TOP TROPICALS ONLINE STORE: Rare plants from all over the World

Grains of Paradise, African Cardamom. Seeds of this rare Ginger are similar in flavor to cardamom and used as a pungent spice. This Ginger has many bioactives, great for digestive and intestinal health. The plant has many other medicinal values: anti-diabetic and anti-obese mechanisms, aphrodisiac and testosterone boosting properties. Aframomum melegueta may be promising for a spice to add to a diet in hopes of body recomposition. Studies show this spice increases sexual behavior.

One of the most beautiful and difficult to care for Jewel Alocasia, Alocasia nebula is a rare and high maintenance plant that will reward all of your efforts with dark green, silvery, thick leaves with impressive veining. It looks wildly exotic, and so are it's care requirements. Alocasias are among the most alien-looking houseplants you can get your hands on.
Give your Alocasia nebula plenty of indirect light, but avoid direct sunlight at all costs. Its delicate leaves are very prone to sunburns, and you definitely don’t want to sacrifice their majestic beauty. This plant needs the soil to be somewhere between semi-moist and semi-dry. This means watering quite often, but not with a lot of water. Then, I wait for the soil’s top to become dry to the touch and water again.

Silver Dragon, Grey Dragon. Extremely rare and valuable collectible, this is a dwarf alocasia with silver gray leaves that are highlighted by its rough, almost fingerprint-like texture. The leaves are round, between five and eight inches in size, and with a unique silvery-green color. As the leaves mature, they start to harden and develop a veiny texture, giving them the appearance of, as the name suggests, dragon scales. This is an unusual dwarf aroid from the jewel alocasias group that stays a reasonable size. Since this plant thrives in high humidity, it is a wonderful choice for a bathroom or a kitchen.
One of the rarest varieties of Alocasia you will find.

Black Velvet or Jewel Alocasia donning big, lush, almost black leaves and contrasting, silver veins. This black beauty is perfect to add the oomph to your aroid collection. It is a compact variety with a leaf you can not help but touch. Ideal for small pots and terrariums.

Amorphophallus konjac is one of the largest flowers, a perennial exotic Asian plant. It grows a single, elongated center called a corm and a single large leaf that wraps around it. The corm is the part of the plant that is used, as well as its tuber, which is commonly called the konnyaku potato. It is one of the most exotic, bizarre flowers. Can be easily grown in a pot as a house plant. The single leaf dormant in winter, then in spring the plant shoots out a fantastic flower. See picture of a flowering plant.
This plant is dormant from Fall through Winter, shipped as tuber, keep on dry side until it grows back its leaves in Spring.

This rare Annona is a species originally brought to us from Costa Rica. We believe it to be a natural hybrid between A. muricata and A. glabra.
It is a very ornamental, evergreen, small to medium size tree with waxy, large 4-6" leaves, similar in growth habit to A. muricata, A. montana or Rollinia. Fast growing, forms nice bushy specimen. It has a large, up to 1 lb fruit, green when unripe, turning dark yellow to orange on ripening. The pulp is golden to orange when ripe, with strong Pineapple scent, and resembling Jackfruit in texture. Flavor is like the custard apple but with pineapple, papaya, apricot and melon overtones. Note that some people dislike the taste, others find it good.
The treetolerates flooding. It is also cold hardy at least to upper 20's for a few hours. 3 year old trees survived several nights with frost with hardly any leaf damage. The plant would be very interesting for rare fruit collectors as it offers a large, exotic fruit of unusual color and taste, and appears to be much more hardy and water tolerant than similar looking but sensitive A. muricata, A. montana and Rollinia.
Propagation is by seed, which are grayish to light brown. If stored for several months, seeds may take up to six months to sprout. Trees produce after three to four years from seed.

The Black Dragon has the most awesome dark upright leaves: stunningly black!
The dark color maintained providing bright light; if grown in shade, leaves turn towards dark-green with a tint of reddish-black, but turn back to black with bright light. Inflorescence is consisted of brown spadix and dark-brown spathe.
Very rare, exclusive collectable.

King Anthurium. Anthurium veitchii is known as the king of anthuriums. A houseplant with dramatic foliage, leaves reaching 3 feet long with a heart shaped base. Flower spike is leathery and greenish-white with a cream colored spadix. Likes partial shade or light shade. In winter, temperatures of not less than 65 degrees Fahrenheit are preferred. Likes a warm and humid atmosphere, so misting is beneficial. Reduce watering in the winter.

Bignay, Bugnay, Tassel berry. Clusters of 20 to 30 red to black fruits are produced from July through September. The acidic fruits, greatly enjoyed by birds, may be used to make jams, jellies, and vine.

Betel Nut, Bunga, Pinang. This variety is reported to be semi-dwarf and can be grown in a large container.
This palm is the basis of a large industry in SE Asia, where the seed is chewed for its intoxicating properties, as well as its supposedly beneficial side effects, such as aiding digestion, and controlling internal parasites and dysentery.

Truly Tiny is only 1-1.5' tall. This is the best variety for growing in a pot or indoors. It produces small, 4-5" fruit, sweet, nice flavor.

Easter Lily Vine, Heralds Trumpet, Nepal Trumpet Flower. One of the most impressive climbing plants - woody vine with large fragrant white flowers resembling lilies, and lush tropical foliage.
The flowers of this species are longer than B. murtonii.
See article about Beaumontia grandiflora - Easter Lily Vine, and how to how to create a fragrant privacy fence of virtually unlimited size.

Easter Lily Vine, Heralds Trumpet, Nepal Trumpet Flower. One of the most impressive climbing plants - woody vine with large fragrant white flowers resembling lilies, and lush tropical foliage. The flowers of this species are cup-like, shorter than B. grandiflora, but the B. murtonii is more profuse bloomer.

Blue Jaboticaba, Vexator, Blue Grape. Jaboticaba relative. A beautiful ornamental slow growing tree or shrub, which bears a small, dark purple, almost bluish fruits, with thin, sweet flesh that taste somewhat like sweet grapes.

Bougainvillea arborea is a thornless and fragrant species. Free-standing small bushy tree with lavender-pink blooms. Very rare variety very much wanted because its compact and slow growth habit. The tree usually doesn't need any trimming and keeps nice shape naturally without leggy branches.

This tropical American native occurs in Colombia and Venezuela, though it is widely grown in other tropical regions worldwide. Young leaves a pale green to pinkish, almost white, sometimes with light variegation, and hangs down like a large handkerchief (like in all related species (browneas, amherstia, maniltoa, etc.). Flowering occurs on 3-4th year from seed, at the base of the branches. The flower lasts a few days, however the view is unforgettable.
Related species: Brownea grandiceps, Brownea capitella, Brownea kiwensis.

Rare and hard to find species, with the largest wavy shaped flowers, Brunfelsia plicata (jamaicensis) is a fast-growing, small, erect, delightfully fragrant flowering shrub endemic to Jamaica. The sturdy, dark green leaves make a good background for the showy flowers. The creamy white flowers with long tubes and wavy margins are extremely fragrant after dark. Blooms fall to winter. It's a specimen plant. Perfect houseplant for a bright window.

Peanut Butter Tree. One of the most fascinating exotic fruit, as amazing as Miracle fruit, Peanut Butter Fruit is loved by both kids and adults. Yes, it tastes exactly like peanut butter! Sweet, soft pulp with peanut flavor. The tree is small in size, grows 10-15 ft max, or can be kept as a bush. Starts fruiting within 2-3 years from seed! Keep it in a pot if you have limited space, can be grown indoors, too.
This attractive tree has clusters of yellow flowers that are followed by an abundance of dark red fruit. The rich, sweet flesh has a texture similar to peanut butter. The fruit can be eaten fresh or made into milk shakes. Very rare in cultivation.
See Article about this plant.

A dwarf ginger that is hard to find, but well worth it. Intermittently throughout the year, bright golden-orange cones will appear above the glossy dark green, maroon-backed leaves. Individual flowers will open and last for a period of about two weeks during each bloom cycle. Has a very upright growth habit. An excellent indoor plant, it should be kept out of direct sunlight as this will scorch the leaves, and should be kept in a container even outdoors, as they are very cold-tender and must be brought inside in the fall. When repotting, take care that only the roots are burried in the soil or potting medium, as it is a bit of an epiphyte (air plant) and the rhyzome must remain above ground level.

Flame of the Forest - a stunning small tree from India, Sri Lanka with spectacular clusters of red flowers. Very slow growing. The trunk is very interesting, it becomes twisted, follows no particular pattern, making it a conversation piece. At the base it can form a bottle-like caudex if grown in a pot.
This tree drops leaves in late spring and starts re-leafing around end of June (in Florida).

Dwarf Red Jade vine. If you always wanted to own THE Red Jade Vine, here is your chance! Also called Cuitelo, Crista-De-Galo (Rooster's Crest), it is sometimes miss-identified as a Mucuna species. This amazing eye-catcher is closely related to Red Jade Vine, however, it is much hardier than the ultra-tropical Mucuna benettii! It is a spectacular fast-growing vine from Brazil with long pendulous chains of fiery bright red flowers. Heavy vine, it needs large trellis or pagoda. An arbor is ideal so that the brilliant flowering racemes can hang down from the ceiling. Blooms in fall and winter. Prune heavily in spring after flowering. Give full or partial sun with adequate moisture and fertilizer. It is very easy to grow, can tolerate some drought and light frost.
Read article about this plant.

An exceptionally distinct pepper, it is likely an ancient hybrid of Capsicum annuum (bird pepper) and Capsicum chinense (habanero group).
While of small size (something around an inch or so long), these oddly shaped bright orange to finally red fruits are prolifically produced along the branches of compact plants with small leaves.
What separates this variety from others is its unique flavor which packs quite a bang! Not because of its heat (because our strain has either no heat what-so-ever, or so little it is hard to even detect), but because of its intense fruity habanero flavor.
If one who knows that distinct habanero super fruit flavor (which is then normally followed by the heat blast), then tries a biquinho pepper, the flavor is so distinctly habanero that when the heat blast doesn't occur, it is a strange event.

Wiri Wiri Pepper. A variety from Guyana, the Wiri Wiri pepper is the illustrious gem; hard sought and rarely found. This plant produces good yields of small 1/2" berry shaped hot peppers. Peppers grow upright, are very hot, and turn from green, to orange, to red when mature.
What makes it so much different than any other hot pepper grown in the garden or bought at the store?
Hot? Yes, it is important that hot peppers are, but the people who really know, know that it is not just about heat, it is about flavor! And that is exactly what makes this little red gem so special. Guyanese dinners will only take one of those meals for you to never forget! The secret of their food is the flavor, and one of the cornerstone ingredients in many of their dishes is the Wiri pepper. The Guyanese population claim that it is not just a key ingredient to their diet, but also to why they are so good looking, live so long, and have such great skin.