Euphorbiaceae

Euphorbia pulcherrima

Poinsettia

Look for: 
- Bright red showy bracts,
- small yellow flowers,
- christmas-tree-shaped green leaves.

Euphorbiaceae

Sapium sebiferum

Chinese tallow tree

Look for: 
- Deltoid leaves with acuminate tips,
- milky sap,
- clusters of fruits that lose their hulls to show wax-covered seeds,
- red fall color with yellow leaf margins.

Fabaceae

Acacia melanoxylon

Blackwood acacia

Look for: 
- Phyllodes that are falcate (curved), with parallel veins and a brownish tip, 
- true leaves (when you can find them) that are bi-pinnately compound,
- apetalous flowers forming small, white "powderpuffs," 
- and legumes that curl when dehiscing, revealing shiny dark seeds with orange "halos."

Fabaceae

Calliandra tweedii

Brazilian flamebush

Look for: 
- A medium-sized shrub,
- small, bi-pinnately compound leaves, 
- "powderpuff" flower clusters composed of bright red stamens,
- woody legumes that peel back and curl when dehiscing.

Fabaceae

Ceratonia siliqua

Carob

Look for: 
- A medium-sized tree,
- even-pinnately compound leaves, composed of (roughly) six oval leaflets, 
- spikes of tiny green and orange flowers,
- hard, thick legumes that ripen from green to almost black on the female trees.

- Female trees produce an edible pod carob - a chocolate substitute.

- Male trees don't produce any legumes, very smelly when they produce pollen. 

Fabaceae

Sophora japonica

Japanese pagoda tree

Look for: 
- A large tree,
- odd-pinnately compound leaves with elliptic leaflets,
- gray/brown bark with a "woven" look, 
- sprays of small, white flowers in early summer,
- fruits that resemble long, watery peanuts in the fall.

Hamamelidaceae

Liquidambar styraciflua

Sweet gum

Look for: 
- Large tree with good fall color,
- leaves that have a distinctive "star" shape,
- fruits that are woody, spiky 'balls' that dry to brown and release seeds.

Lythraceae
Lagerstroemia cvs.

Crape Myrtle

Look for: 
- A small tree with one or more narrow trunks, 
- bark that flakes off in thin, crisp sheets, 
- leaves that generally form two distinct ranks along each branch,
- a fruit that starts as a shiny green ball, dries to brown, and then splits apart in wedges, like an orange.

Moraceae

Ficus benjamina

Weeping fig

Look for: 
- Shiny, evergreen leaves with acuminate tips,
- prominent lenticels on the stems.

Moraceae

Ficus carica 

Common fig

Look for: 
- alternate, palmately-veined leaves that are rough on top and softly hairy underneath, 
- 3 to 7 deep, rounded lobes on each leaf,
- a terminal lobe that is constricted near the base and rounded near the apex, 
- milky sap,
- syconiums with masses of tiny flowers on the inside.

Moraceae

Ficus elastica

Rubber plant

Look for: 
- Large, shiny, evergreen leaves with copious white milky sap, 
- sheathing stipules covering emerging leaves, 
- parallel secondary leaf veins,
- smooth leaf margins (entire), 
- acuminate "drip tips."

Moraceae

Ficus pumila

Climbing fig

Look for: 
- A climbing vine covering a vertical surface, 
- leaves that have white "checkerboard" veins on backside,
- a mixture of two distinct leaf shapes on the same plant.

Moraceae

Morus alba

White mulberry

Look for: 
- a large tree producing dense shade,
- large, glossy leaves with coarsely serrated to lobed margins, 
- milky sap,
- shallow roots that spread outwards at the base of the tree.

Solanaceae

Solanum rantonnetii

Blue potato bush

Look for: 
- A bush with soft, light green foliage,
- many purple flowers composed of five fused petals,
- bright yellow stamens clustered in the middle of each flower.

Solanaceae

Solanum jasminoides

Potato vine

Look for: 
- An evergreen vine,
- narrow leaves,
- clusters of flowers with fused, white petals and bright yellow stamens.