Plant Encyclopedia
Search and identify 1,000+ plants, flowers, trees, and succulents — with care, light, water, and how to tell them apart.
Fireweed
A tall, magenta-flowered perennial famous for blanketing burned and disturbed land, which gives it its name. Its spires of pink-purple flowers make it both a pioneer species and a showy garden plant.
flower
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
Prickly Pear Cactus
Prickly pear cacti have flat, paddle-shaped pads and produce showy flowers followed by colorful fruit. Tough and drought-hardy, several species are widely grown for landscaping.
succulent
Periwinkle
Periwinkle is a tough, low evergreen ground cover with glossy leaves and starry blue-violet flowers that thrives in shade. It spreads quickly to carpet difficult areas but can become invasive.
shrub
Meadow Rue
Meadow rue is an airy perennial with delicate, columbine-like foliage and fluffy clouds of tiny lilac, pink, or white flowers. It brings a soft, ethereal texture to part-shade borders.
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
Hydrangea
A leafy garden shrub famous for big rounded clusters of summer flowers that can shift between blue and pink depending on soil pH. Hydrangeas are showy, thirsty, and shade-tolerant.
shrub
Culver's Root
Culver's root is a tall, elegant North American prairie perennial with whorled leaves and slender, candelabra-like spires of white to pale-lilac flowers. It is a magnet for bees and butterflies in summer.
flower
Creeping Zinnia
Creeping zinnia is a low, spreading annual smothered in tiny gold-and-black daisy flowers that resemble miniature sunflowers. It is heat- and drought-tolerant, making it ideal for edging, baskets, and groundcover.
flower
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
Barrenwort
Barrenwort is a tough, low groundcover for dry shade, with delicate spring flowers and heart-shaped leaves that often emerge and finish the season tinted red. It thrives where little else will.
flower
Baby's Breath
Baby's breath is an airy perennial producing clouds of tiny white or pink flowers on wiry, branching stems. It's a florist's staple as a delicate filler in bouquets and a soft accent in the garden.
flower
Wild Mustard
Wild mustard, or charlock, is a fast-growing annual weed of fields and roadsides with bright yellow four-petaled flowers. It is an aggressive crop weed.
herb
Scarlet Runner Bean
A vigorous climbing bean grown for its showy scarlet flowers and long, flat pods, equally at home on an ornamental fence or a garden trellis.
herb
Pineapple Guava
Pineapple guava (feijoa) is a fruiting evergreen shrub with showy red-stamened flowers and aromatic green fruit. It is hardy, drought-tolerant, and ornamental.
shrub
Hyacinth
Hyacinth is a spring bulb that produces dense, upright spikes of waxy, star-shaped flowers in vivid colors, prized for their powerful sweet fragrance.
flower
Henbane
Henbane is a foul-smelling, sticky-haired herb of the nightshade family with funnel-shaped, purple-veined flowers, long associated with witchcraft and folklore.
herb
Bacopa
Trailing bacopa is a delicate spiller covered in small five-petaled white, pink, or blue flowers, ideal for cascading from baskets and containers.
flower
Star Cactus
A small, flattened, spineless cactus divided into neat segments that resemble a star or sand dollar, dotted with white woolly flecks. It bears yellow flowers with red centers and is a coveted collector's plant.
succulent
Wisteria Tree
A wisteria tree is a wisteria vine trained and pruned into a small free-standing tree form, prized for cascading clusters of fragrant purple-blue spring flowers. It is vigorous and requires regular pruning.
tree
Spirea
A versatile, easy-care deciduous shrub grown for clusters of pink or white flowers and often colorful foliage. Compact and reliable, spirea suits borders, mass plantings and low informal hedges.
shrub
Summersweet
A late-summer-blooming deciduous shrub with upright spikes of intensely fragrant white or pink flowers that draw bees and butterflies. Native to eastern North America, it thrives in moist, shady spots.
shrub
Rhodiola
Rhodiola is a hardy, succulent alpine perennial of cold northern mountains, forming low rosettes of fleshy blue-green leaves and clusters of yellow flowers. Cut roots smell faintly of rose.
succulent
Plumeria Tree
A small tropical tree beloved for its intensely fragrant, waxy flowers used in Hawaiian leis. Plumeria blooms in shades of white, yellow, pink, and red atop thick, sculptural branches.
tree