evolved alongside cotton and can digest the plant successfully.
#NativePlants #plants