Plant Encyclopedia
Search and identify 1,000+ plants, flowers, trees, and succulents — with care, light, water, and how to tell them apart.
Groundsel
Common groundsel is a fast-growing annual weed with ragged leaves and small, rayless yellow flower heads that turn into fluffy seed tufts. Wind-borne seeds let it colonize gardens and disturbed ground rapidly.
herb
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
Arborvitae
Arborvitae is a dense, evergreen conifer with flat sprays of scale-like foliage, widely planted as hedges and privacy screens. It is easy to grow and tolerates a range of conditions.
tree
Lemon Balm
Lemon balm is a vigorous, lemon-scented perennial herb in the mint family, loved as a magnet for bees. It grows easily and can spread enthusiastically in the garden.
herb
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
Marshmallow
Marshmallow is a soft, downy wetland perennial in the mallow family, with velvety gray-green foliage and pale pink to white flowers. It grows in damp meadows and along riverbanks.
herb
Dandelion
The dandelion is a familiar, resilient perennial with sunny yellow flowers and toothed leaves, widely recognized as both a common lawn weed and a cheerful wildflower.
herb
Hyssop
An aromatic, semi-evergreen Mediterranean shrub-herb in the mint family, bearing spikes of deep blue flowers loved by bees.
herb
Asparagus
Asparagus is a long-lived perennial grown for the tender shoots, or spears, that emerge in spring. Once established, a bed can persist for 15-20 years or more.
herb
Watercress
Watercress is a fast-growing semi-aquatic perennial in the cabbage family, with crisp dark-green leaves on sprawling, rooting stems. It naturally grows in cool, clean flowing water.
herb
Velvetleaf
A tall summer annual with large, soft, heart-shaped velvety leaves and yellow flowers, a major agricultural weed of corn and soybean fields. Its distinctive cup-shaped seed pods and fibrous stems make it easy to recognize.
herb
Lungwort
Lungwort is a shade-loving perennial grown for its silver-spotted leaves and early spring flowers that often open pink and age to blue on the same plant. It is an excellent groundcover for woodland and shady gardens.
flower
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.
herbSago Palm
An ancient, palm-like cycad with a stout trunk and a symmetrical crown of stiff, feathery dark-green fronds. Despite the name it is not a true palm.
shrub
Arugula
Arugula is a fast-growing, cool-season leafy green in the brassica family. It goes from seed to a low rosette of lobed leaves in a matter of weeks.
herb
Mulberry Tree
A fast-growing deciduous tree producing abundant blackberry-like fruit. White mulberry is also famous as the sole food of silkworms.
tree
Daisy
The classic low-growing daisy with white petals and a yellow center, often seen dotting lawns and meadows. Cheerful, hardy, and easy to grow.
flower
Cantaloupe
Cantaloupe is a warm-season trailing vine in the gourd family, grown for its round, netted melons. It needs long, hot summers and plenty of sun.
herb
Chickweed
Chickweed is a low, sprawling annual often dismissed as a lawn weed, with weak stems and tiny white star-shaped flowers that give it the name starwort.
herb
Asparagus Fern
The asparagus fern is not a true fern but a relative of garden asparagus, grown for its soft, feathery sprays of bright green needle-like foliage. It is easy and fast-growing.
houseplant
Wax Plant
The wax plant is a long-lived trailing vine with thick, waxy leaves and clusters of star-shaped, sweetly scented flowers that look almost like porcelain.
houseplant
Ponytail Palm
Not a true palm but a succulent with a swollen, water-storing trunk and a fountain of long, curly leaves. Its bulbous base gives it the nickname elephant's foot.
succulent
Poppy
The poppy is a delicate-petaled wildflower, most iconic in its scarlet form, that blooms in sunny meadows and has become a symbol of remembrance.
flower
Incense Cedar
Incense Cedar is a stately western conifer with fragrant, flat sprays of foliage and cinnamon-red fibrous bark, famous as the wood used for pencils.
tree