v1.0.48 Laubwerk Plants Kit 11 – Tropical Shrubs

The following 10 tropical shrubs species are included in the Plants Kit 11. Each species comes in 36 variations per species, i.e. 3 variants, 3 ages and 4 seasonal aspects, for a total of 360 models per Kit.

PRIDE OF BARBADOS
Caesalpinia pulcherrima

Fast-growing and deciduous or semi-evergreen, upright shrub or small tree with low and spreading branches. Pale, smooth bark, often marked with blackish lenticels. Smooth, green or glaucous, glabrous, shiny branches. Feathery, twice pinnate, glabrous leaves, dark green above and light green beneath. The inflorescences are large, erect and terminal racemes. Showy, orange, yellow, pink or red flowers. Nearly straight, oblong, flat, thin pod. Native to tropical America, but now widely grown in the tropics for its long bloom of colorful flowers.

YELLOW OLEANDER
Cascabela thevetia

Evergreen, upright shrub or small-sized tree. Light brown, rough bark, which flakes off in thin and irregular scales. Simple, leatherlike, glossy and glabrous leaf, bright green above, paler beneath. Leaves grow alternately on the stem. Large, funnel-shaped, sometimes fragrant, yellow (less commonly apricot) flowers in few-flowered cymes. The fruit is a green globose drupe turning black when ripe. The species is in the same family as and closely related to Nerium oleander, commonly known as oleander.

HAWAIIAN TI PLANT ‘RED SISTER’
Cordyline fruticosa ‘Red Sister’

Evergreen, upright shrub. The trunk, usually not branched, looks almost palm-like. Distinctive burgundy-pink and bronze-green foliage. Red or yellowish flowers with a sweet fragrance. The fruit is in the form of red berries. Cordylines are known by many names and have also been crowned as the ‘King of Tropical Foliage’. Red Sister adds color to any tropical flower garden.

CHINESE HIBISCUS
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis

Small- to medium-sized deciduous tree or large shrub with a wide-spreading habit, often multi-stemmed. Smooth, pinkish-brown bark. Bark of mature trees exfoliates to leave attractive patches of cinnamon, pink, green, and pale yellow beneath. Broadly ovate leaves, alternately arranged, emerge reddish-purple in spring, mature to a lustrous, medium to dark green in summer, and change to variable shades of yellow, red and purple in autumn. Small but abundant crimson flowers on bare twigs in late winter and early spring.

DONA LUZ PINK MUSSAENDA
Mussaenda ‘Dona Luz’

Evergreen, open, somewhat rambling shrub. Tends to develop a quirky trunk and an awkward crown. Grey-brown speckled bark. Opposite, elliptical to ovate, bright to dark green leaves, often pubescent and prominently veined. Small flowers, composed of five fused petals that form a tubular orange-yellow corolla, are produced in terminal clusters. The greatly enlarged, peachy pink, leaf-like sepal, the principal ornamental feature, hang in masses just below the tubular corolla and above the leaves and persist long after the corollas have fallen. One of the many beautiful cultivars developed by Phillipine horticulture and were and are so prized that they were named after the Phillipine first ladies or the ‘Dona’s. This beautiful cultivar is considered to be a selected hybrid of M. erythrophylla x M. phillipica.

GLORIOUS JUNGLE PHILODENDRON
Philodendron gloriosum

Small, evergreen shrub with leaves that stay close to the stem. Green peduncle. Large, heart-shaped leaves with a velutionous surface and striking, silver-white veins. Tiny flowers borne within arum-like green to reddish spathes. This Philodendron has been named gloriosum because of its superb leaf shape and colors. Native to the tropical moist forest of Columbia.

GREAT WHITE FRANGIPANI
Plumeria obtusa

Large shrub or small tree with an irregular or rounded crown. Evergreen in the tropics, but deciduous in temperate climates. Grey, smooth bark, knobby due to small, outgrowths of cork. Highly branched with thick, but fragile branches. Glossy and obovate leaves with blunt ends. Arranged in a spiral cluster with most leaves concentrated at branch tips. White flowers with large, waxy petals that form a funnel shape grouped mainly at the branch tips. Blooms throughout the year in tropical environments. Strong fragrance, especially intense at night. Often used as an ornamental shrub or tree in gardens and parks.

CORAL PLANT
Russelia equisetiformis

Small, multi-branching subshrub with long arching branches gracefully forming a fountainesque mound. Branches start out erect and bend over as they grow longer, giving it the weeping form. Bright green stems. Tiny oval to elliptic, bright green leaves. Flowers profusely with small, tubular, bright red flowers, resembling firecrackers. Brown, oval or globose capsule fruit. It can bloom year round in tropical and subtropical climates. Very popular nectar plant for hummingbirds, and butterflies.

TABERNAEMONTANA ‘SWEET LOVE’
Tabernaemontana corymbosa ‘Sweet Love’

Small, evergreen shrub with a dense crown and a bush-like habit. Brown bark. Opposite, elliptic to obovate, glossy green leaves with a wavy margin. Sweet scented white flowers are shaped like pinwheels. Dry, dehiscent fruits, known as follicles. Flowers continuously all year round. Attractive to bees, butterflies, and birds. Attractive ornamental dwarf form of the species.

KING’S-MANTLE
Thunbergia erecta

Small, bushy, multitrunk shrub with a sprawling form, often with a somewhat weepy appearance. Evergreen perennial in the tropics and a deciduous annual in cold regions. Brown, thin stems. Small, dark green leaves, ovate-elliptic, and oppositely arranged, with an overall fine-textured look. Bell-shaped, vibrant dark purple flowers with a yellow throat. Blossoms with velvety flowers all year, more in warmer months.