Plant Encyclopedia
Search and identify 1,000+ plants, flowers, trees, and succulents — with care, light, water, and how to tell them apart.
Coral Bells
A versatile mounding perennial grown chiefly for vivid foliage in shades of purple, amber, lime, and silver, accented by airy sprays of tiny bell-shaped flowers. A modern shade-garden favorite.
flower
Ragweed
A common annual weed that produces large amounts of lightweight, wind-blown pollen in late summer and fall. It has fern-like, deeply divided leaves and inconspicuous greenish flower spikes.
herb
Tamarack
Tamarack is a hardy North American deciduous conifer of cold bogs and wetlands, turning glowing gold each autumn before shedding its soft needles. It is one of the most cold-tolerant trees in North America.
tree
Golden Shower Tree
The golden shower tree is a tropical flowering tree that drapes itself in long, hanging chains of brilliant golden-yellow blossoms in summer. It is the national tree and flower of Thailand and a beloved ornamental across the tropics.
tree
Goldenrod
A tough, late-season perennial wildflower that lights up fields and roadsides with plumes of tiny golden flowers. Its heavy, sticky pollen is spread by insects rather than wind.
flower
Ornamental Pepper
A compact form of the common pepper grown for showy, upward-facing fruits that ripen through purple, cream, yellow, orange and red, often all at once. Popular as a fall and holiday houseplant or patio accent.
houseplant
Silver Maple
Silver maple is a fast-growing deciduous tree named for the silvery undersides of its deeply cut leaves, which flash in the wind; it is hardy and adaptable but has brittle wood prone to storm damage.
tree
Chaste Tree
The chaste tree is a Mediterranean deciduous shrub or small tree with aromatic, palmate foliage and slender spikes of lavender-blue summer flowers that attract bees and butterflies.
shrub
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
Rainbow Cactus
A small barrel cactus whose closely set spines form colored bands of pink, white, and red that wrap the stem like a rainbow. Crowned in spring with large, vivid magenta flowers.
succulent
Eggplant
Eggplant is a warm-season member of the nightshade family grown in gardens for its glossy, pendant fruits that range from deep purple to white. It thrives in heat and a long growing season.
herb
Venus Flytrap
The iconic carnivorous plant whose hinged, toothed leaf traps snap shut on insects in a fraction of a second. Native only to a small region of the Carolinas, it needs sun, pure water, and a winter dormancy.
houseplant
Wandering Dude
A fast-growing trailing plant with shimmering purple-and-silver striped leaves and deep purple undersides. It roots almost anywhere and is one of the easiest houseplants to grow and propagate.
houseplant
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
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
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
Lilac
Lilacs are hardy deciduous shrubs cherished for their intensely fragrant spring flower clusters in shades of purple, lavender, pink, and white. They are long-lived and easy to grow in cold climates.
shrub
Lantana
Lantana is a tough, heat- and drought-tolerant flowering shrub whose rounded clusters of tiny blooms often shift color as they age. It is a magnet for butterflies but is invasive in many warm regions.
shrub
London Plane Tree
The London plane is a large, pollution-tolerant hybrid shade tree famous for its mottled, peeling camouflage bark and spherical seed balls, making it one of the world's most planted urban street trees.
tree
Heucherella
Heucherella, or foamy bells, is a colorful hybrid perennial combining the bold foliage of coral bells with the airy flower sprays of foamflower. It offers striking leaves in many colors plus dainty spring blooms.
flower
Japanese Black Pine
Japanese Black Pine is a rugged coastal conifer with dark bark, stiff needles, and a picturesque irregular form. It is a classic bonsai and ornamental tree highly tolerant of salt and wind.
tree
Horseweed
Horseweed is a tall, weedy native annual with a single bristly stalk topped by clouds of tiny flowers; it is a prolific seeder and one of the first weeds to evolve widespread herbicide resistance.
herb
Gaura
Gaura is an airy, long-blooming perennial whose delicate pink or white flowers dance on slender, wiry stems like a cloud of butterflies. It is heat- and drought-tolerant and blooms for months.
flower
Escallonia
Escallonia is a glossy-leaved evergreen shrub from South America, prized for its long display of small pink, red or white flowers. It makes an excellent hedge in mild, coastal climates.
shrub