Plant Encyclopedia
Search and identify 1,000+ plants, flowers, trees, and succulents — with care, light, water, and how to tell them apart.
Christmas Cactus
The Christmas cactus is a Brazilian forest cactus that bursts into tubular pink, red, or white blooms in early winter. Unlike desert cacti, it likes humidity and regular water.
succulent
Thanksgiving Cactus
The Thanksgiving cactus is a forest cactus that blooms in late autumn with colorful, tubular flowers. It is distinguished from the Christmas cactus by the sharp, claw-like teeth on its flattened stem segments.
succulent
Brain Cactus
A crested form of the ladyfinger cactus whose fused, fan-like growth folds into convoluted ridges resembling a brain. A novelty succulent prized for its sculptural, undulating surface.
succulent
Thimble Cactus
A tiny clustering cactus that produces masses of little thimble-sized offsets which detach at the slightest touch. The pale spines give the cluster a soft, frosty look.
succulent
Rainbow Cactus
A small barrel cactus whose closely set spines form colored bands of pink, white, and red that wrap the stem like a rainbow. Crowned in spring with large, vivid magenta flowers.
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
Fishbone Cactus
An epiphytic jungle cactus with flat, deeply zigzagged stems resembling a fish skeleton. Easy to grow and capable of producing large, fragrant night-blooming flowers in autumn.
succulent
Coral Cactus
The coral cactus is a grafted novelty plant combining a fan-shaped, crested Euphorbia top with a separate Euphorbia rootstock, resembling a piece of coral or a crested ridge. It is a Euphorbia, not a cactus.
succulent
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
Saguaro Cactus
The saguaro is the iconic giant columnar cactus of the Sonoran Desert, growing into a towering tree-like form with upraised arms. It is slow-growing and extraordinarily long-lived, reaching well over 150 years.
succulent
Cholla Cactus
A group of shrubby to treelike desert cacti with cylindrical, jointed segments and barbed spines that detach easily. Iconic plants of the American Southwest deserts.
succulent
Candelabra Cactus
A tall, tree-like succulent euphorbia with upright branching ridged stems that form a candelabra silhouette. Though cactus-like, it is a spurge that exudes milky latex.
succulent
Star Cactus
A small, flattened, spineless cactus divided into neat segments that resemble a star or sand dollar, dotted with white woolly flecks. It bears yellow flowers with red centers and is a coveted collector's plant.
succulent
Starfish Cactus
A clumping stem succulent that produces enormous, hairy, star-shaped maroon flowers resembling a starfish. The blooms smell of carrion to attract flies, earning it the name carrion plant.
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
Snowball Cactus
A clustering pincushion cactus wrapped in soft white, hair-like spines that give it a fluffy, snowball appearance. Easy to grow and quick to form charming colonies.
succulent
Peanut Cactus
A small clustering cactus with finger-like, peanut-sized stems that sprawls into a mat and produces vivid orange-red flowers. It is an easy, free-flowering favorite for sunny spots.
succulent
Moon Cactus
The moon cactus is a brightly colored grafted novelty cactus, with a red, yellow, orange, or pink top fused onto a green rootstock. The colorful top lacks chlorophyll and depends on the host cactus to survive.
succulent
Ladyfinger Cactus
A clustering cactus of slender, finger-like stems covered in neat, star-like spine clusters. One of the easiest and most rewarding small cacti for beginners.
succulent
Feather Cactus
A clustering cactus completely cloaked in soft, feathery white spines that look and feel like down. The fluffy coating hides the body and gives it a snowball appearance.
succulent
Blue Flame Cactus
A fast-growing, heavily branching columnar cactus with powdery blue-green ribbed stems. Its many upright arms cluster like dancing flames, hence the name.
succulent
Bishop's Cap Cactus
A spineless, star-shaped cactus with a rounded body of distinct ribs flecked with tiny white scales, resembling a bishop's mitre. It produces yellow daisy-like flowers from its crown.
succulent
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
Totem Pole Cactus
A spineless, columnar cactus whose smooth green stems are covered in bumpy, sculptural knobs resembling carved totems. A slow-growing, low-maintenance architectural plant.
succulent