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

Bradford Pear

Bradford pear is a fast-growing ornamental cultivar of Callery pear known for a uniform teardrop shape and clouds of white spring flowers. It is now widely regarded as an invasive species with notoriously weak, breakage-prone branching.

tree

Pear Tree

The pear tree is a deciduous fruit tree grown for its abundant white spring blossom and glossy foliage. European pears (Pyrus communis) are long-lived ornamental and orchard trees.

tree

Prickly Pear Cactus

Prickly pear cacti have flat, paddle-shaped pads and produce showy flowers followed by colorful fruit. Tough and drought-hardy, several species are widely grown for landscaping.

succulent

String Of Pearls

A trailing succulent prized for its cascading strands of round, pea-like leaves. Its bead-shaped foliage stores water, making it drought-tolerant but prone to rot if overwatered.

succulent

Avocado Tree

The avocado is a broadleaf evergreen fruiting tree. Frost-tender and vigorous, it is a popular subtropical orchard tree and a fun, if slow-fruiting, houseplant from a sprouted pit.

tree

Dragon Fruit

A climbing cactus that produces vivid pink-skinned fruit covered in green, leaf-like scales. Its enormous, fragrant flowers bloom for a single night.

succulent

Pea

The garden pea is a cool-season climbing legume grown for its seeds and pods. It is one of the earliest crops to sow in spring and fixes nitrogen to enrich the soil.

herb

Ginseng

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

herb

Japanese Stiltgrass

Japanese stiltgrass is an aggressive annual grass from Asia that has become one of the most damaging invasive plants in eastern North American forests and shaded yards. It forms dense, sprawling mats that crowd out native ground flora.

grass

Sweet Pea

Sweet pea is a climbing annual cherished for its ruffled, intensely fragrant flowers in soft pastel shades, a classic of cottage gardens and cut-flower beds.

flower

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

Katsura Tree

A graceful Asian shade tree with heart-shaped blue-green leaves that turn gold and apricot in fall, famously releasing a sweet scent of burnt sugar or cotton candy.

tree

Bok Choy

Bok choy is a fast-growing Asian leafy green with crisp white stalks and tender dark leaves. A cool-season vegetable, it matures quickly and is widely grown in gardens.

herb

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

Pignut Hickory

Pignut hickory is a tall, upland hickory of eastern North America with smooth gray bark and pear-shaped nuts. It is valued for tough wood, brilliant golden fall color, and as wildlife habitat.

tree

Bunny Ear Cactus

The bunny ear cactus is a charming Mexican prickly pear whose flat, paddle-shaped pads grow in pairs resembling rabbit ears, dotted with tufts of fine golden glochids instead of long spines.

succulent

Tatsoi

Tatsoi is a cold-hardy Asian leafy green that forms a low, dark-green rosette of spoon-shaped leaves. A fast-growing cool-season plant, it shrugs off frost.

herb

Buddhist Pine

Buddhist Pine is a versatile evergreen conifer with long, soft, strap-like leaves, widely grown as a hedge, container plant, houseplant, and bonsai. Native to East Asia, it tolerates pruning and shade well.

shrub

Amaranth

Amaranth is a vigorous annual grown for its dramatic drooping crimson flower tassels and broad, often red-tinged leaves. It has been cultivated for thousands of years across the Americas, Asia, and Africa.

herb

Flowering Peach

The flowering peach is an ornamental form of the peach tree grown for its lavish spring display of double pink, red, or white blossoms. It is a showy small accent tree, prized in gardens and in East Asian culture.

tree

Canada Thistle

Canada thistle is an aggressive perennial weed with spiny leaves and small pink-purple flower heads that spreads relentlessly through deep, creeping roots. Despite its name it is native to Europe and Asia, and it is one of the most difficult agricultural weeds to control.

herb

Ghost Plant

The ghost plant is a hardy rosette succulent with pearly, pastel leaves that shift from grey-blue to pinkish or yellow depending on light. It is fast-growing, trailing, and extremely easy to propagate.

succulent

Zebra Cactus

A small rosette succulent with stiff, dark green leaves banded by raised white stripes, like a zebra. Compact, slow-growing, and beginner-friendly.

succulent

Haworthia

A small, slow-growing rosette succulent often called the zebra plant for the raised white bands on its dark green leaves. Compact and slow-growing, it thrives on neglect and tolerates lower light than most succulents.

succulent