Plant Encyclopedia
Search and identify 1,000+ plants, flowers, trees, and succulents — with care, light, water, and how to tell them apart.
Clematis
Clematis is a versatile climbing vine renowned for its large, showy flowers that cover trellises, fences, and arbors in a spectacular seasonal display.
shrub
Prairie Smoke
A charming North American prairie wildflower named for its feathery, smoke-like pink seed heads that follow nodding maroon spring flowers.
flower
Fringe Tree
A small native tree or large shrub that produces airy, cloud-like clusters of fragrant, fringe-like white flowers in late spring. Its feathery blooms give it the name old man's beard.
tree
Creeping Charlie
Creeping Charlie is a low, aromatic perennial in the mint family that spreads aggressively by creeping stems to form dense mats in lawns and shady gardens. Its scalloped, round leaves and small blue-violet flowers make it easy to recognize and notoriously hard to eradicate.
herb
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
Virginia Bluebells
A beloved spring ephemeral whose pink buds open into clusters of nodding, sky-blue trumpet flowers. It blooms in woodland shade then dies back by summer, vanishing until the next spring.
flower
Calico Kitten
A trailing succulent with small heart-shaped leaves in shifting shades of cream, green, pink, and purple. Prized for hanging baskets where its colorful cascading stems show off.
succulent
Lifesaver Cactus
A low, clumping stem succulent famous for bizarre flowers with a thick, glossy red ring at the center that looks exactly like a candy lifesaver. The flowers are striped like a zebra.
succulent
Yellow Woodsorrel
Yellow woodsorrel is a common clover-like weed with heart-shaped leaflets and small yellow flowers. It self-sows aggressively in lawns, gardens, and pots.
herb
Ground Ivy
Ground ivy is a creeping, aromatic perennial in the mint family with scalloped round leaves and blue-violet spring flowers, the same plant widely known as creeping Charlie. It forms dense mats in shady lawns and gardens and is notoriously persistent.
herb
American Holly
American Holly is a slow-growing evergreen tree of the eastern United States, prized for its spiny leathery leaves and bright red winter berries. It is a classic source of holiday greenery.
tree
Daphne
Daphne is a compact evergreen shrub famous for intensely fragrant late-winter flowers. It is gorgeous but finicky, demanding perfect drainage and resenting disturbance.
shrub
Shagbark Hickory
A tall native hardwood instantly recognized by its shaggy, peeling gray bark. A long-lived tree of eastern North American forests.
tree
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
Viburnum
A large, diverse genus of deciduous and evergreen shrubs grown for showy spring flower clusters, often fragrant, plus colorful berries and fall foliage. Easy, adaptable, and beloved for hedges and borders.
shrub
Quince Tree
A small deciduous tree bearing fragrant, golden, pear-shaped fruit, also valued for its lovely white-to-pink spring blossom and twisted, gnarled form.
tree
Desert Rose
The desert rose is a striking caudex succulent with a swollen trunk and clusters of showy, trumpet-shaped pink to red flowers. It is widely grown as a bonsai-like ornamental.
succulent
Spinach
Spinach is a fast-growing, cool-season leafy green that forms a low rosette of dark green leaves. It grows quickly in cool weather and bolts in heat, so it is best sown in spring and fall.
herb
Pinstripe Calathea
The Pinstripe Calathea is a striking prayer plant with dark green leaves finely lined in pink or white, like delicate pinstripes. Beautiful but demanding, it rewards careful humidity and watering with vivid foliage.
houseplantMarjoram
Marjoram is a tender, aromatic Mediterranean herb closely related to oregano, grown as a culinary herb in gardens, pots, and on windowsills.
herb
Broccoli
Broccoli is a cool-season member of the cabbage family grown for its dense clusters of green flower buds. It is best cut while the tight green heads are still closed, before they open into yellow flowers.
herb
Sage
Sage is a hardy Mediterranean shrub-herb with soft, gray-green aromatic leaves, widely grown as a culinary herb and ornamental in sunny gardens.
herb
Elephant Ear Cactus
A prickly pear with flat, rounded green pads that branch into ear-like shapes. Instead of long spines it bears dense tufts of tiny barbed glochids that detach at the lightest touch.
succulent
Borage
A fast-growing annual herb with brilliant blue star-shaped flowers and bristly, cucumber-scented leaves. A magnet for bees, it self-seeds freely and is a favorite of pollinator gardens.
herb