Fires_in_motion's Member Page

I joined this site after several years of lurking & trusting PlantFiles as my primary tool for finding out about new species and varieties. I'm mostly into palms (mainly Phoenix), followed by cacti, agaves, oaks, yuccas... generally things that either grow in rainforests (one extreme) or in deserts (the other extreme), as well as plants native to the Southeast U.S.. I like glaucous (silver/bluish) leaves, trees that won't blow over in hurricanes. I'm a very staunch advocate of using native plants and trees as often as possible. My staghorn fern has barely grown in 14 years. My username is a lyric from a song by Simple Minds, not a reference to forest fires. I kept saltwater aquariums and various reptiles/amphibia for over 20 years, but have decided to shift most of my attention to plants. My favorite plants/trees, based on beauty / toughness / overall aesthetic excellence, incl. some underappreciated landscaping trees: Phoenix dactylifera 'Medjool' - Medjool Date Palm Phoenix reclinata - Senegal Date Palm Mammillaria dixanthocentron (& its cousin M. celsiana) Quercus shumardii - Shumard Oak Yucca rostrata - Beaked Yucca Cocos nucifera - Coconut Palm Vaccinium arboreum - Sparkleberry / Tree Huckleberry Acoelorraphe wrightii - Paurotis Palm / Parrot Palm / Everglades Palm Butia capitata - Pindo Palm Sabal minor 'Louisiana' - Dwarf Palmetto / Louisiana Palmetto This sprawling orchid-y looking pitcher plant I have (Nepenthes spp.) Philodendron 'Burle Marx' - Burle Marx Philodendron Olea europaea - Olive Styrax americana - American Snowbell Aloe africana - Spiny African Aloe Prunus caroliniana - Carolina Cherry Laurel Agave parryi - Parry's Agave (various cultivars) Magnolia virginiana - Sweetbay Magnolia Leptospermum scoparium - New Zealand Tea Tree / Manuka (used to make famous Manuka honey) Acca sellowiana - Feijoa / "Pineapple Guava" (horrible common name; is neither a pineapple nor a guava) Eucalyptus pulverulenta - Silverleaf Mountain Gum (a.k.a. Forest Silver Dollar) Aloe marlothii - Mountain Aloe Yucca recurvifolia - Curve Leaf Yucca Aloe karasbergensis (& Aloe striata) - Coral Aloe Nolina nelsonii - Blue Nolina Ulmus parvifolia - Chinese Elm (no, they're not "invasive" in the U.S., people... jeez) Tillandsia tectorum - Hairy Tillandsia Aloe 'Blue Elf' - Blue Elf Aloe Hyphaene thebaica - Doum Palm / Gingerbread Palm Chamaerops humilis 'Cerifera' or 'Argentea' (possibly soon to be given its own species name, Chamaerops cerifera) - Silver Mediterranean Fan Palm Leucophyllum frutescens - Texas Sage / Cenizo Agave tequiliana - Blue Agave / Tequila Agave Cyrilla racemiflora - TiTi (pron. "Ty-Ty") / Leatherwood Ilex vomitoria - Yaupon Holly Beccariophoenix alfredii - High Plateau "Coconut" Palm Euphorbia polygona 'Snow Flake' Cleistocactus strausii - Silver Torch Cactus Viburnum obovatum - Walter's Viburnum / Arrowwood If I have a certain species in a pot AND in the ground, I'll catalog it as "Have it in the ground," even if I have dozens of them in pots and only one in the ground. For example, I have over 100 Phoenix dactylifera in pots and 5 in the ground, so I have it catalogued as "Have it in the ground." I have to say the quality of navigation on this site leaves a lot to be desired, but hopefully they'll fix this.