Plants are living beings that provide many benefits for the life of all living beings, by producing the oxygen that allows them to breathe and be alive. Humans, in addition to benefiting from the oxygen produced by plants, are also favored for their different uses as wood, food, medicinal plants and for their beauty as ornamental plants both in outdoor spaces and inside homes, I invite you to get to know the Plants of Ornament.
Ornamental or Ornamental Plants
The plants used to beautify a garden, decoration of a living room of the house, street or other selected place to improve its aesthetics, are called Ornamental or Ornamental Plant. These plants can belong to different botanical families, be trees, shrubs or herbs, have terrestrial, epiphytic, aquatic habits, among others. This means that Ornamental Plants are any plant that is grown with the aim of improving the aesthetics of a specific place. Apparently this tradition was established by the Persians, who began to beautify the interior of the palaces with some plants and design their gardens.
These ornamental plants, in addition to being decorative and attractive for their beauty in the sight of human beings, also provide other benefits such as improving air quality by filtering gases and harmful substances from the air, attracting birds that make people happy with their song, offer pleasant aromas due to its flowers and fruits, in addition to creating a microclimate and making the environment cooler and with a little shade that sometimes allows you to sit under these plants, even if they are trees, and enjoy a moment of serenity.
Types of Ornamental Plants
Because they are plants that belong to different botanical families and also grow in different ecosystems, be they xerophytic, aquatic, paramo or humid jungle, pine forests and others. The following types of Ornamental Plants will be shown according to their different forms of growth, be they: trees, shrubs, palm trees and herbaceous.
Ornamental Trees and Shrubs
These are trees and shrubs used to enhance the beauty of landscaping in large areas, such as gardens, parks, streets, and avenues. Their selection varies depending on the climate of the location where they are planted. Some trees used as ornamental plants include: Pardillo ( Cordia alliodora ), various species of Urape tree ( Bauhinia sp.), Bayrum ( Pimenta racemosa ), Cepillo ( Callistemon speciosus ), and several species of Rosa de montaña tree ( Brownea sp.).
Trees and shrubs can be subdivided according to where they are planted into: trees for public gardens, trees for residential gardens (large and small), trees for highways and streets, trees for squares and parks, to reforest slopes and beaches, among others. others. The selection of places to plant the different types of trees condition the tree species by their size, longevity, depth of roots, fruits, shape of their crown and other characteristics of the trees.
Due to the architecture of the cities where houses with small gardens prevail, residential buildings with some planters with reduced spaces, it has led to the replacement of the large trees that initially grew in these places and leading to be replaced in the best of cases by the use of smaller plants such as some bushes, palm trees, herbaceous plants, grasses of various species.
the bushes
According to their morphological characteristics, shrubs are woody plants smaller than trees, their size is generally less than 4 meters in height, and they usually branch from the base. They are cultivated for being smaller than trees, the beauty of their flowers and leaves, they are perennial plants. Because they have woody stems when they are pruned, they can be excellent living fences of great beauty due to the color of their flowers.
Some species of shrubby plants include: Yellow Shrimp ( Pachystachys lutea ), distinguished by its showy yellow inflorescence; Trumpet Jasmine ( Tecomaria capensis ), with beautiful red inflorescences; Pink Carnation ( Caesalpinia pulcherrima ), with lovely red and yellow flowers; and Poinsettia ( Euphorbia pulcherrima ), also known as Christmas Flower, whose modified bracts are yellow, white, and red. In addition, a long list of these shrubs could be compiled, many of which are used as ornamental plants.
woody climbers
These ornamental plants are trees and shrubs that have the characteristic of behaving as climbers. Growers provide them with support from a young age, or plant them near a wall or pergola, so they can climb and their growth is guided. Some thrive in full sun or partial shade, including: Spanish Jasmine ( Thunbergia grandiflora ), Purple Jasmine ( Allamanda blanchetti ), Bougainvillea ( Bougainvillea spectabilis ), Jade Plant ( Strongylodon macrobotrys ), and Velvet Plant ( Congea tomentosa ), among many others.
Ornate Palm Trees
In addition to the plants belonging to the groups of legumes and grasses, palm trees are known for the third type of plants used for various uses, especially in tropical countries. The indigenous people and peasants use the leaves of some palm trees to build the roofs of their homes, also to make baskets, hats, hammocks or hammocks, they also serve as food for their edible fruits and, in addition to these uses, some for their beauty are palm trees. Ornament.
In landscaping and arboriculture designs for housing and urban planning, palm trees are often used as Ornamental Plants in the different environments of cities, be they: avenues, places near bodies of water, creating living fences, for interior design of houses, buildings and others. Among the palms or palm trees used as Ornamental Plants for the avenues are:
Royal palm ( Roystonea oleracea ) is widely used in landscaping, avenues, and parks. Queen palm ( Syagrus romanzoffiana ) is used in avenues and other environments. Chinese livistonia ( Livistonia chinensis ) is used in parks, parks, and large gardens, either in groups or planted individually. Washingtonia palms ( Washingtonia robusta and W. filifera ) are used in parks and wide avenues. Blue latania (Latania loddigesii ) is among the palms to be cultivated in public spaces.
Some palms grow in their native habitats in shady or semi-shady locations with little light. Due to their size, some can be used as houseplants during their juvenile stage and are later transplanted to their permanent location in sunny outdoor areas of homes or buildings. Examples of these palms include: all species of palms in the genus Chamaedorea, Kentia palms ( Howea forsteriana and H. belmoreana ), Chinese fan palm ( Rhapis excelsa ), pygmy date palm ( Phoenix roebelenii ), and others.
herbaceous
The man with the purpose of bringing nature to his place of life such as rural and urban towns, to offer with its colors, shapes, aromas and other characteristics places full of joy, serenity, color and harmony that humanizes citizens. in these artificial ecosystems full of cement and asphalt. Herbaceous plants are highly represented within Ornamental Plants, such as grasses used for lawns, orchids, bromeliads, coves, aquatic plants and others, which are herbaceous stems.
Grasses and creeping plants
Lawns or grasses are plants belonging to the botanical family Poaceae that are used to cover large areas of land with good sunlight, forming a dense cover or plant mat. The use in the design of the gardens has the objective of homogenizing the landscape, creating a sensation of natural environment. Some creeping species are also used for hedges both in places with good sunlight or with a little shade, although they are used as hedges for smaller spaces.
Among the ornamental plants used as ground cover, the creeping plant Vedelia ( Sphagneticola trilobata ) is well known. It is used for planting on small slopes, as its roots help to stabilize the soil. Red Gazania ( Gazania rigens ) is used for ground cover and in rock gardens. Different species of the genus Trasdecantia are used in landscaping gardens and parks to cover bare areas, and there are other creeping plants used as ground cover as well.
Other ornamental herbaceous
Native to the American continent, plants of the Bromeliaceae botanical family are among the most admired ornamental plants for their beauty and color. Some examples of these plants are: different species of the genus Aechmea, such as A. dichlamydea, A. fasciata and A. biflora , different species of Bilbergia such as Bilbergia rosea and others.
Other highly admired plants are the begonias originating from the intertropical zone of the continents of America, Asia and Africa, around 1.000 species of begonias are known. Chrysanthemums are native to the European continent and the Asian continent, currently being cultivated throughout the planet.
Aquatic plants
These are herbs that grow in aquatic ecosystems, including: the lotus flower ( Nelumbo nucifera ), the American lotus ( Nelumbo pentapetala ), various species known as water lilies ( Nymphaea sp.), the aquatic plant Victoria regia, and other species such as Eichhornea azurea and E. crassipes , the water lily ( Hydrocleis nympaeifolia ), among others.
ferns
They are the most primitive plants on the planet, distributed in the tropical and subtropical zones of the planet. Around 30.000 species of ferns have been identified; most grow in humid forests and can be terrestrial or epiphytic. Some species include: Acrostichum aureum , Adiantum raddianum , Asplenium nidus- avis , Davallia, Nephrolepis cordifolia , N. biserrata and N. multiflora , Platycerium bifurcatum, Polypodium aureum , among others.
Inside plants
Ornamental Plants in many species have been cultivated in nurseries and greenhouses, crossing with other species and obtaining hybrids that adapt to different conditions from the wild species from which they come. Managing to grow indoors and even adapting their size like trees grown with the bonsai technique, some of these plants are:
Dracena ( Dracaena marginata) , Umbrella plant ( Cyperus alternifolius) , Dieffenbachia ( Dieffenbachia spp., Dieffenbachia seguine , Dieffenbachia amoena , Dieffenbachia camilla , Dieffenbachia maculata) , Prayer plant ( Maranta leuconeura) , Cyclamen ( Cyclamen) , zamia plant ( Zamioculca zamiifolia) , different species of the genus Sansevieria sp., different genera of the Orchidaceae family and many others.
Bonsai
Human beings, with the aim of domesticating plants in order to enjoy their beauty, have designed techniques such as Bonsai. This is a word of Japanese origin that means bon=tray and sai=cultivate. According to its etymology, it comes from the Chinese word penzai, which means bowl, and zai, which means plant.
Bonsai is a technique for growing trees and shrubs with the aim of reducing their original size, making these adult plants very small compared to their size in nature. This is achieved by applying transplant techniques, pruning, wiring, clamping and working on its design to make it resemble the tree in nature.
The origin of this cultivation technique originated in China more than 2000 years ago, to worship Taoist monks. Bonsai for the Chinese represent eternity, for this the tree is a bridge that unites the divine and the human, heaven and earth. These bonsai were only cultivated by the gardeners of the nobility and high society, these, according to tradition, ensured their pass to eternity.
This art was brought to Japan about 800 years ago and the technique was conceived from the Zen conception, which expressed that they were trees that represented "a beauty of austere severity" of the universe. This technique does not genetically inhibit trees from growing. The plant remains small because they keep pruning the trunk, leaves and roots periodically, according to the requirements of each species.
It's a very delicate task; if not done correctly, the plant can be killed, while if the pruning is done properly, the tree will grow back to its original state. Trees and shrubs can be cultivated using the bonsai technique. Those who cultivate them particularly like species with small leaves in nature that are well-suited to growing in pots. Some species cultivated as bonsai belong to the genera: Acer, Pinus, Ulmus, Rhododendron, Ficus, Olea, Juniperus, and Pyracantha , among others.
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