Plant Encyclopedia
Search and identify 1,000+ plants, flowers, trees, and succulents — with care, light, water, and how to tell them apart.
Globe Amaranth
A heat-loving annual grown for its round, clover-like flower heads of papery bracts in magenta, purple, pink, white or orange. The everlasting blooms keep their color when dried and stand up beautifully to summer heat and humidity.
flower
Four O'Clock
A bushy tuberous perennial famous for fragrant trumpet flowers that open in late afternoon and stay open through the night, then close by morning. A single plant can bear differently colored blooms, sometimes flecked on the same flower.
flower
Ground Ivy
Ground ivy is a creeping, aromatic perennial in the mint family with scalloped round leaves and blue-violet spring flowers, the same plant widely known as creeping Charlie. It forms dense mats in shady lawns and gardens and is notoriously persistent.
herb
Dracaena
A large genus of architectural foliage plants with strappy, often colorfully striped leaves on cane-like stems. Tough and drought-tolerant, dracaenas are reliable beginner houseplants that bring height and structure indoors.
houseplantCape Primrose
Cape primrose is a compact, long-blooming relative of the African violet, prized for its rosettes of soft, strappy leaves and clouds of trumpet-shaped flowers in blues, purples, pinks and white. It flowers for months with very little fuss on a bright windowsill.
houseplant
Catalpa Tree
The catalpa is a fast-growing deciduous shade tree famous for its huge heart-shaped leaves, showy clusters of frilly white flowers, and long slender seed pods resembling beans or cigars. It is a popular ornamental for large lawns and street plantings.
tree
California Poppy
The official state flower of California, a hardy annual or short-lived perennial with silky, cup-shaped orange to gold blooms above ferny blue-green foliage. It thrives in poor, dry soil and closes its petals at night and on cloudy days.
flower
Blue-eyed Grass
A dainty native wildflower that, despite its name and grassy leaves, is actually a member of the iris family. It produces small, star-shaped blue-violet flowers with bright yellow centers atop slender, flattened stems.
flower
Bradford Pear
Bradford pear is a fast-growing ornamental cultivar of Callery pear known for a uniform teardrop shape and clouds of white spring flowers. It is now widely regarded as an invasive species with notoriously weak, breakage-prone branching.
tree
Black-Eyed Susan Vine
A cheerful twining vine from Africa bearing masses of flat, five-petaled flowers in orange, yellow or white, each with a dark chocolate-purple center 'eye.' It quickly covers trellises and trails from baskets through the warm season.
flower
Bindweed
Bindweed is a fast-twining perennial vine with arrowhead leaves and small white-to-pink morning-glory flowers that smothers gardens and crops. Its deep, persistent root system makes it one of the hardest weeds to eradicate.
herb
Swiss Cheese Plant
A climbing tropical vine famous for its large, glossy leaves that develop holes and splits as they mature. It is one of the most iconic and popular houseplants.
houseplant
Waffle Plant
A low, spreading foliage plant with puckered, waffle-textured leaves that are metallic green-gray above and rich purple beneath. Loves warmth and humidity.
houseplant
Wax Plant
The wax plant is a long-lived trailing vine with thick, waxy leaves and clusters of star-shaped, sweetly scented flowers that look almost like porcelain.
houseplant
Zebra Cactus
A small rosette succulent with stiff, dark green leaves banded by raised white stripes, like a zebra. Compact, slow-growing, and beginner-friendly.
succulent
Spearmint
Spearmint is a fast-spreading, aromatic perennial herb grown in gardens. Vigorous and easy to grow, it is best contained in a pot to keep it from taking over the garden.
herb
Swiss Chard
Swiss chard is a leafy form of beet grown for its glossy leaves and colorful stalks. Easy, productive and heat- and cold-tolerant, it produces over a long season with cut-and-come-again leaf growth.
herb
Spinach
Spinach is a fast-growing, cool-season leafy green that forms a low rosette of dark green leaves. It grows quickly in cool weather and bolts in heat, so it is best sown in spring and fall.
herb
Scarlet Oak
A red-oak celebrated for brilliant scarlet autumn color, with deeply C-shaped sinuses between sharply bristle-tipped lobes and a graceful open crown.
tree
Surinam Cherry
A tough evergreen shrub or small tree bearing distinctive ribbed, pumpkin-shaped red to dark-purple fruits. Hardy and easy, it is often grown as a fruiting hedge.
shrub
Stevia
Stevia is a tender perennial herb in the daisy family, native to South America. It forms a bushy, branching plant grown in gardens and containers.
herbRocky Mountain Juniper
Rocky Mountain Juniper is a drought-hardy western conifer with scale-like blue-green foliage and waxy blue berry-like cones, popular for windbreaks and bonsai.
tree
Rue
Rue is an aromatic evergreen subshrub with blue-green, deeply lobed foliage, long grown as an ornamental and pollinator herb in dry, sunny gardens.
herb
Ponytail Palm
Not a true palm but a succulent with a swollen, water-storing trunk and a fountain of long, curly leaves. Its bulbous base gives it the nickname elephant's foot.
succulent