Plant Encyclopedia

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

all houseplant flower tree shrub succulent herb fern grass

Globe Amaranth

A heat-loving annual grown for its round, clover-like flower heads of papery bracts in magenta, purple, pink, white or orange. The everlasting blooms keep their color when dried and stand up beautifully to summer heat and humidity.

flower

Cape Primrose

Cape primrose is a compact, long-blooming relative of the African violet, prized for its rosettes of soft, strappy leaves and clouds of trumpet-shaped flowers in blues, purples, pinks and white. It flowers for months with very little fuss on a bright windowsill.

houseplant

Black-Eyed Susan Vine

A cheerful twining vine from Africa bearing masses of flat, five-petaled flowers in orange, yellow or white, each with a dark chocolate-purple center 'eye.' It quickly covers trellises and trails from baskets through the warm season.

flower

Seven-Son Flower

Seven-son flower is a multi-season large shrub or small tree bearing fragrant white late-summer flowers followed by showy rosy-red sepals in fall. Its peeling tan bark adds winter interest.

shrub

Sweet Woodruff

Sweet woodruff is a low, spreading groundcover herb with whorls of slender green leaves and clusters of tiny white star-shaped flowers in spring. When dried, its foliage releases a sweet, hay-and-vanilla scent and it carpets shady ground beautifully.

herb

Love-in-a-Mist

A delicate cottage-garden annual whose blue, white or pink flowers nestle in a misty halo of thread-like foliage, followed by ornamental inflated seed pods. Both the airy blooms and the balloon-like pods are prized for fresh and dried arrangements.

flower

Catalpa Tree

The catalpa is a fast-growing deciduous shade tree famous for its huge heart-shaped leaves, showy clusters of frilly white flowers, and long slender seed pods resembling beans or cigars. It is a popular ornamental for large lawns and street plantings.

tree

Silk Floss Tree

The silk floss tree is a striking subtropical tree with a bulging, thorn-studded green trunk and large pink-and-cream hibiscus-like flowers in autumn. Its seed pods burst to release silky white fibers, giving the tree its name.

tree

Jacob's Ladder

Jacob's ladder is a graceful perennial named for its neat, ladder-like rows of paired leaflets. In late spring it bears clusters of bell- to cup-shaped blue, white or pink flowers, making it a fine choice for cottage and woodland-edge gardens.

flower

Fan Flower

An Australian trailing plant grown for its unusual fan-shaped flowers, with five petals all spread to one side like a tiny hand. Heat- and drought-tolerant, it blooms nonstop in blue, purple, pink or white, ideal for baskets and containers.

flower

Cast Iron Plant 'Milky Way'

'Milky Way' is a speckled cast iron plant whose deep green, upright leaves are scattered with tiny creamy-white to yellow spots, like stars across a night sky. It keeps the legendary toughness and shade tolerance of the cast iron plant.

houseplant

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

Tulip Tree

One of the tallest eastern hardwoods, named for its showy tulip-shaped greenish-orange flowers and uniquely four-lobed leaves. A fast-growing member of the magnolia family.

tree

Shirley Poppy

The Shirley poppy is a refined garden strain of the wild corn poppy, bred for its delicate, papery flowers in soft pinks, whites, reds, and bicolors. These cool-season annuals self-sow freely for drifts of tissue-thin blooms.

flower

Trumpet Tree

The trumpet tree is a tropical American tree that bursts into a mass of pink-to-magenta trumpet-shaped flowers, often while leafless. Known as pink ipê, it is a prized ornamental.

tree

Sunflower

A fast-growing annual famous for its large golden flower heads that track the sun while young. Native to North America, it is grown for ornament and as a cut flower.

flower

Yellow Trumpet Tree

The yellow trumpet tree erupts in brilliant golden-yellow trumpet flowers in spring, usually while leafless, making it one of the most dazzling tropical flowering trees. It is the national tree of Brazil.

tree

Green Bean

Green beans are the young pods of the common bean, picked while still slender before the seeds mature. They come in bush and pole forms and are among the most reliable and rewarding crops for home gardens.

herb

Pink Trumpet Tree

The pink trumpet tree bursts into masses of pink to magenta trumpet-shaped flowers in late winter and spring, often while leafless, creating a spectacular cloud of color. It is a popular tropical and subtropical flowering tree.

tree

Broccoli

Broccoli is a cool-season member of the cabbage family grown for its dense clusters of green flower buds. It is best cut while the tight green heads are still closed, before they open into yellow flowers.

herb