Acalypha wilkesiana

A very colorful, tropical shrub, grown for its attractive reddish leaves. A beautiful foliage with mixed shades of red, yellow, and green. The leaves get a greater color with increased exposure. This plant is very fast growing. This is one of the most striking foliage shrubs and is widely used by tropical gardeners. A. wilkesiana, can grow as tall as 7ft, and are found in a wide variety of colors: green and white, green and yellow, red, bronze, copper, or brown. The leaves also vary in form, some being flat and others undulating, while the flowers are inconspicuous. In a garden, they are often used as informal hedges or in massed beds, all Acalypha species require careful pruning to prevent them from becoming leggy.

Acanthus ilicifolius

It is a semi-woody, sprawling shrub sometimes up to 3 m tall. Its stems are shiny green with speckles, and a pair of spines at the leaf's angles.

It grows in mangrove forest, pure freshwater or waterlogged areas, and on dry land.

Acoelorraphe wrightii, Acoelorrhaphe

Paurotis is a native Florida palm found in the Everglades, commonly seen at the edges of islands, but not in long-standing water. It is also native to some Caribbean islands. It likes full sun but can withstand light shade, is tolerant to a variety of soil conditions, but doen't like to be planted in high pH soils. The palm grows in clusters of trunks and is rated to be about 20 feet high. Its width can be a problem when planted without space for lateral expansion.

Acrostichum aureum

leaves pinnate, to about 4 m long, bright red when young; fertile leaflets at the tip are covered with red-brown sporangia, blades of sterile leaflets have a broadly rounded end terminated with a short tip.

Acrostichum aureum grows optimally on somewhat elevated grounds in mangrove forests that are well protected from frequent tidal influx and have high rainfall, which tends to desalinate upper soil layers.

Adenanthera pavonina, Adenanthera gersenii, Adenanthera polita, Corallaria parvifolia

A medium-sized tree up to 15 m high, Adenanthera pavonina is native to India and Malaysia. It has been planted extensively throughout the tropics as an ornamental and has become naturalized in many countries.

The tiny flowers are said to smell vaguely like orange blossoms.

The slender flattened pods become twisted as they split open at maturity to release up to 12 brilliant red, lens - shaped, extremely hard seeds. The ripened pods stay on the tree for some time. The seeds are used in necklaces and ornaments, as beads in jewellery, leis and rosaries. They were also used in ancient India for weighing gold. The seeds are curiously similar in weight. Four seeds make up about one gramme. In fact the name "saga" is traced to the Arabic term for "goldsmith".

In Malaysia and Indonesia, the trees provide shade and planted as "nurse trees" in coffee, clove and rubber plantations.

Although the raw seeds are toxic, when cooked they are edible: are roasted, shelled and then eaten with rice in Java, Indonesia. In Melanesia and Polynesia people call it the "food tree". The seeds are said to taste like soy bean. The young leaves can be cooked and eaten, but usually only during famine.

The hard reddish wood of the red sandalwood tree is used for cabinet making. A red dye, obtained from the wood, is used by Brahmins to mark religious symbols on their foreheads. A red powder made from the wood is used as an antiseptic paste. In Ancient Indian medicine, the ground seeds are used to treat boils and inflammations. A decoction of the leaves is used to treat gout and rheumatism. The bark was used to wash hair.