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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Bouncing Bet

A vigorous old-fashioned perennial with clusters of fragrant pink flowers whose roots and leaves lather like soap, long used as a natural cleanser for textiles.

herb

Bearberry

A hardy, mat-forming evergreen groundcover shrub of cold northern regions, with glossy leaves, pink bell flowers, and red berries favored by bears and birds.

shrub

Agrimony

Agrimony is an upright perennial herb topped with slender spires of small yellow flowers that smell faintly of apricot. It produces bur-like seeds that cling to passersby.

herb

Speedwell

Speedwell is a hardy perennial prized for its upright spikes of densely packed blue, purple, pink or white flowers that bloom for weeks in summer. It is a magnet for bees and butterflies and thrives in sunny, well-drained borders.

flower

Wild Geranium

A graceful woodland perennial bearing saucer-shaped pink to lavender flowers above deeply lobed leaves in late spring. It is a true hardy geranium, distinct from the tender garden 'geraniums' that are actually pelargoniums.

flower

Sweetshrub

Sweetshrub is a deciduous native shrub of the southeastern U.S. known for its unusual maroon-brown flowers that release a fruity fragrance reminiscent of strawberries, banana or spice. Its aromatic bark and foliage add to the appeal.

shrub

Sausage Tree

The sausage tree is an African tree famous for its enormous, heavy, sausage-shaped fruits dangling on long stalks, and its dark maroon, bat-pollinated flowers. It is a striking specimen of savanna and riverbank landscapes.

tree

Rose of Sharon

A hardy deciduous hibiscus that blooms profusely in late summer with showy, often two-toned flowers. Upright and easy to grow, it brings tropical-looking color to temperate gardens when little else is flowering.

shrub

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

Nemesia

A dainty South African annual covered in masses of small two-lipped flowers, often bicolored and lightly fragrant, in a wide range of bright and pastel colors. It excels in cool-season containers, baskets and edging.

flower

Natal Plum

Natal plum is a glossy, spiny evergreen shrub from South Africa with fragrant white flowers and red plum-like fruit. It is a tough, salt-tolerant choice for warm-climate hedges and coastal gardens.

shrub

Illawarra Flame Tree

The Illawarra flame tree is a striking Australian native that sheds its leaves and covers itself in masses of brilliant scarlet bell-shaped flowers in early summer. It is one of Australia's most spectacular flowering trees.

tree

Camellia Tree

The camellia is a glossy-leaved evergreen shrub or small tree bearing large, showy rose-like flowers in shades of red, pink and white during fall, winter and spring. It is a classic shade-garden ornamental.

shrub

Anemone

Anemones, also called windflowers, are graceful perennials and bulbs that produce delicate, cup- or daisy-shaped flowers in spring or fall. Japanese anemones in particular bring valuable late-season color to shady borders.

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

Sow Thistle

A leafy annual resembling a soft thistle, with milky sap, lobed prickle-edged leaves and small dandelion-like yellow flowers. It is a widespread garden and field weed.

herb

Rockrose

Rockrose is a tough Mediterranean evergreen shrub prized for its papery, crepe-like flowers and resinous, aromatic foliage. It thrives on neglect in hot, dry, poor soils.

shrub

Pyracantha

Pyracantha, or firethorn, is a thorny evergreen shrub that bursts with white spring flowers and brilliant masses of red, orange, or yellow berries in fall. It makes a formidable hedge or espalier.

shrub

Pomegranate Tree

The pomegranate is a deciduous fruiting shrub or small tree grown for its leathery-skinned fruit and showy orange-red flowers. It is hardy, drought-tolerant, and long-lived.

shrub

Oleander

Oleander is a heat- and drought-loving evergreen shrub with showy clusters of pink, white, or red flowers all summer. Beautiful and tough, it is a mainstay of warm-climate landscapes.

shrub

Iris

Irises are elegant perennials with sword-like leaves and intricate flowers featuring upright "standards" and drooping "falls." The bearded iris is the most widely grown garden type.

flower

Hollyhock

Hollyhock is a towering cottage-garden biennial bearing tall spires of large, saucer-shaped flowers. Its dramatic height makes it a classic backdrop for fences and walls.

flower

Fishbone Cactus

An epiphytic jungle cactus with flat, deeply zigzagged stems resembling a fish skeleton. Easy to grow and capable of producing large, fragrant night-blooming flowers in autumn.

succulent

Bluebeard

Bluebeard is a compact late-summer shrub smothered in clusters of blue flowers that pollinators adore. It is heat- and drought-tolerant and blooms when most shrubs have finished.

shrub