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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Pitch Pine

Pitch Pine is a rugged, fire-adapted eastern North American conifer known for its twisted form, three-needle bundles, and ability to resprout after fire.

tree

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

California Lilac

California lilac is a western North American shrub celebrated for its dense clusters of intensely blue flowers in spring. It is a magnet for bees and a backbone of water-wise native gardens.

shrub

Butternut

Butternut is a medium-sized North American walnut relative with elongated, sticky nuts and a pale, lightweight wood. Wild populations have been devastated by butternut canker disease.

tree

Buffalo Berry

A tough, thorny North American shrub with silvery leaves and small red berries. Nitrogen-fixing and extremely drought- and cold-hardy, it forms dense thickets on poor soils.

shrub

Lodgepole Pine

Lodgepole Pine is a slender, adaptable western North American pine with paired needles and small prickly cones. Many populations have serotinous cones that open only after fire.

tree

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

Joe-Pye Weed

Joe-Pye weed is a tall, native North American perennial topped with large, domed clusters of mauve-pink flowers in late summer. A pollinator powerhouse, it brings height and butterfly-friendly blooms to moist, sunny gardens and rain gardens.

flower

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

Douglas Fir

Douglas fir is a towering western North American conifer prized as a timber and Christmas tree, recognizable by its soft flat needles and distinctive three-pointed bracts protruding from the cones.

tree

Black Cherry

Black cherry is a native North American hardwood valued for its fine reddish furniture timber, drooping clusters of white spring flowers, and small dark fruits borne in late summer.

tree

Wild Onion

A native North American perennial onion with flat, grass-like leaves and bulbs that emit a clear onion scent. It commonly appears in lawns, meadows and woodland edges and is regarded as both a wildflower and a lawn weed.

herb

Southern Live Oak

Southern Live Oak is a massive, spreading evergreen oak of the American Deep South, famous for its broad canopy draped in Spanish moss. It is among the longest-lived and most iconic trees of the region.

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Phlox

Phlox are North American perennials ranging from low spring-flowering carpets to tall, fragrant summer border plants. Their massed clusters of five-petaled flowers draw butterflies and perfume the garden.

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Pawpaw Tree

A small native North American tree producing the largest fruit native to the continent, borne on a hardy understory tree with large drooping leaves. It is the only temperate member of a largely tropical plant family.

tree

Ninebark

A rugged North American deciduous shrub named for its peeling, layered bark. Modern cultivars offer striking burgundy, gold, or copper foliage plus clusters of white-to-pink spring flowers.

shrub

Indian Paintbrush

A vivid North American wildflower whose flame-colored display comes not from petals but from brightly tipped leaf-like bracts. It is a hemiparasite that taps the roots of neighboring plants, making it notoriously difficult to cultivate.

flower

Norway Maple

A dense, fast-growing European shade tree with broad five-lobed leaves and milky sap, widely planted but invasive in much of North America.

tree

Lemon Verbena

A deciduous shrub with intensely lemon-scented leaves, prized for its fragrance. Native to South America, it is one of the most strongly citrus-scented herbs.

shrub

White Oak

White oak is a majestic, long-lived North American hardwood with rounded leaf lobes and prized, water-tight timber. A keystone forest tree, it can live for centuries and supports a vast web of wildlife.

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Skullcap

Skullcap is a slender North American mint-family herb with tiny blue, two-lipped flowers. It takes its name from the small helmet- or skull-cap-shaped appendage on the calyx of each bloom.

herb

Lima Bean

Lima beans are a warm-season legume in the pea family, available in bush and pole forms. They are a heat-loving plant native to the Americas.

herb

Monstera Deliciosa

Monstera Deliciosa is a popular tropical houseplant famous for its large, glossy leaves that develop holes and deep splits as they mature. Native to Central American rainforests, it is an easygoing climber that can grow impressively large indoors.

houseplant

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