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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Silver Fir

Silver Fir is a tall European forest conifer with flat, glossy needles bearing two silvery bands beneath. It was the original Christmas tree of central Europe and is an important timber species.

tree

Sitka Spruce

Sitka Spruce is the largest spruce in the world, a towering conifer of the cool, wet Pacific Northwest coast. Its strong, lightweight wood is prized for aircraft, boats, and musical instruments.

tree

Swamp White Oak

Swamp white oak is an adaptable white oak of moist North American bottomlands, with two-toned leaves that are green above and silvery beneath. It is a popular, easy-to-grow shade and street tree.

tree

Starfish Cactus

A clumping stem succulent that produces enormous, hairy, star-shaped maroon flowers resembling a starfish. The blooms smell of carrion to attract flies, earning it the name carrion plant.

succulent

Snowbell Tree

A graceful small tree that hangs with rows of fragrant, bell-shaped white flowers in late spring. Its horizontal branching shows the dangling blooms off to perfection.

tree

Smoke Tree

A deciduous shrub or small tree named for the airy, smoke-like plumes of fading flower stalks that envelop it in summer. Many cultivars also feature striking purple foliage.

shrub

Norway Spruce

Norway spruce is a fast-growing European evergreen conifer with drooping branchlets and the longest cones of any spruce; it is widely used for timber, windbreaks, and as a Christmas tree.

tree

Nectarine Tree

A smooth-skinned variety of peach, the nectarine produces juicy fruit on a compact deciduous tree. It is genetically nearly identical to the peach, differing mainly in its fuzz-free skin.

tree

Lupin

Lupin is a striking perennial bearing tall, dense spikes of pea-like flowers in vivid colors above palmate leaves. A legume, it fixes nitrogen and is a cottage-garden showstopper.

flower

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

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 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

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

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

Great Blue Lobelia

A native North American perennial producing tall spikes of vivid blue, two-lipped flowers in late summer. It is the blue counterpart to the red cardinal flower and loves moist ground.

flower

Fairy Castle Cactus

A slow-growing columnar cactus whose many vertical, turret-like branches resemble the spires of a tiny castle. It is a compact, easygoing favorite for sunny windowsills.

succulent

Devils Ivy

Devil's ivy, or golden pothos, is one of the world's most popular and indestructible houseplants, a fast-growing tropical vine with glossy, heart-shaped leaves marbled in gold.

houseplant

Elephant Ear Cactus

A prickly pear with flat, rounded green pads that branch into ear-like shapes. Instead of long spines it bears dense tufts of tiny barbed glochids that detach at the lightest touch.

succulent

Dog Fennel

Dog fennel is a tall, feathery-leaved native weed of the southeastern United States that forms dense stands in old fields and roadsides and has an aromatic, somewhat unpleasant scent.

herb

Dwarf Umbrella Tree

The Dwarf Umbrella Tree has glossy leaflets arranged like the spokes of an umbrella radiating from each stem. It is a popular, fast-growing indoor plant and a favorite subject for bonsai.

houseplant

Coast Redwood

The coast redwood is the tallest tree species on Earth, a fast-growing evergreen conifer of the foggy Pacific coast with flat needles, fibrous red bark, and an ability to sprout from its base.

tree

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

Cheatgrass

Cheatgrass is an invasive winter annual grass of the western United States, notorious for its sharp seeds and for fueling more frequent, intense wildfires across rangelands.

grass

Chinese Money Plant

The Chinese money plant is a charming houseplant with round, coin-shaped leaves on slender stalks. It is easy to grow and readily produces baby offshoots to share with friends.

houseplant