Plant Encyclopedia
Search and identify 1,000+ plants, flowers, trees, and succulents — with care, light, water, and how to tell them apart.
Velvet Calathea
A prayer-plant relative with long, wavy-edged leaves that are velvety to the touch and flushed deep maroon underneath. Beautiful but thirsty for humidity and sensitive to hard water.
houseplant
Weeping Birch
Weeping birch is the European white or silver birch, prized for its chalky white peeling bark and slender pendulous branchlets that sway in the breeze. Cultivars like 'Youngii' form a strongly weeping dome.
tree
Tarragon
Tarragon is an aromatic culinary herb grown in gardens for its slender, glossy, anise-scented foliage. The 'French' type rarely sets viable seed and is propagated by division or cuttings.
herb
Silk Oak
The silk oak is a fast-growing Australian tree with fern-like silvery foliage and showy golden-orange, comb-shaped flowers in spring. It is widely grown for shade, timber and ornament, but can be weedy outside its range.
tree
Quaking Aspen
A fast-growing native tree whose flat-stalked leaves tremble in the slightest breeze and turn brilliant gold in fall. It forms vast clonal groves and is the most widely distributed tree in North America.
tree
Nordmann Fir
Nordmann Fir is the world's most popular Christmas tree, prized for its soft, glossy, dark green needles that resist dropping. Native to the Caucasus, it forms a dense, symmetrical pyramid.
tree
Inchplant
A vigorous trailing plant with small, glossy, pointed leaves that root readily along the stem about every inch. Easy to grow and propagate, it comes in plain green and variegated cream-striped forms.
houseplant
Goldenseal
A shade-loving woodland perennial with a brilliant yellow root, now threatened by overharvesting from the wild. It is a sensitive plant requiring rich, moist forest conditions.
herb
Flowering Almond
Flowering almond is a small deciduous ornamental shrub prized for its profuse pink or white pompom-like blossoms that smother the bare branches in early spring. It is grown purely for ornamental display.
shrub
Flapjack Plant
A striking rosette succulent with large, flat, rounded leaves that blush deep red along their edges when grown in bright sun. It is prized as an architectural accent in pots and water-wise gardens.
succulent
Coral Bark Maple
Coral bark maple is a Japanese maple cultivar famous for its glowing coral-red young stems that brighten the winter landscape. Its spring leaves emerge soft green and turn golden-yellow in fall.
tree
Carrot
The carrot is a popular root vegetable grown for its taproot, most familiar in orange but also available in purple, red, yellow, and white. It is a biennial usually harvested in its first year.
herb
African Milk Tree
The African milk tree is a fast-growing, upright succulent with ridged, branching green stems that resemble a cactus. Despite the look, it is a Euphorbia that exudes milky white sap when cut, not a true cactus.
succulent
Nettle
A vigorous perennial herb famous for the stinging hairs on its leaves and stems. It thrives in rich, damp soils across temperate regions.
herb
Lettuce
Lettuce is a fast-growing leafy annual in the daisy family, a cool-season garden staple. It comes in loose-leaf, romaine, butterhead, and crisphead types.
herb
Key Lime
A small, thorny citrus tree producing tiny, highly aromatic green-to-yellow fruit. It is a fruiting tropical tree historically grown in the Florida Keys.
tree
Jujube Tree
The jujube is a hardy, drought-tolerant fruiting tree whose fruit turns from green to mahogany red. It is among the easiest trees to grow in hot, dry climates.
tree
Horseradish
A hardy perennial in the cabbage family grown for its thick, white taproot. Vigorous and long-lived, it can become invasive once established.
herb
Endive
Endive is a leafy plant in the chicory family grown as a cool-season green. Curly (frisée) and broad-leaved (escarole) forms are both popular garden greens.
herb
Butternut Squash
Butternut squash is a winter squash with a tan, bell-shaped rind grown on vigorous trailing vines. The hard-skinned fruit stores well for months.
herb
Artichoke
The globe artichoke is a striking thistle grown in gardens for its large, scaly flower buds. Left unharvested, the buds open into large, vivid purple blooms.
herb
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.
shrub
Wisteria Tree
A wisteria tree is a wisteria vine trained and pruned into a small free-standing tree form, prized for cascading clusters of fragrant purple-blue spring flowers. It is vigorous and requires regular pruning.
tree
Yarrow
Yarrow is a tough, drought-tolerant perennial with feathery foliage and flat-topped clusters of tiny flowers. It is a popular low-maintenance plant for pollinator and meadow gardens.
herb