I moved into a new house and the previous owner left behind a house plant, but I don't know what it is and neither did the owner.
I noticed that the plant has two different kinds of flowers. In the summer it produced very large flowers, about the size of a man's palm, maybe slightly bigger. They were bright red, very shiny, but not fragrant - or not that I noticed. The flowers last about a day or two before falling off. In the winter, when I thought the plant would not flower, it started producing many blooms - but the flowers that appeared were not at all like the previous flowers. These ones are much smaller, about an inch in diamiter all around. They're the same colour as the other flowers, but the petals are a lot different. Instead of being open, they're more ruffled and close together, I can't even see the center of the flower with how ruffled the petals are.
The leaves are spade shaped, light green, and have seragated edges that taper down to the point.
The bark is a very pale brown, kind of a light taupe or beige colour.
The plant itself probably reaches about 8 feet (my dad is 6'4, and it's quite a bit taller than him).
Oh, and it's not a bushy plant by any means. It's actually kinda spindly, with there being more bark and branches showing than leaves.
If someone could help me with identifying this plant, that would be great. I hope this was enough information... I can't really think of anything else to add other than the fact that it's definitely a sun lover. And if someone could explain how a plant could produce two different kinds of flowers, that would be nice as well. I think it's supposed to mean the plant has both male and female flowers, but I don't get how it reproduces if the male and female flowers come at different seasons.
Edit (12/23/08): I took a picture of the tree and the flower. Hopefully this helps (ignore the red balls, they're just Christmas ornaments ^^):
Edit (12/26/08): If no one knows what this plant is, or the reason no one knows is because it's not exotic, could someone direct me to a plant forum that would be able to help me?
[ Edited by Lobo_Solitario on 2008/12/23 13:23 ]
[ Edited by Lobo_Solitario on 2008/12/26 21:13 ]
