Top 40 Far Flung Flora
A selection of the best plants for pollinators from the Southern Hemisphere
List Curated by Thomas McBride From research data collected and collated at the National Botanic Garden of Wales
NB: Butterflies and Moths are not studied at the NBGW so any data on nectar plants beneficial for them is taken from Butterfly Conservation The Southern Hemisphere Verbena bonariensis The Southern Hemisphere includes all countries below the equator. As such, those countries are the furthest from the UK and tend to have more exotic and unusual native species. Many of these species cannot be grown in the UK, but in slightly more temperate regions, some species will thrive here and be of great benefit to our native pollinators. One such example is Verbena bonariensis, native to South America, which is a big hit with our native butterfly and bumblebee species. The Southern Hemisphere contains a lower percentage of land than the northern Hemisphere so the areas included are most of South America (particularly Chile, Argentina, Ecuador and Peru), Southern Africa (particularly South Africa) and Oceania (Particularly Australia and New Zealand). A large proportion of the plants in this list are fully hardy in the UK but some are only half-hardy. Half-hardy annuals may be planted out in the spring and will flourish. Half-hardy perennials or shrubs may need to be grown in pots and moved indoors during the winter months or grown in a very sheltered location. The plants are grouped by Tropaeolum majus Continent rather than a full alphabetical list. Map Maps depict the native area of the plant (in green) Guide to using these pages: They also show areas the plant is naturalised (in purple)
Latin Binomial All maps shown Name are derived from ‘Plants of the Common World Online’; English courtesy of Kew Name Gardens
Flowering Period Photograph (this is when it is good of the plant for pollinators!) in flower
Plant Family
Insect groups known to Growing habit favour the and mature size nectar of this of the plant plant
Useful knowledge or warnings about the plant RHS AGM cultivars of this species (or a related species occasionally) i Key to these Pages Warnings
Additional information on these garden plants
This plant would The flowers only be suitable for and/or leaves meadow-style have a Pleasant Plant tissue is highly planting scent toxic if ingested
The plant has edible parts that are Sap may cause irritation Plant is often used in commonly eaten or (Wash hands after touching traditional Herbal Remedies used in cooking or avoid touching)
ii Temperature RHS Hardiness Scale
Some of the plants listed in our Top 200 are not fully H1a - Above 15ºC hardy in all or some parts of the United Kingdom. H1b - Minimum 10ºC Plants without a thermometer symbol are fully hardy in the severest UK Winter; equating to H5 or hardier. H1c - Minimum 5ºC Plants with a coloured thermometer symbol are hardy to varying degrees as follows: H2 - Minimum 1ºC
H3 - Minimum -5ºC
H4 - Minimum -10ºC
H5 - Minimum -15ºC Almost Hardy Half-Hardy Not Frost Hardy Not Hardy (H4) (H3) (H2) (H1) iii Pollinators Our data on pollinators has been collected from studies spanning over a decade. Pollinator symbols appear when plants are proven to be good nectar (a) (b) plants for certain insects. It should be noted that all bee and hoverfly data is ours but lepidoptera data is taken from Butterfly Conservation.
Our data spans a wide range of different insect species. For simplicity, these species have been condensed into six easy icons to represent them: (c) (d) a) Honeybees c) Bumblebees e) Moths b) Hoverflies d) Butterflies f) Solitary Bees (Includes Moths)
(e) (f) iv Agapanthus praecox African-lily
South Africa
‘Royal Blue’ Midsummer - Early Autumn ‘Sandy’
Amaryllidaceae Daffodil Family
4ft Bulbous
Photograph from Flickr (CC) Alejandro Bayer Tamayo 1 Carpobrotus edulis South Africa Hottentot-fig, Ice Plant
None Summer .
Aizoaceae Ice Plant Family
1ft Perennial
Photograph from Wikipedia (CC) Alves Gaspar 2 Crocosmia x crocosmiiflora Montbretia Crocosmia aurea x Crocosmia pottsii – naturally occurring hybrid
South Africa
‘Star of the East’ Summer . ‘Lucifer’
Iridaceae Iris Family
4ft Cormous
Photograph from Flickr (CC) Gabrielle Ludlow 3 Delosperma lavisiae Drakensberg Ice Plant
South Africa
- Species - Summer .
Aizoaceae Ice Plant Family
1ft Perennial
Photograph from Wikipedia (CC) Alexander Klink 4 Dierama pulcherrimum Angel’s Fishing Rod
South Africa
None Summer .
Iridaceae Iris Family
5ft Cormous
Photograph from Flickr (CC) Nick Kenrick 5 Eucomis autumnalis Autumn Pineapple-lily
S. Africa
-Species- Late Summer - Mid Autumn
Asparagaceae Asparagus Family
1ft Bulbous
Photograph from Flickr (CC) Thistle Garden 6 Eucomis comosa Common Pineapple-lily
South Africa
‘Sparkling Early Summer - Early Autumn Burgundy’
Asparagaceae Asparagus Family
2ft Bulbous
Photograph from Flickr (CC) Yew Chan 7 Gerbera jamesonii Barberton Daisy
South Africa
None Late Spring - Early Autumn
Asteraceae Daisy Family
2ft Perennial
Photograph from Flickr (CC) Dinesh Valke * This plant can only be grown outside during the summer (above 5’c night temperatures) 8 Leucadendron salignum Common Sunshine Conebush
South Africa
‘Safari Sunset’ Midsummer (Hybrid with L. laureolum) - Mid Autumn
Proteaceae Protea Family
Small Shrub
* This plant should be grown in a sheltered location (cannot survive below -5’c night temperatures) Photograph from Flickr (CC) Eric Hunt 9 Lobelia erinus Garden Lobelia
Africa
‘Cambridge Blue’ Midsummer - Early Autumn ‘Purple Star’
Campanulaceae Bellflower Family
1ft Trailing Annual
Photograph from Flickr (CC) Tatiana Gerus 10 Ornithogalum dubium Orange Star-of-Bethlehem
South Africa
-Species- Midwinter - Mid Spring
Asparagaceae Asparagus Family
1ft Bulbous
* This plant will cannot survive below -2’c night Photograph from Flickr (CC) Manuel Martin Vicente temperatures so grow in a pot, bring outside during warmer days and keep in a sheltered, sunny11 position Oxalis versicolor Candy-cane Sorrel
South Africa
- Species - Late Summer - Early Winter
Oxalidaceae Wood-sorrel Family
1ft Bulbous
Photograph from Wikipedia (CC) NZFauna * This plant will cannot survive below -5’c night temperatures so bring indoors during the winter12 period. Pelargonium capitatum Rose Geranium
South Africa
‘Attar of Roses’ Summer .
Geraniaceae Cranesbill Family
Small Shrub
Photograph from Flickr (CC) Arthur Chapman * This plant can only be grown outside during the summer (above 5’c night temperatures) 13 Pelargonium citronellum Lemon Geranium
South Africa
‘Mabel Grey’ Summer .
Geraniaceae Cranesbill Family
Small Shrub
* This plant can only be grown outside during the summer (above 5’c night temperatures) 14 Pelargonium tomentosum Peppermint Geranium
South Africa
- Species - Summer .
Geraniaceae Cranesbill Family
Small Shrub
* Will not survive a frost, only half-hardy, Photograph from Flickr (CC) FarOutFlora bring indoors in winter. Recommended pot15 plant. Alstroemeria aurea Orange Peruvian-lily
S. America
None Summer .
Alstroemeriaceae Peruvian-lily Family
3ft Tuberous
* This plant will not survive below -10’c night Photograph from Flickr (CC) Jon Sullivan temperatures, protect from very harsh winter16 nights Alstroemeria x hybrida S. America Garden Peruvian-lily Complex group of hybrids of unknown parentage
Alstroemeria genus
‘Apollo’ ‘Sirius’ Late Summer - Mid Autumn ‘Spitfire’ ‘Tessa’
Alstroemeriaceae Peruvian-lily Family
3ft Tuberous
Photograph from Flickr (CC) Terry D Lucas 17 Amaranthus caudatus S. America Love-lies-bleeding
None Midsummer - Early Autumn
Amaranthaceae Amaranth Family
2ft Annual
* Will not survive a frost, only half-hardy Photograph from Flickr (CC) Alwyn Ladell 18 Berberis darwinii S. America Darwin’s Barberry
- Species - Spring . x media (Hybrid with B. empetrifolia) Berberidaceae Barberry Family
Medium Shrub
Photograph from Flickr (CC) Harry McGregor 19 Buddleja globosa S. America Orange-ball Butterfly Bush
-Species- Summer .
‘Sungold’ (Hybrid)
Scrophulariaceae Figwort Family
Large Shrub
Photograph from Flickr (CC) Margrit 20 Cleome hassleriana S. America Common Spiderflower
‘Helen Campbell’ Midsummer - Early Autumn
Cleomaceae Spiderflower Family
5ft Annual
Photograph from Wikipedia (CC) Anon. 21 Francoa sonchifolia Chile Common Bridalwreath
Potentially ‘Pink Bouquet’ Summer .
Francoaceae Bridalwreath Family
3ft Perennial
Photograph from Flickr (CC) Eric Hunt 22 Nicandra physalodes S. America Shoo-fly Plant
None Late Spring - Mid Autumn
Solanaceae Potato Family
4ft Perennial
Photograph from Flickr (CC) Maja Dumat 23 Nicotiana alata S. America Jasmine Tobacco
‘Lime Green’ Summer .
Solanaceae Potato Family
2ft Annual
* Will not survive a frost, only half-hardy Photograph from Flickr (CC) Carl Lewis 24 Oenothera versicolor Red Evening-Primrose
S. America
Probable ‘Sunset Early Summer - Early Autumn Boulevard’
Onagraceae Willowherb Family
3ft Perennial
Photograph from Flickr (CC) University of California; Davis Arboretum 25 Oxalis adenophylla Chilean Sour-clover
S. America
- Species - Late Spring - Early Summer
Oxalidaceae Wood-sorrel Family
1ft Bulbous
Photograph from Flickr (CC) Diego Patillas 26 Passiflora caerulea S. America Blue Passionflower
- Species - Midsummer - Early Autumn ‘Constance Eliott’
Passifloraceae Passion Fruit Family
10ft+ Vine
* This plant will not survive below -10’c night temperatures, protect from very harsh winter nights Photograph from Flickr (CC) bvi4092 ** The fruit and flowers are edible but 27not commonly consumed. The leaves are poisonous when raw; containing cyanide. Petunia x hybrida S. America Garden Petunia Petunia axillaris x Petunia integrifolia
Petunia Petunia axillaris integrifolia
‘Lavender Wave’ Midsummer - Early Autumn ‘Night Sky’
Solanaceae Potato Family
1ft Trailing Annual
Photograph from Flickr (CC) Malcolm Manners 28 Pontederia cordata Pickerel Weed
Americas
- Species - Summer .
Pontederiaceae Pickerel Weed Family
4ft Aquatic Perennial
Photograph from Flickr (CC) Nicholas Turland Semi-aquatic 29 Sisyrinchium striatum Satin Flower
S. America
None Summer .
Iridaceae Iris Family
3ft Rhizomous
Photograph from Flickr (CC) Yew Chan 30 Solanum crispum S. America Potato-vine
* ‘Glasnevin’ Midsummer - Early Autumn
Solanaceae Potato Family
10ft+ Climber
* This plant will not survive below -10’c night temperatures, protect from very harsh winter nights Photograph from Flickr (CC) Spencer Aloysius 31 Tropaeolum majus Peru Garden Nasturtium
F
‘Alaska series’ Midsummer - Early Autumn ‘Whirlybird series’
Tropaeolaceae Nasturtium Family
1ft Trailing Annual
* This plant will not survive below -5’c night temperatures Photograph from Flickr (CC) Mayank Sharma 32 Tropaeolum peregrinum Canary Creeper
S. America
None Midsummer - Early Autumn
Tropaeolaceae Nasturtium Family
10ft+ Climber
* This plant will not survive below -5’c night temperatures. Grow in a sheltered location or treat as an annual. Photograph from Wikipedia (CC) Niepokój Zbigniew 33 Tropaeolum speciosum Chile Flame Nasturtium
- Species - Midsummer - Early Autumn
Tropaeolaceae Nasturtium Family
9ft Climber
Photograph from Flickr (CC) Scott Zona 34 Verbena bonariensis S. America Purpletop Vervain
- Species - Midsummer - Mid Autumn
Verbenaceae Vervain Family
6ft Perennial
Photograph from Flickr (CC) Linda de Volder 35 Acacia dealbata Australia Silver Wattle, Mimosa
- Species - Late Winter - Early Spring
Fabaceae Legume Family
Large Shrub
* This plant should be grown in a sheltered location Photograph from Flickr (CC) Dana L. Brown (cannot survive below -5’c night temperatures)36 Eucalyptus gunnii Tasmania Cider Gum
- Species - Summer .
Myrtaceae Myrtle Family
Small Tree
Photograph from Flickr (CC) RP Seeds 37 Grevillea rosmarinifolia Australia Rosemary-leaved Grevillea
East Asia
- Species - Midwinter - Early Summer ‘Canberra Gem’ (Hybrid with G. juniperina)
Proteaceae Protea Family
Small Shrub
Photograph from Flickr (CC) Richard Lane 38 Pelargonium australe Australia Southern Storksbill
‘Mabel Grey’ Late Spring - Midsummer
Geraniaceae Cranesbill Family
Small Shrub
Photograph © Thomas McBride * This plant can only be grown outside during the summer (above 5’c night temperatures) 39 Ranunculus lyallii New Zealand Mount Cook Buttercup
Other Alpine Ranunculus Species: Late Spring R. calandrinioides - Midsummer R. montanus Ranunculaceae Buttercup Family
3ft Perennial
Photograph from Flickr by Bernard Spragg 40