Plant Encyclopedia
Search and identify 1,000+ plants, flowers, trees, and succulents — with care, light, water, and how to tell them apart.
Bur Oak
Bur oak is a massive, long-lived North American oak known for its huge, fringe-capped acorns, deeply furrowed bark and exceptional toughness. Drought- and fire-resistant, it is a stately tree for large landscapes.
tree
Button Fern
The Button Fern is a compact fern with distinctive round, button-like leaflets along arching dark stems. Unlike most ferns it tolerates somewhat drier conditions, making it a charming, manageable choice for small spaces.
fern
Bloodgood Japanese Maple
Bloodgood is the classic deep-red Japanese maple, holding its dark burgundy-purple leaf color through summer better than most cultivars before turning crimson in fall. It is an elegant upright specimen tree.
tree
Weigela
An easy deciduous shrub smothered in trumpet-shaped pink, red or white flowers in late spring that attract hummingbirds and bees. Many cultivars also offer burgundy or variegated foliage for season-long interest.
shrub
Strawflower
An Australian annual prized for its papery, daisy-like bracts that keep their bright color long after cutting, making it a favorite for dried-flower arrangements. The crisp, straw-textured petals come in gold, orange, red, pink and white.
flower
Swedish Ivy
Swedish Ivy is a fast-growing trailing houseplant with glossy, scalloped leaves, prized for hanging baskets despite being neither Swedish nor a true ivy. It roots easily from cuttings and tolerates a wide range of conditions.
houseplant
Sweet Woodruff
Sweet woodruff is a low, spreading groundcover herb with whorls of slender green leaves and clusters of tiny white star-shaped flowers in spring. When dried, its foliage releases a sweet, hay-and-vanilla scent and it carpets shady ground beautifully.
herb
Rabbit's Foot Fern
The Rabbit's Foot Fern is named for the fuzzy, silvery rhizomes that creep over the pot's edge like little furry feet. Its lacy, delicate fronds and unusual surface roots make it a striking, conversation-starting houseplant.
fern
Honey Locust
Honey locust is a fast-growing deciduous tree with fine, fern-like compound leaves casting light dappled shade; wild forms have fierce branching thorns and long twisted seed pods, but thornless cultivars dominate landscaping.
tree
Henbit
Henbit is a low winter annual in the mint family that carpets lawns, fields and gardens in early spring with pinkish-purple tubular flowers. It is closely related to purple deadnettle and, like it, is a bee-friendly weed of cool seasons.
herb
Hardy Geranium
Hardy geranium, or cranesbill, is a tough, long-lived perennial that forms spreading mounds of deeply lobed leaves covered in saucer-shaped flowers. Unlike the tender bedding "geraniums" (Pelargonium), these true geraniums are cold-hardy and low-maintenance.
flower
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
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
Sweetgum
A large deciduous shade tree known for its glossy star-shaped leaves, brilliant fall color, and spiky round seed balls. Native to the southeastern United States.
tree
Wild Ginger
A low, spreading woodland groundcover with heart-shaped leaves and curious maroon flowers hidden at soil level. Its ginger-scented roots inspired the common name, though it is unrelated to true ginger.
flower
Golden Shower Tree
The golden shower tree is a tropical flowering tree that drapes itself in long, hanging chains of brilliant golden-yellow blossoms in summer. It is the national tree and flower of Thailand and a beloved ornamental across the tropics.
tree
Sneezeweed
Sneezeweed is a cheerful late-summer perennial bearing masses of daisy-like flowers with raised central cones in warm shades of yellow, orange, red and bronze. Despite its name, it doesn't cause sneezing from pollen; the name comes from old use of its dried leaves as snuff.
flower
Monkey Puzzle Tree
The monkey puzzle is a striking evergreen conifer from the Andes with stiff, spiral-arranged spiky leaves and a distinctive symmetrical, dome-topped silhouette. It is a living fossil, virtually unchanged for millions of years, and can live over a thousand years.
tree
Longleaf Pine
A stately fire-adapted pine that once dominated vast southeastern U.S. forests, prized for its very long needles, durable timber and grass-stage seedlings. Restoration of its open, biodiverse savannas is a major conservation effort.
tree
Liatris
Liatris, also called blazing star or gayfeather, is a native prairie perennial with tall, fuzzy spikes of purple-pink flowers that uniquely open from the top down. A pollinator favorite, it adds vertical drama and butterfly traffic to sunny gardens.
flower
Canada Thistle
Canada thistle is an aggressive perennial weed with spiny leaves and small pink-purple flower heads that spreads relentlessly through deep, creeping roots. Despite its name it is native to Europe and Asia, and it is one of the most difficult agricultural weeds to control.
herb
Sweetshrub
Sweetshrub is a deciduous native shrub of the southeastern U.S. known for its unusual maroon-brown flowers that release a fruity fragrance reminiscent of strawberries, banana or spice. Its aromatic bark and foliage add to the appeal.
shrub