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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Overcup Oak

Overcup oak is a flood-tolerant white oak of southern US bottomlands, named for the acorn cap that nearly encloses the nut. Its toughness makes it an increasingly popular urban shade tree.

tree

Musk Thistle

Musk thistle is a spiny biennial weed with large, nodding rose-purple flower heads; native to Eurasia, it is an aggressive invader of pastures and rangelands across North America.

flower

Larkspur

A cool-season annual related to delphinium, bearing tall spikes of spurred blue, purple, pink or white flowers above feathery foliage. It is a cottage-garden classic and an excellent cut flower.

flower

Hen And Chicks

Hen and chicks is a hardy rosette-forming succulent that spreads by producing clusters of offsets, or 'chicks,' around the central 'hen.' It is exceptionally cold-tolerant and thrives in rock gardens and containers.

succulent

Grape Ivy

Grape Ivy is a vigorous climbing or trailing vine with glossy, toothed leaves resembling grapevine foliage. Tolerant of lower light and easy to grow, it's a classic for hanging baskets and trellises.

houseplant

Flame Bottle Tree

The flame bottle tree, or Illawarra flame tree, is an Australian tree that blazes with masses of scarlet bell-shaped flowers on bare branches in early summer. It belongs to the bottle tree family, with a stout trunk and maple-like leaves.

tree

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

Eastern Hemlock

Eastern hemlock is a graceful, shade-tolerant evergreen conifer of cool eastern forests, with soft flat needles and tiny cones; it is threatened across its range by the invasive hemlock woolly adelgid.

tree

Chihuahua Pine

A southwestern and Mexican pine unusual for sprouting from its base after fire and for cones that take two to three years to mature. Its slender blue-green needles and ability to resprout set it apart from most pines.

tree

Cherry Blossom Tree

Cherry blossom trees are ornamental flowering cherries famed for their spectacular spring bloom of pink or white blossoms. Central to Japanese hanami tradition, they are short-lived but beloved worldwide.

tree

Bottlebrush

Bottlebrush is an Australian evergreen shrub famous for its cylindrical brushes of bright red flowers that draw hummingbirds and bees. It is heat- and drought-tolerant and blooms for much of the year.

shrub

Beardtongue

A North American native perennial with upright spikes of tubular, two-lipped flowers in white, pink, purple, or red. Loved by hummingbirds and bees, and tough in lean, well-drained soil.

flower

Black Currant

An aromatic deciduous shrub in the genus Ribes, grown in gardens for its dark purple-black berries. Its strongly scented foliage and upright, thornless habit make it easy to recognize.

shrub

Australian Willow

Australian Willow is a graceful evergreen tree with weeping, willow-like foliage that is not a true willow but a member of the citrus family. Prized as a tough, low-litter street and shade tree for hot, dry climates.

tree

Bishop Pine

Bishop Pine is a hardy two-needle pine of the California and Baja coast, with persistent, prickly cones that often stay closed on the tree for years until fire opens them. It tolerates wind, salt, and poor soils.

tree

Amaryllis

The popular indoor amaryllis is a bulb (genus Hippeastrum) that produces towering stalks topped with huge, trumpet-shaped flowers, often forced for winter bloom. True Amaryllis is a separate South African genus.

flower

Sugar Pine

Sugar Pine is the world's tallest and most massive pine, native to the western U.S. and famous for its enormous, foot-plus-long cones.

tree

Cumin

Cumin is a small annual herb in the carrot family grown for its seeds, a widely used culinary spice. It needs a long, hot, sunny season to ripen.

herb

Cocklebur

Cocklebur is a coarse annual weed famous for its hard, hooked burs that cling to fur and clothing. It is a serious agricultural and pasture pest.

herb

Arugula

Arugula is a fast-growing, cool-season leafy green in the brassica family. It goes from seed to a low rosette of lobed leaves in a matter of weeks.

herb

Red Maple

Red maple is one of North America's most widespread and adaptable trees, prized for its brilliant scarlet fall color and early red flowers. It thrives in a remarkable range of soils, from swamps to dry ridges.

tree

Philodendron Micans

An easy-going trailing philodendron with soft, velvety heart-shaped leaves in deep green to bronze, often shimmering with iridescent purple and pink tones. A forgiving choice for hanging baskets.

houseplant

Pink Princess Philodendron

Pink Princess Philodendron is a collector's vining aroid prized for dark green leaves splashed with bubblegum-pink variegation. Each leaf is unique, and bright light is needed to keep the pink coming.

houseplant

Philodendron Verrucosum

A spectacular climbing philodendron with large, heart-shaped, velvety leaves of deep green and pale veining, set on distinctive hairy, fuzzy petioles. It demands high humidity to thrive.

houseplant