Plant Encyclopedia
Search and identify 1,000+ plants, flowers, trees, and succulents — with care, light, water, and how to tell them apart.
Pignut Hickory
Pignut hickory is a tall, upland hickory of eastern North America with smooth gray bark and pear-shaped nuts. It is valued for tough wood, brilliant golden fall color, and as wildlife habitat.
tree
Mock Orange
A deciduous shrub grown for its profuse, intensely fragrant white late-spring flowers that smell like orange blossom. Easy and hardy, it is a nostalgic favorite of cottage gardens.
shrub
Sweetbay Magnolia
Sweetbay magnolia is a graceful native North American tree with creamy, lemon-scented summer flowers and silvery-backed leaves. Unusually for a magnolia, it thrives in wet, swampy ground.
tree
Soapwort
Soapwort is a vigorous perennial whose roots and leaves lather in water, historically used as a gentle natural soap. It bears fragrant pink-to-white flowers and spreads readily by runners.
herb
Bay Leaf
Bay laurel is an aromatic evergreen Mediterranean tree grown for its glossy, fragrant leaves and as an ornamental.
tree
Fennel
Fennel is an aromatic, feathery herb grown in gardens for its finely divided foliage and airy yellow flower heads; the Florence type forms a swollen bulb at the base of the leaves.
herb
Bay Laurel
Bay laurel is an aromatic evergreen tree or shrub, a classic culinary herb most often grown as an elegant clipped topiary or hedge. Slow-growing and easily shaped.
herb
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
Hyacinth
Hyacinth is a spring bulb that produces dense, upright spikes of waxy, star-shaped flowers in vivid colors, prized for their powerful sweet fragrance.
flower
Grapefruit Tree
The grapefruit is a large evergreen citrus tree grown for its big fruit with pink, red, or white flesh. It arose as a hybrid of pomelo and sweet orange.
tree
Katsura Tree
A graceful Asian shade tree with heart-shaped blue-green leaves that turn gold and apricot in fall, famously releasing a sweet scent of burnt sugar or cotton candy.
tree
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
Hoya Carnosa
Hoya Carnosa is an easygoing trailing houseplant with thick, waxy leaves and clusters of star-shaped, sweetly scented flowers. Long-lived and forgiving, it rewards patience with stunning porcelain-like blooms.
houseplant
Valerian
Valerian is a tall perennial herb with frothy, sweetly scented flower heads borne on upright clump-forming stems. It is grown as an ornamental for its airy white-to-pink blooms and ferny foliage.
herb
Bristlecone Pine
Bristlecone Pine is among the longest-lived organisms on Earth, with individuals exceeding 4,800 years old. These gnarled, weathered conifers cling to harsh, high-elevation mountains of the American West.
tree
Licorice
A deep-rooted leguminous perennial grown for its long taproot system. It thrives in warm climates and rich, sandy soils.
herb
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.
herb
Hoya Kerrii
A succulent-leaved hoya whose thick, heart-shaped leaves make it a popular Valentine's gift, often sold as a single rooted leaf. As a full plant it vines and produces clusters of fragrant star-shaped flowers.
succulent
String Of Hearts
A delicate trailing succulent with heart-shaped, silver-marbled leaves strung along thread-like purple stems. Prized as an easy, fast-growing hanging plant.
succulent
Philodendron
A large, diverse genus of tropical aroids ranging from easy trailing vines to bold upright specimens. The heartleaf philodendron is the classic, nearly indestructible trailing form beloved by beginners.
houseplant
Heartleaf Philodendron
An easy trailing vine with glossy, heart-shaped leaves that thrives in a wide range of conditions. Often confused with pothos but with softer, thinner leaves.
houseplant
Poison Ivy
Poison ivy is a woody native vine or low shrub of North America. Its leaves grow in groups of three, the basis of the saying 'leaves of three, let it be'.
shrub
Yoshino Cherry
An ornamental cherry famous for clouds of pale pink-to-white blossoms in early spring. It is the iconic tree of Washington, D.C.'s Tidal Basin and Japan's cherry-blossom season.
tree
Shooting Star
A spring-blooming North American wildflower whose swept-back petals and pointed, downward-facing flowers resemble tiny shooting stars or shuttlecocks. It goes dormant by midsummer.
flower