Plant Encyclopedia

Search and identify 1,000+ plants, flowers, trees, and succulents — with care, light, water, and how to tell them apart.

all houseplant flower tree shrub succulent herb fern grass

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

American Beech

A majestic, slow-growing native hardwood with smooth silvery-gray bark and golden fall leaves that often cling through winter. A dominant tree of eastern forests.

tree

American Elm

American elm is a stately deciduous tree famous for its graceful vase-shaped canopy, once a beloved street tree until Dutch elm disease devastated populations; disease-resistant cultivars now revive its use.

tree

American Sycamore

The American sycamore is one of the largest hardwoods in eastern North America, known for its mottled, peeling bark that reveals creamy-white inner layers. It grows fast and massive along rivers and bottomlands.

tree

Basswood

Basswood, or American linden, is a large deciduous shade tree with big heart-shaped leaves and fragrant summer flowers beloved by bees. Its soft, pale wood is a favorite of woodcarvers.

tree

Century Plant

A massive rosette-forming agave with thick, spiny, blue-grey leaves that grows for decades before sending up a towering flower stalk and then dying. It is an iconic architectural plant of arid gardens.

succulent

Dogwood

Flowering dogwood is a small ornamental tree beloved for its spring display of showy white or pink bracts. Native to eastern North America, it offers four-season interest with berries and red fall foliage.

tree

Tamarack

Tamarack is a hardy North American deciduous conifer of cold bogs and wetlands, turning glowing gold each autumn before shedding its soft needles. It is one of the most cold-tolerant trees in North America.

tree

Eastern Redbud

A small understory tree famous for the cloud of pink-purple flowers that bloom directly on its bare branches in early spring. Native to eastern North America.

tree

Black Walnut

A large, valuable native hardwood prized for its rich, dark timber. Its roots release juglone, a compound that inhibits the growth of many nearby plants.

tree

Shooting Star

A spring-blooming North American wildflower whose swept-back petals and pointed, downward-facing flowers resemble tiny shooting stars or shuttlecocks. It goes dormant by midsummer.

flower

Beautyberry

A deciduous shrub famous for the clusters of vivid metallic-purple berries that wrap its arching branches in fall. Native to the southeastern US, it is easy, wildlife-friendly, and unmistakable in autumn.

shrub

Flowering Dogwood

Flowering dogwood is a beloved small ornamental tree whose spring branches are clouded in showy white or pink bracts. It offers four-season interest with summer berries, scarlet fall color, and tiered branching.

tree

Cranberry

A low, trailing evergreen shrub native to North American wetlands, grown for its red berries. It requires acidic, consistently moist, peaty soil to thrive.

shrub

Pokeweed

Pokeweed is a tall, robust native perennial with striking magenta stems and drooping clusters of dark purple-black berries in late summer and fall.

herb

Quaking Aspen

A fast-growing native tree whose flat-stalked leaves tremble in the slightest breeze and turn brilliant gold in fall. It forms vast clonal groves and is the most widely distributed tree in North America.

tree

Ginseng

Ginseng is a slow-growing, shade-loving woodland perennial recognized by its whorls of compound leaves and its fleshy, often forked root.

herb

Baby Rubber Plant

The Baby Rubber Plant is a compact peperomia with thick, glossy, spoon-shaped leaves that store water. It is easy and tolerant of occasional neglect.

houseplant

Liquidambar

A large deciduous shade tree known for its star-shaped leaves that blaze red, purple, and orange in autumn, and its spiky round seed balls. It is a classic American street and park tree.

tree

White Ash

A large native shade tree once widely planted for its strong wood and purple-bronze fall color. Now severely threatened by the invasive emerald ash borer.

tree

Ohio Buckeye

A medium native tree with palmate compound leaves, spiny husks holding glossy brown 'buckeye' seeds, and foliage that smells unpleasant when crushed.

tree

Mayapple

A woodland wildflower forming colonies of umbrella-like leaves, with a single white flower hidden beneath that ripens into a yellow fruit.

flower

Sweetgum

A large deciduous shade tree known for its glossy star-shaped leaves, brilliant fall color, and spiky round seed balls. Native to the southeastern United States.

tree

Arrowhead Plant

The arrowhead plant is an easy, fast-growing tropical vine whose leaves shift from arrowhead-shaped to deeply lobed as the plant matures. It comes in green, variegated, and pink-tinged forms.

houseplant