Plant Encyclopedia

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

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Norway Spruce

Norway spruce is a fast-growing European evergreen conifer with drooping branchlets and the longest cones of any spruce; it is widely used for timber, windbreaks, and as a Christmas tree.

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Norway Maple

A dense, fast-growing European shade tree with broad five-lobed leaves and milky sap, widely planted but invasive in much of North America.

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White Spruce

White Spruce is a hardy, widespread conifer of the northern forests of North America, valued for its dense conical form and tolerance of cold and poor soils. It is an important timber and Christmas tree species.

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Blue Spruce

Blue Spruce is a striking conifer famous for its stiff, silvery-blue needles and classic pyramidal form. It is a popular ornamental and Christmas tree in cold climates.

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Red Spruce

Red Spruce is a cool-climate eastern conifer of high Appalachian and northeastern forests, known for its reddish bark and resonant tonewood.

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Engelmann Spruce

Engelmann Spruce is a tall, narrow conifer of high western mountains, often forming dense subalpine forests near treeline. Its soft, resonant wood is prized for musical instrument soundboards.

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Black Spruce

Black Spruce is a slow-growing boreal conifer of cold northern bogs, recognizable by its narrow crown, short needles, and small persistent cones.

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Sitka Spruce

Sitka Spruce is the largest spruce in the world, a towering conifer of the cool, wet Pacific Northwest coast. Its strong, lightweight wood is prized for aircraft, boats, and musical instruments.

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Colorado Blue Spruce

A striking conifer prized for its stiff, sharp, silvery-blue needles and tidy pyramidal form. Native to the Rocky Mountains and a popular ornamental and Christmas tree.

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Dwarf Alberta Spruce

Dwarf Alberta spruce is a compact, naturally cone-shaped evergreen with dense, soft needles. Its slow growth and tidy pyramid form make it a popular accent and container conifer.

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Red Pine

Red Pine is a tall, straight North American conifer prized for timber, recognizable by its reddish, scaly bark and long needles borne in pairs.

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Eastern Hemlock

Eastern hemlock is a graceful, shade-tolerant evergreen conifer of cool eastern forests, with soft flat needles and tiny cones; it is threatened across its range by the invasive hemlock woolly adelgid.

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Douglas Fir

Douglas fir is a towering western North American conifer prized as a timber and Christmas tree, recognizable by its soft flat needles and distinctive three-pointed bracts protruding from the cones.

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Virginia Pine

A small, scrubby pine of the eastern United States that readily colonizes old fields and poor soils. Its short, twisted needles and persistent cones make it a common early-successional and Christmas-tree species.

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Spotted Spurge

Spotted spurge is a low, fast-spreading summer weed that forms flat mats with small reddish-spotted leaves and a milky sap, common in lawns, sidewalks and gardens.

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Prostrate Spurge

A fast-growing summer annual that forms flat, ground-hugging mats with small oval leaves often marked by a maroon spot. It exudes a milky sap and is a widespread weed of lawns, cracks and gardens.

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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.

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Cardamom

Cardamom is a tropical, shade-loving relative of ginger grown for its aromatic seed pods. A spice plant, it needs warmth, humidity and patience.

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Saffron

An autumn-blooming crocus grown for the three crimson stigmas in each flower, which yield the spice saffron. Each flower is hand-picked, making cultivation labor-intensive.

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Leyland Cypress

Leyland cypress is an extremely fast-growing evergreen conifer hybrid widely planted for hedges and privacy screens. Dense and columnar, it offers quick cover but can quickly outgrow its space if not maintained.

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Cumin

Cumin is a small annual herb in the carrot family grown for its seeds, a widely used culinary spice. It needs a long, hot, sunny season to ripen.

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Pumpkin

Pumpkin is a sprawling warm-season vine in the gourd family, grown for its large, ribbed orange fruits popular in autumn displays and decoration. It is one of the easiest and most rewarding garden crops where space allows.

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Button Fern

The Button Fern is a compact fern with distinctive round, button-like leaflets along arching dark stems. Unlike most ferns it tolerates somewhat drier conditions, making it a charming, manageable choice for small spaces.

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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.

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