The common names golden thryallis, slender goldshower and rain of gold provide apt descriptions of the profusion of yellow flowers produced by the evergreen shrub-more commonly known by the name thryallis than by one of these made-for-marketing names.

A native of Mexico and lowland areas of Central America, thryallis is an exotic staple of South Florida landscapes. As a cultivated plant in South Florida, it is often used in places of heavy traffic and low maintenance. It thrives in full sun, but can tolerate some shade. It doesn't do well in salty habitats or north of Central Florida, where temperatures frequently drop below freezing. Thryallis has escaped from cultivation and occurs in a few disturbed areas of South Florida, although it has not become an invasive pest.

There is some confusion over the scientific name of thryallis, but the name recognized by scientists for our shrub is Galphimia gracilis-the gracilis meaning graceful and referring to its slender branches and delicate sprays of flowers. Galphimia is the product of an imaginative botanist-an anagram of the scientific name Malpighia-the name of the group of plants from which thryallis was separated.

Thyrallis grows singly as a specimen shrub, or in groups as a low hedge or border plant. Its spindly branches are rarely dense, so don't count on this shrub as a screen. But you can count on thryallis to provide a nearly continuous profusion of half-inch-diameter yellow flowers. At its best in fall, its blooms linger long enough to brighten winter days.

Take a close look at one of those flowers. Each petal tapers toward its base, seeming to be attached by a narrow stem. Its "clawed" petals make it easy to identify the plant.

-Jerome A. Jackson, Florida Gulf Coast University