Plant Encyclopedia
Search and identify 1,000+ plants, flowers, trees, and succulents — with care, light, water, and how to tell them apart.
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
Elderberry
Elderberry is a fast-growing deciduous shrub bearing large creamy flower clusters in early summer and drooping bunches of small dark purple-black berries in late summer.
shrub
Burdock
A large biennial famous for its bur-covered seed heads that cling to fur and clothing, the inspiration for Velcro. It has enormous rhubarb-like leaves and a thick, deep taproot.
herb
Corn Poppy
An annual wildflower famed for its papery, blood-red blooms that carpet European fields and serve as the international symbol of wartime remembrance.
flower
Broadleaf Plantain
Broadleaf plantain is a tough, low-growing perennial weed with a rosette of broad, ribbed leaves and slender flower spikes, found in lawns, paths and compacted ground worldwide. It is unrelated to the banana-like plantain fruit despite the shared name.
herb
Wild Violet
Wild violet is a low-growing perennial wildflower with heart-shaped leaves and five-petaled blue-purple blooms, beloved by some and considered a stubborn lawn weed by others.
flower
St. John's Wort
St. John's wort is a hardy yellow-flowered perennial with masses of five-petaled summer blooms. Tough and drought-tolerant, it is also a noxious weed in many grazing regions.
herb
Foxtail
Foxtail is a group of annual grasses named for their bushy, bristly seed heads that resemble a fox's tail. They are common weeds of lawns, fields and roadsides.
grass
Monkey Flower
A cheerful moisture-loving wildflower with snapdragon-like blooms, often spotted, whose grinning face inspired the common name monkey flower.
flower
Wood Sorrel
Wood sorrel is a clover-like herb with heart-shaped trifoliate leaves and small flowers, common as a garden and lawn weed.
herb
Spotted Spurge
Spotted spurge is a low, fast-spreading summer weed that forms flat mats with small reddish-spotted leaves and a milky sap, common in lawns, sidewalks and gardens.
herb
Cleavers
Cleavers is a sprawling annual herb covered in tiny hooked hairs that cling to skin, clothing, and other plants. It is a common hedgerow weed that scrambles over surrounding vegetation.
herb
Shepherd's Purse
Shepherd's purse is a common annual weed of the mustard family named for its distinctive heart-shaped seed pods, found in gardens, fields, and roadsides worldwide.
herb
Sweet Potato
Sweet potato is a warm-season trailing vine grown as a crop for its swollen storage roots. Unrelated to the common potato, it belongs to the morning glory family and thrives in long, hot summers.
herb
Plantain
Broadleaf plantain is a tough, low-growing lawn and trail-side herb (not the banana relative) with broad ribbed leaves arranged in a flat rosette. It is one of the most common colonizers of compacted ground.
herb
Black Medic
Black medic is a low, clover-like legume weed with small yellow flower clusters and distinctive coiled black seed pods, common in lawns and disturbed soils.
herb
Green Bean
Green beans are the young pods of the common bean, picked while still slender before the seeds mature. They come in bush and pole forms and are among the most reliable and rewarding crops for home gardens.
herb
Monstera Obliqua
A rare, almost mythical Monstera whose paper-thin leaves are more hole than leaf, with fenestrations covering up to 90% of the blade. Often confused with the common adansonii, true obliqua is extremely rare.
houseplant
Wild Garlic
A pungent perennial bulb in the onion family that spreads aggressively through lawns and fields, recognized by its hollow, grass-like leaves and strong garlic odor. It is a common turf weed.
herb
Buckhorn Plantain
A common perennial lawn and field weed with a basal rosette of narrow, ribbed leaves and bullet-shaped flower heads on tall leafless stalks. It is widespread and persistent in lawns, pastures and roadsides.
herb
Hairy Bittercress
A small annual weed in the mustard family that forms a basal rosette and shoots tiny white flowers in early spring, followed by seed pods that explosively fling seeds. It is a common nuisance in nursery pots and garden beds.
herb
Water Oak
Water oak is a fast-growing, semi-evergreen red-oak-group tree of the southeastern US, common along streams and in yards. It has spatula-shaped leaves but is relatively short-lived.
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
Scotch Pine
Scotch Pine is a widespread evergreen conifer known for its distinctive orange-red upper bark and blue-green twisted needles. It is one of the most common Christmas trees and a major timber species.
tree