Acacia redolens

Acacia redolens is a low growing and wide spreading ground cover.

Although Acacia redolens is quite drought resistant, it also tolerates periodic flooding, and a number of landscape architects have used it successfully in retention basins. This groundcover acacia has proven its value time and again as a first class slope coverage for hot dry banks.

This plant requires regular irrigation during the hot summer months.

Acalypha hispaniolae, Acalypha pendula

Dwarf Chenille Plant gets its common name from the fuzzy plumes of tiny, foxtail-shaped bright red flowers that trail above a thick mound of small, serrated leaves. Given enough light, this plant blooms nearly year-round! The blossoms that begin as wispy buttons and elongate into fuzzy cones. At maturity, they become 3-4" long streamers.

A spectacular plant for a hanging basket, container or ground cover, it is heat tolerant, great for both hot Southern landscapes or as an easy houseplant, providing bright light.

Place this unusual house plant on a pedestal stand or pot it in a hanging basket to show off those eye-catching fuzzy blooms.

This is a dwarf plant that stays small and doesn't need pruning. It's naturally bushy, so you don't have to pinch its growing tips to get it to branch out.

A favorite with children, and cats too!

Acmella oleracea, Spilanthes oleracea

Toothache Plant is a medicinal herb that has been used for generations to manage the pain of toothaches. Both the leaves and the attractive golden flowers can be used as a natural anesthetic. Simply chew the leaves or flowers for a few seconds then you will experience a tingling and numbing sensation in your mouth. An infusion or tincture made from the Toothache Plant is said to promote gum and throat health due to its strong antibacterial properties. For culinary purposes, small amounts of shredded fresh leaves are said to add a unique flavor to salads. Cooked leaves lose their strong flavor and may be used as leafy greens. Both fresh and cooked leaves are used in dishes such as stews in northern Brazil. They are combined with chilis and garlic to add flavor and vitamins to other foods. The use of jambu extract as a food flavor is described as having an odor of citrus, herbal, tropical or musty odor, and its taste can be pungent, cooling, tingling, numbing, or effervescent.

Acmella Oleracea extract is considered a natural alternative to Botox. Applied topically, Acmella Oleracea reportedly reduces muscle tension, reducing facial wrinkles caused by tense or contracted facial muscles. It is considered a natural muscle relaxant and has been traditionally used as an herbal Orajel of sorts, thanks to the presence of analgesic alkylamides called spilanthol. This spilanthol is thought to have the same paralyzing effects on facial muscles as it does on gums, reducing wrinkles by relaxing the skin. It's seen in topical formulas and can easily penetrate the skin, inhibiting contractions in subcutaneous muscles.

The plant is a small, erect, it grows quickly and bears gold and red inflorescences. It is frost-sensitive but perennial in warmer climates. Can be grown in a container and as a houseplant.

Aeschynanthus radicans

Aeschynanthus is a large genus of Old World tropical herbs. In many respects, they are analogous to the genus Columnea in Central and South America -- both are most often trailing epiphytes with fairly large and showy flowers that are frequently pollinated by birds. The appearance of the various Aeschynanthus species varies widely. The original 'Lipstick Plant' has hard-surfaced shiny leaves, with bright red flowers that emerge from a very dark red tubular calyx, in a fashion reminiscent of lipstick emerging from a tube. It is an epiphyte that grows in the angles of branches in the rain forest. As with all epiphytes, the lipstick plant does not live as a parasite on the tree, but takes its nourishment from fallen leaves and twigs that accumulate in the crevices of branches. Needs plenty of light, but not direct sunlight. They thrive in summer heat, and winter temperatures should not drop below 60 degrees.

Aeschynanthus sp.

A very attractive flowering vine, that is mostly used in hanging pots. Water freely durning spring to fall, but keep the soil a little drier in the winter. The trailing stems can be 2ft long, so they may need pruning after flowering has finished. The plant tolerates most house temperatures. Ideal temperatures are 60 degrees at night but 10 to 15 degrees higher during the day. A. pulcher is one of the classic lipstick plants, and is similar to A. lobbianus -- except for the tan colored calyx.