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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Blanket Flower

A heat-loving, daisy-like perennial in fiery bands of red, orange, and yellow that bloom nonstop all summer. Tough, drought-proof, and beloved by bees and butterflies.

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Barberry

A dense, thorny deciduous shrub grown for colorful red, gold, or purple foliage and bright red berries. Tough and adaptable, though invasive in parts of North America.

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Angelonia

Often called summer snapdragon, angelonia produces upright spikes of orchid-like flowers that thrive in heat and humidity all season without deadheading.

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Trillium

A cherished woodland wildflower built entirely in threes: three leaves, three petals, and three sepals. Slow-growing and long-lived, it is a hallmark of healthy spring forests and should never be picked or dug from the wild.

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Rhododendron

A large genus of evergreen and deciduous shrubs famed for spectacular spring trusses of bell- or funnel-shaped flowers. They thrive in acidic, moist, well-drained woodland soils with dappled light.

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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.

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Ninebark

A rugged North American deciduous shrub named for its peeling, layered bark. Modern cultivars offer striking burgundy, gold, or copper foliage plus clusters of white-to-pink spring flowers.

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Melampodium

Melampodium, or butter daisy, is a tough, heat-loving annual that forms neat mounds covered in small golden-yellow daisies all summer. It thrives in hot, humid conditions and is virtually maintenance-free.

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Juniper

A tough, evergreen coniferous shrub (some species small trees) with needle-like or scale-like foliage and blue berry-like cones. Junipers range from low groundcovers to upright forms and thrive in poor, dry soils.

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Heather

Heather is a low, evergreen shrub that blankets moorlands with a haze of tiny pink, purple or white flowers in late summer. It needs acidic soil and is prized for ground cover and year-round foliage color.

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Flowering Dogwood

Flowering dogwood is a beloved small ornamental tree whose spring branches are clouded in showy white or pink bracts. It offers four-season interest with summer berries, scarlet fall color, and tiered branching.

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Crabapple Tree

A small ornamental tree prized for its profuse spring blossoms and colorful, persistent miniature apples. Flowering crabapples are among the most popular landscape trees in temperate climates.

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Aster

Asters are daisy-like perennials that burst into clouds of starry purple, pink, blue, or white blooms in late summer and autumn. They are pollinator magnets prized for extending color into the season's end.

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African Tulip Tree

The African tulip tree is a fast-growing tropical tree topped with vivid orange-red, tulip-shaped flowers held above glossy foliage. Its showy blooms make it a popular ornamental, though it is invasive in many tropical regions.

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Weeping Cherry

The weeping cherry is an ornamental flowering cherry with gracefully cascading branches smothered in pink or white blossoms each spring. Its waterfall silhouette makes it a popular specimen and lawn focal point.

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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.

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Pumpkin

Pumpkin is a sprawling warm-season vine in the gourd family, grown for its large, ribbed orange fruits popular in autumn displays and decoration. It is one of the easiest and most rewarding garden crops where space allows.

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Hebe

Hebe is a neat evergreen shrub from New Zealand with tidy mounding foliage and bottlebrush-like spikes of purple, pink or white flowers. It is a reliable, pollinator-friendly choice for mild coastal gardens.

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Hawthorn Tree

The hawthorn is a thorny deciduous tree or shrub bearing fragrant white spring blossoms and clusters of red autumn berries called haws. Long used for hedging, it is steeped in folklore and supports abundant wildlife.

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Wintercreeper

Wintercreeper is an extremely tough evergreen groundcover or climbing shrub, often grown for its variegated foliage. It tolerates harsh sites but is invasive in many regions.

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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.

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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.

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Rose Mallow

A vigorous perennial hibiscus native to North American wetlands, famous for its enormous dinner-plate-sized blooms in white, pink, or red with a contrasting eye.

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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.

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