Plant Encyclopedia

Search and identify 1,000+ plants, flowers, trees, and succulents — with care, light, water, and how to tell them apart.

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Pear Tree

The pear tree is a deciduous fruit tree grown for its abundant white spring blossom and glossy foliage. European pears (Pyrus communis) are long-lived ornamental and orchard trees.

tree

Loquat Tree

An evergreen subtropical fruit tree bearing clusters of orange fruit in late winter and spring. Ornamental and easy to grow, it offers lush foliage and unusually timed blossoms.

tree

Mexican Sunflower

A tall, fast-growing annual prized for its vivid orange-red daisy flowers that are magnets for butterflies and bees. It thrives in heat and poor soil where many other plants struggle.

flower

Lobelia

Edging lobelia is a low, mounding or trailing annual smothered in tiny, intensely blue flowers from spring to frost. It's a staple of hanging baskets, window boxes and bedding borders.

flower

Japanese Maple

A small, elegant ornamental tree prized for delicate, deeply lobed leaves in shades of red, green and purple, and spectacular fall color. A centerpiece of Japanese gardens.

tree

Japanese Cedar

Japanese Cedar, or sugi, is a tall, fast-growing evergreen conifer native to Japan and the national tree of that country. It has soft, awl-shaped needles and reddish, fibrous, peeling bark.

tree

Coneflower

A rugged North American prairie perennial with daisy-like purple-pink petals around a spiny, copper-orange central cone. Beloved by pollinators and goldfinches.

flower

Coral Tree

The coral tree is a thorny deciduous tree or large shrub bearing dramatic spikes of waxy, deep-red, claw-shaped flowers in summer. Native to South America, it is the national tree and flower of Argentina and Uruguay.

tree

Bottlebrush Tree

An evergreen Australian shrub or small tree whose cylindrical red flower spikes look exactly like bottle brushes. The nectar-rich blooms draw birds and pollinators.

shrub

Basswood

Basswood, or American linden, is a large deciduous shade tree with big heart-shaped leaves and fragrant summer flowers beloved by bees. Its soft, pale wood is a favorite of woodcarvers.

tree

Bugleweed

Bugleweed is a low, fast-spreading evergreen groundcover prized for its glossy rosettes and spikes of blue-violet flowers in spring. It quickly carpets bare ground in sun or shade.

flower

Box Honeysuckle

Box honeysuckle is a small-leaved evergreen shrub used as a dense, fine-textured hedge or topiary, much like boxwood. It is fast-growing, shade-tolerant and easy to clip into shape.

shrub

African Violet

The African violet is a compact flowering houseplant beloved for its velvety leaves and clusters of purple, pink, or white blooms that can appear nearly year-round.

flower

Weeping Cherry

The weeping cherry is an ornamental flowering cherry with gracefully cascading branches smothered in pink or white blossoms each spring. Its waterfall silhouette makes it a popular specimen and lawn focal point.

tree

Star Magnolia

Star magnolia is a slow-growing small tree or large shrub that opens dozens of fragrant, many-petaled white star-shaped flowers in very early spring, often before any other tree blooms. Its compact size suits smaller gardens.

tree

Hawthorn Tree

The hawthorn is a thorny deciduous tree or shrub bearing fragrant white spring blossoms and clusters of red autumn berries called haws. Long used for hedging, it is steeped in folklore and supports abundant wildlife.

tree

Hebe

Hebe is a neat evergreen shrub from New Zealand with tidy mounding foliage and bottlebrush-like spikes of purple, pink or white flowers. It is a reliable, pollinator-friendly choice for mild coastal gardens.

shrub

Weeping Birch

Weeping birch is the European white or silver birch, prized for its chalky white peeling bark and slender pendulous branchlets that sway in the breeze. Cultivars like 'Youngii' form a strongly weeping dome.

tree

Tarragon

Tarragon is an aromatic culinary herb grown in gardens for its slender, glossy, anise-scented foliage. The 'French' type rarely sets viable seed and is propagated by division or cuttings.

herb

Silk Oak

The silk oak is a fast-growing Australian tree with fern-like silvery foliage and showy golden-orange, comb-shaped flowers in spring. It is widely grown for shade, timber and ornament, but can be weedy outside its range.

tree

Saskatoon Berry

Saskatoon berry is a hardy North American shrub producing blueberry-like fruit and showy spring blossoms. It is cold-tolerant, low-maintenance, and valued as an ornamental and wildlife shrub.

shrub

Powder Puff Cactus

A clustering pincushion cactus wrapped in silky white hairs, with hooked central spines hidden beneath. Rings of small creamy or pink flowers appear readily, even on young plants.

succulent

Angel's Trumpet

A tropical shrub or small tree bearing enormous, pendulous trumpet-shaped flowers that release a powerful fragrance at night. It is grown as a dramatic ornamental in warm climates.

shrub

Prickly Lettuce

Prickly lettuce is a tall annual or biennial weed and the closest wild relative of cultivated lettuce. It is recognized by spiny leaf midribs, milky sap, and leaves that twist to align vertically like a compass.

herb