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California Fan Palm (Washingtonia filifera)
Bougainvillea Trained to grow on Guest Houses
Botanical Name
Daphne odora 'Marginata'
Family
Thymelaeaceae
(Daphne Family)
Origin
Native to China and Japan.
 
At Hearst Castle
A few plants are planted along south esplanade near the back courtyard of Casa Grande . W. R. Hearst was very fond of the fragrance of Daphne and had it planted in large numbers.
 
Description
Evergreen shrub to 4' high; leaves lance-shaped, green with cream margins; clusters of small pinkish flowers in winter; flowers very fragrant. (There is also a type of Daphne ododra with plain green leaves.)
Comments
Daphne is greatly prized for its fragrance, but it is not easy to cultivate in California; it does much better in the Pacific Northwest. It needs fast-draining soil and careful summer watering. It is frost sensitive. Despite its name, this is not the plant that the nymph, Daphne, turned into when pursued by Apollo. She turned into Grecian Laurel (Laurus nobilis). The confusion arises because "Daphne" is the word in Greek for what the Romans and we now call "Laurel."

 




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