Plant Encyclopedia
Search and identify 1,000+ plants, flowers, trees, and succulents — with care, light, water, and how to tell them apart.
Butterfly Bush
A fast-growing deciduous shrub bearing long, fragrant flower spikes that are magnets for butterflies and bees. Vigorous and easy, it is also invasive in some regions, so non-seeding cultivars are recommended.
shrub
Butterfly Weed
Butterfly weed is a native milkweed bearing flat clusters of brilliant orange flowers in summer. It is a top nectar plant for butterflies and a larval host for monarchs.
flower
Elephant Bush
Elephant bush is a fast-growing South African succulent shrub with small round jade-green leaves on reddish stems, popular as a houseplant, bonsai subject, and carbon-storing landscape plant.
succulent
Burning Bush
A deciduous shrub famous for its fiery crimson-red fall foliage and distinctive corky 'wings' along the stems. Tough and adaptable, it is also invasive in parts of North America.
shrub
Milkweed
Milkweed is a hardy native perennial with fragrant flower clusters and milky sap, best known as the essential host plant for monarch butterflies. Its seed pods release silk-tufted seeds in fall.
flower
Love-in-a-Mist
A delicate cottage-garden annual whose blue, white or pink flowers nestle in a misty halo of thread-like foliage, followed by ornamental inflated seed pods. Both the airy blooms and the balloon-like pods are prized for fresh and dried arrangements.
flower
Rubber Tree
The rubber tree is a striking indoor tree with large, thick, glossy leaves that can be deep green or burgundy. It is easy to grow and can become an impressive floor plant several feet tall.
tree
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
Potentilla
A small, tough deciduous shrub that blooms nonstop from late spring to frost with cheerful yellow, white, pink, or orange flowers. Cold-hardy and undemanding, it suits borders, edging, and harsh sites.
shrub
Areca Palm
A clumping feather palm with feathery, arching fronds and golden-yellow stems. One of the most popular indoor palms.
tree
Browallia
Browallia, or bush violet, is a shade-tolerant annual covered in star-shaped blue, violet, or white flowers. It is one of the best flowering plants for adding cool color to shady spots and containers.
flower
Smokebush
A deciduous shrub famous for the airy, smoke-like haze of fluffy flower stalks that envelop the plant in summer. Many cultivars add dramatic purple or gold foliage and fiery fall color.
shrub
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
Smoke Tree
A deciduous shrub or small tree named for the airy, smoke-like plumes of fading flower stalks that envelop it in summer. Many cultivars also feature striking purple foliage.
shrub
Pencil Cactus
A nearly leafless succulent shrub whose mass of slender, pencil-thick green branches gives it a coral-like silhouette. It is striking and easy to grow.
succulent
Texas Sage
Texas sage is a silvery-leaved desert shrub that erupts in purple flowers after rain or humidity—earning the nickname barometer bush. It thrives on heat, sun, and minimal water.
shrub
Rubber Plant
A popular indoor tree with large, thick, glossy leaves that can grow tall and statuesque indoors. Burgundy and variegated cultivars add dramatic color to the classic deep-green form.
houseplant
Gaura
Gaura is an airy, long-blooming perennial whose delicate pink or white flowers dance on slender, wiry stems like a cloud of butterflies. It is heat- and drought-tolerant and blooms for months.
flower
Winterberry
Winterberry is a deciduous holly native to eastern North America, prized for the dense clusters of brilliant red berries that cling to its bare branches through winter. Unlike most hollies it drops its leaves, leaving a striking show of fruit against snow.
shrub
Sweetshrub
Sweetshrub is a deciduous native shrub of the southeastern U.S. known for its unusual maroon-brown flowers that release a fruity fragrance reminiscent of strawberries, banana or spice. Its aromatic bark and foliage add to the appeal.
shrub
Flowering Almond
Flowering almond is a small deciduous ornamental shrub prized for its profuse pink or white pompom-like blossoms that smother the bare branches in early spring. It is grown purely for ornamental display.
shrub
African Milk Tree
The African milk tree is a fast-growing, upright succulent with ridged, branching green stems that resemble a cactus. Despite the look, it is a Euphorbia that exudes milky white sap when cut, not a true cactus.
succulent
Lima Bean
Lima beans are a warm-season legume in the pea family, available in bush and pole forms. They are a heat-loving plant native to the Americas.
herb
Cyclamen
Cyclamen is a tuberous perennial famous for its swept-back, butterfly-like flowers and heart-shaped, silver-marbled leaves. The florist's cyclamen blooms through the cool months, going dormant in summer heat.
flower