Schinus terebinthifolius

Schinus terebinthifolius
Brazilian pepper tree
Faux poivrier à baies roses

Small, bushy evergreen tree or large shrub, native to South America but widely grown as an ornamental. It typically grows multi-stemmed trunks. It has naturalized and become invasive in the southern US, southern Europe, north Africa, southern Asia and Australia. The plant spreads easily by root suckers to form dense thickets.  S. terebinthifolius resembles Pistacia lentiscus which is native to the Mediterranean, but P. lentiscus is paripinnate, having compound leaves with no terminal leaflet. 

S. terebinthifolius is pinnately compound with 5 - 15 leaflets, with a terminal leaflet. They are oval lanceolate to elliptical, with finely toothed margins and yellowish veins. The leaf rachis is usually slightly winged but not always.
The fruit is a small spherical red drupe carried in dense clusters of berries. Dried drupes are often sold as pink peppercorns although it is not a true pepper.

Shrub form growing alongside a path above Lacoste, 9.22.14

Compound Leaf with terminal leaflet, 9.22.14

Berries, 9.22.14

More berries

Compound leaf with yellow-veined leaflets

Ruscus aculeatus

Ruscus aculeatus
Butcher's broom, Knee holly
Fragon

Rhizomatous, evergreen, subshrub, native to central and southern Europe, West Asia, and North Africa. Grows slowly to  2' - 3' high and wide, preferring shade to deep shade. The common name 'butcher's broom' refers to the tradition of European butchers binding the stiff twigs together and using the bundle to clean their cutting boards. "Aculeatus" means prickly or spiney.

What appear to be leaves are actually modified stem structures called cladophylls. They are ovate, thick, spiney-tipped, and twisted at the base. The flowers are six-petaled, star shaped greenish, white blossoms emerging from the middle of the cladophyll Jan. through April, followed by bright red berries. 
Butcher's broom has been used as a medicinal agent for a variety of purposes, particularly for circulatory problems. The root was used as a substitute for asparagus. 
Ruscus aculeatus should not be confused with cytisus scoparius (broom) or spartium junceum (spanish broom).

Form, along a path in Lacoste, 9.22.14

In the woods by a stone wall in Lacoste, 9.22.14

Stem showing cladophylls or leaf-like structures with their twisted bases, 9.22.14

 

Blossom in center of cladophyll

Berry

Berries on plants in Lacoste woods, 10.7.14

Illustration by Dr. Otto Wilhelm Thomé, 1885

Hieracium umbellatum

Hieracium umbellatum 
Narrow Hawkweed
Épervière de Savoie

Native to Europe and Asia. 
The name is derived from the Greek 'hierakion' and the ancient Greek word 'hierax' for hawk. 'Umbellatum' means like umbels or umbrella-like flower heads. The Roman naturalist, Pliny, believed that hawks fed on this plant to strengthen their eyesight, thus the common name, hawkweed.
Hawkweeds are a large group with 10,000 recorded species and subspecies.
H. umbellatum have yellow ray flowers in long-stalked, loose branched clusters from July to Sept. or Oct. The stems are very leafy with fairly narrow leaves and are covered with fine, stiff hairs. 
The leaves are lanceolate-linear with a tapering tip and base, bristle hairs on the underside, and an entire or sparsely toothed margin.

Bloom

Budding

Form in bloom

In situ in fall, Lacoste, 9.16.14

In Situ, seed heads, 9.16.14

Leaves, 9.16.14

Illustration, Dr. Otto Wilhelm. 1885

Sedum sediforme

Sedum sediforme
Stonecrop Sedum
L'Orpin de Nice

Native to Europe and the Mediterranean region.
Thermophilic - heat loving - species growing on very dry, rocky, calcareous soils.
It grows as mats of erect reddish stems with blue-green fleshy sessile leaves which are glaucous and hairless. The inflorescence is a panicle of yellow flowers June through August.

Leaf Detail

Near the castle ruins at Saint Saturnin-lès-Apt, Luberon,9.16.14 

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Illustration by PJ Redouté; published in Plantarum Historia Succlentarum, 1799 - 1837

Before flowering

Flower detail

Helianthus x laetiflorus

Helianthus x laetiflorus
Hybrid Sunflower
Hélianthe vivace

Hybridized plant of 2 species, H. pauciflorus and H. tuberosus, which are native to North America and have naturalized in Europe. All Helianthus are native to North America.
The leaves are alternate, ovate lanceolate, and serrate.
Blossom August through October.

Blossom, edge of a vineyard, Lacoste, 9.27.14

Edge of a vineyard looking toward le Lubéron range,
Lacoste, 9.27.14

Leaf arrangement, 9.27.14

Callistemon citrinus

Callistemon citrinus
Crimson Bottlebrush
Rince-bouteille

 Callistemon lanceolatus is a synonym

Shrub or small tree native to Australia. It was collected by the British explorers Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander in 1770 during their exploration of the east coast of Australia. By 1788, 3 species including C. citrinus were available to English horticulturists. 

The book, Descriptions des Plantes Rares cultivees a Malmaison et a Navarre, published in France in 1813, by the French botanist, Aimé Bondspland, featured plants growing in Empress Josephine's garden at Le Malmaison just outside Paris. This book included an illustration of C.speciosus, indicating that callistemon was being planted as an herbaceous ornamental in France by the early 1800s. The illustrator was Pierre-Joseph Redouté, a painter and botanist from the Netherlands, who became the Empress Josephine's official artist.

In Situ, garden in Lacoste, 9.16.14

Blossom, Lacoste garden, 9.16.14

Leaves, Lacoste garden, 9.16.14

Illustration by Pierre-Joseph Redouté published in Descriptions des Plantes Rares cultivees a Malmaison et a Navarre, 1813

Phytolacca americana

Phytolacca americana
Pokeweed
Raisin d'Amérique

It is a large, herebaceous perennial growing up to 10 feet tall, native to eastern North America, Midwest, and the Gulf Coast.
It has a large taproot, green or red stems, and large simple leaves. Leaves can be up to 15" long.  White flowers appear July to September, followed by purple to black berries. The berries have been used as a red dye for centuries. The plant dies back completely to the ground in winter.
It was used by American Indians to treat skin diseases and wounds as well as a dye.
Parts of the plant are toxic to livestock and humans.

Pokeweed was originally imported in France from the U.S. to make red dye for cloth and ink, as well as to color wine. It first arrived in Bordeaux and has now naturalized in Mediterranean countries where it can be invasive, eliminating competition and dominating where it spreads. It is classified as a plant plague by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

Blossoms just opening

 

Small stand behind a wall of Chateau Lacoste, 9.16.14

Growing through an arborbitae in Oppède le Vieux, 10.8.14

Fruits, Oppède le Vieux, 10.8.14

Rangy, branching form

Leaves and developing fruit, 10.8.14

Berries

Calluna vulgaris

Calluna vulgaris

Heather, Scotch heather
Callune commune, "fausse bruyére"

Colluna vulgaris is the sole species in the genus Calluna and is referred to as "Erica" in old references. In the 19th century, the British botanist, Richard Anthony Salisbury, separated it from the closely related genus 'Erica', and devised the generic name 'Calluna' from the Greek "kallunein" for "beautify, or sweep clean" in reference to its traditional use in brooms.

Three genera comprise what are often referred to as "heather":
Calluna (true heather) with small scale-like leaves
Erica (heath), with needle-like leaves
Daboecia (St. Dabeoc's heath) which is less hardy with slightly broader, alternate needle-like leaves 

Calluna vulgaris is a low-growing perennial shrub found widely in Europe and Asia. It has naturalized in Northeast and Northwest US. It is sometimes referred to as summer or autumn heather to distinguish it from winter or spring flowering species of Erica.
The roots release an alleopathic substance that can inhibit the growth of other plants. It requires acidic soil, thus is a good indicator of low pH soil levels.

Blossoms. Ochre Cliffs, Roussillon.9.25.14

Scale-like leaves; 'Calluna' has scale leaves in opposite pairs shaped like an 'x'; 'Erica' has scale leaves in whorls of 3 -4

Form

Illustration by Dr. Otto Wilhelm Thomé, 1885

Aster amellus

Aster amellus
Aster amelle
Marguerite de la Saint-Michel
(also known as European Michaelmas Daisy)

Late bloomer, flowers August through October
The stem is erect, often branched upwards. Leaves are entire, rough and hairy
Subterraneous runners form colonies of plants
Typical habitat is rocky, limy areas. It prefers a calcareous and slightly dry substrate 

Late summer blossoms

 

Bloom

In situ at Fort de Buoux, Lubéron.10.11.14

In situ at Fort de Buoux, Lubéron, fading blooms.10.11.14

Johan Sturm illustration, 1796