University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley

The always gorgeous pitchers of Sarracenia leucophylla, the white or crimson pitcher plant. A carnivorous plant native to to the southeastern USA, they are easy to grow in the Bay Area. On display now in the UCBG entrance. - Chris C #ucbg #pitcherplant #whitepitcherplant #carnivorousplants

Rhus copallinum, shining sumac, displaying great fall leaf color in the Eastern North American Area. This accession was collected in Monmouth County, New Jersey. - Chris C #ucbg #shiningsumac #rhus #monmouthcountynewjersey

UCB's Dr. Ricardo San Martin, featured in this article, is also evaluating saponin content of Quillaja trees in the Garden's South American Collection. Four of these trees date back to 1936. - Holly F #ucbg #Quillaja

Cones of the cycad, Encephalartos natalensis, from Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-natal Provinces, South Africa. Although superficially resembling palms which are flowering plants, cycads are cone-bearing gymnosperms distantly related to conifers. The sexes of cycads occur on different plants; these are pollen-bearing cones on a male plant. In cone now in the Southern African Area. - Chris C #ucbg #cycad #southafrica #encephalartos

With small but abundant blossoms, Pelargonium reniforme grows both in the Southern African Area and the Waterwise Entry Garden. A sprawling perennial shrublet, it grows from tuberous roots and retains its foliage year round. The specific epithet refers to the kidney-shaped leaves of this charming pelargonium (aka geranium). - Chris C #ucbg #southafrica #geranium #pelargoniium

The UCBG collection serves our local animal community in some unanticipated ways. After closing for the night, these three raccoons were feasting on grapes produced by Vitis 'Roger's Red,' a hybrid between a native California grape and a wine grape. 'Roger's Red' was introduced by former Garden Horticulturist Roger Raiche many years ago and received this moniker in recognition. It's a favorite in the horticulture trade. - Holly F #ucbg

A small tree in the pea family, Fabaceae, this is Bauhinia forficata, the Brazilian orchid tree. Note the cleft leaves characteristic of this pan-tropical genus. Native to Brazil, Peru, Argentina and Uruguay, look for this plant in the South American Area. - Chris C #ucbg #bauhinia #orchidtree #brazil

A charming little succulent in the ice plant family, Aizoaceae, this is Glottiphyllum longum. This South African native has been in the UCBG collection since 1954. The genus name translates roughly as tongue-leaf. Look for it in the Southern African beds along the upper road. - Chris C #ucbg #southafrica #tongueleaf #iceplant #glottiphyllum

Another hardy Begonia from the Asian Area, this is B. formosana, native to Taiwan. Apparently this rhizomatous species can be deciduous in colder areas. - Chris C #ucbg #hardybegonia #taiwan #begonia

#UCBG is participating in this symposium along with colleagues near and far: https://www.cnps.org//conferences-/genetics-symposium-2020

Carnivorous Plant Sale this weekend! Come check out our bug-loving, fascinating, and unique plants. https://botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu/shop-deck

From South Korea, a member of the Asteraceae, Chrysanthemum zawadskii. I couldn't find much information about this species, though it does seem to have medicinal uses. This plant was going over when I took the photo, so it's probably no longer in bloom in the Asian Area. But look for it next year! - Chris C #ucbg #chrysanthemum #southkorea