File:H20150430-0004— X Chiranthofremontia lenzii—RPBG (17301335696).jpg

X Chiranthofremontia lenzii. From the San Francisco Botanical Garden website. "The name describes the "cross" or hybrid developed by a California nurseryman in 1981 who placed the pollen of Fremontodendron, a small tree of California's chaparral with golden flowers, on the stigma of a Mexican hand tree, Chiranthodendron pentadactylon. Chiranthodendron, the female parent, was first noted by Cortez, the conqueror of the Aztec Empire in 1520, who found it growing in Montezuma's gardens. The Aztecs treasured the tree for its medicinal properties. They crushed the leaves and bark into a potion for treating eyes and easing pain. Chiranthodendron's home is at 9,000 feet on the wet slopes of cloud forests in Mexico and Guatemala – high altitude forests of great diversity with hundreds of inches of rain and a growing season that lasts all year long.

"These two parents, with some help from man, created our hybrid. Like both of its parents, the hybrid "flowers" lack petals. The tawny flower cup is covered with brown hairs called trichomes. The five stamens are united at their base and extend to form five claw-like fingers that resemble a monkey's hand. The style makes a sixth finger or thumb. The stamens of the hybrid are golden instead of red, a trait inherited from its Fremontodendron parent. There are 5 tiny pouches in the flower cup filled with nectar, a feature present in both parents.

"The hybrid has evergreen leaves that are lobed, hairy and leathery with five mid-veins, and are very similar in shape and touch to both parents. Our specimen was planted in 2002 in the sunny border of the Entry Garden and blooms six to eight months a year."