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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Illawarra Flame Tree

The Illawarra flame tree is a striking Australian native that sheds its leaves and covers itself in masses of brilliant scarlet bell-shaped flowers in early summer. It is one of Australia's most spectacular flowering trees.

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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.

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Golden Chain Tree

A small deciduous tree that drips with long, hanging chains of brilliant yellow pea-like flowers in late spring.

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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

Yellow Trumpet Tree

The yellow trumpet tree erupts in brilliant golden-yellow trumpet flowers in spring, usually while leafless, making it one of the most dazzling tropical flowering trees. It is the national tree of Brazil.

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Star Fruit Tree

A tropical evergreen tree producing waxy, ribbed yellow fruit that forms a star shape when sliced. Its decorative five-pointed fruit makes it an attractive ornamental in warm climates.

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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.

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Golden Rain Tree

The golden rain tree is a small to medium deciduous shade tree noted for its large sprays of bright yellow summer flowers followed by papery, lantern-like seed capsules. It is tough, adaptable, and popular as a street and lawn tree.

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Flame Bottle Tree

The flame bottle tree, or Illawarra flame tree, is an Australian tree that blazes with masses of scarlet bell-shaped flowers on bare branches in early summer. It belongs to the bottle tree family, with a stout trunk and maple-like leaves.

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Cherry Blossom Tree

Cherry blossom trees are ornamental flowering cherries famed for their spectacular spring bloom of pink or white blossoms. Central to Japanese hanami tradition, they are short-lived but beloved worldwide.

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African Tulip Tree

The African tulip tree is a fast-growing tropical tree topped with vivid orange-red, tulip-shaped flowers held above glossy foliage. Its showy blooms make it a popular ornamental, though it is invasive in many tropical regions.

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Sourwood

Sourwood is a graceful native North American tree with drooping clusters of white lily-of-the-valley-like summer flowers and outstanding scarlet fall foliage.

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Royal Poinciana

A spectacular tropical tree famous for its fiery red-orange canopy of blooms and broad, fern-like foliage. It is one of the most flamboyant flowering trees in the world.

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Kentucky Coffeetree

A bold, coarse-textured native tree with enormous twice-compound leaves and thick leathery seedpods that persist into winter.

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Ginkgo Biloba

Ginkgo biloba is a unique 'living fossil' tree with distinctive fan-shaped leaves that turn brilliant gold in autumn. Extremely tough and long-lived, it is widely planted as a resilient street tree.

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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.

houseplant

Jade Plant

The jade plant is a long-lived succulent with thick, glossy, oval leaves and woody stems that give it a miniature tree appearance. It is easy to grow, drought-tolerant, and often kept as a symbol of good luck.

succulent

Ginkgo

An ancient 'living fossil' tree with unmistakable fan-shaped leaves that turn brilliant gold in autumn. Remarkably tough and pollution-resistant, it is unchanged for over 200 million years.

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Banana Plant

The banana is a giant tropical herb, not a true tree, grown for its fruit and dramatic paddle-shaped leaves. Its 'trunk' is actually a pseudostem of tightly rolled leaf sheaths.

herb

Rubber Plant

A popular indoor tree with large, thick, glossy leaves that can grow tall and statuesque indoors. Burgundy and variegated cultivars add dramatic color to the classic deep-green form.

houseplant

Fig

The common fig is a deciduous Mediterranean tree or large shrub grown for its bold lobed foliage and teardrop-shaped fruit. It is hardy, drought-tolerant, and one of the oldest cultivated plants.

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Plumeria

Plumeria is a tropical shrub or small tree prized for its intensely fragrant, waxy flowers in shades of white, yellow, pink, and red, famously used to make Hawaiian leis.

shrub

Pencil Cactus

A nearly leafless succulent shrub whose mass of slender, pencil-thick green branches gives it a coral-like silhouette. It is striking and easy to grow.

succulent

Lemon Myrtle

Lemon myrtle is an Australian rainforest tree whose glossy leaves carry one of the most intense natural lemon fragrances of any plant, driven by very high citral content. It is grown as an aromatic ornamental.

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