Plant Encyclopedia
Search and identify 1,000+ plants, flowers, trees, and succulents — with care, light, water, and how to tell them apart.
Forget-Me-Not
Forget-me-not is a low, spreading plant covered in tiny sky-blue flowers with yellow centers, beloved for carpeting spring gardens and self-seeding freely.
flower
Impatiens
Impatiens are shade-loving annuals that smother themselves in flat, colorful flowers all summer, thriving where few other bedding plants will bloom. Their name refers to seed pods that burst open at a touch.
flower
Jewelweed
A native North American annual with dangling orange spotted flowers and seed pods that burst open at a touch. Jewelweed forms colonies in moist, shady habitats.
flower
Siberian Bugloss
Siberian bugloss is a shade perennial grown for its large, heart-shaped leaves, often silvered, and sprays of dainty blue flowers resembling forget-me-nots in spring. It is a workhorse for woodland gardens.
flower
Brunnera
Brunnera is a shade perennial grown for its large, heart-shaped leaves, often beautifully silvered, and its dainty sprays of sky-blue, forget-me-not-like flowers in spring. It is a standout foliage plant for woodland and shady borders.
flower
Cottonwood
Cottonwood is a fast-growing deciduous tree of North American riverbanks, named for the fluffy, cotton-like seeds that fill the air in early summer. Large and vigorous, it provides quick shade and vital riparian habitat.
treeSago Palm
An ancient, palm-like cycad with a stout trunk and a symmetrical crown of stiff, feathery dark-green fronds. Despite the name it is not a true palm.
shrub
Weeping Fig
A popular indoor tree with a graceful, weeping canopy of small glossy leaves. It is attractive but notorious for dropping leaves when stressed or moved.
tree
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
Asparagus Fern
The asparagus fern is not a true fern but a relative of garden asparagus, grown for its soft, feathery sprays of bright green needle-like foliage. It is easy and fast-growing.
houseplant
Silver Pothos
Silver pothos is a trailing tropical vine prized for its thick, heart-shaped leaves splashed with shimmering silvery markings, despite not being a true pothos.
houseplant
Ponytail Palm
Not a true palm but a succulent with a swollen, water-storing trunk and a fountain of long, curly leaves. Its bulbous base gives it the nickname elephant's foot.
succulentHeavenly Bamboo
An evergreen-to-semi-evergreen shrub with lacy, bamboo-like foliage that flushes red in cool weather, plus white summer flowers and showy red winter berries. Despite the name, it is not a true bamboo.
shrub
Madagascar Palm
The Madagascar palm is a spiny, succulent caudex plant with a thick, spine-covered trunk topped by a crown of strappy leaves. Despite its name and look, it is not a true palm but a relative of the desert rose.
succulent
Canna Lily
Canna lily is a bold tropical perennial grown for its large paddle-shaped leaves and vivid flower spikes. Despite the name it's not a true lily, and its rhizomes are lifted in cold climates.
flower
Calla Lily
Calla lilies are elegant plants grown for their sculptural, trumpet-shaped flower bracts in white and rich jewel tones above arrow-shaped leaves. Despite the name, they are not true lilies.
flower
Alocasia Frydek
A velvet-leaved elephant ear with deep emerald-green arrow-shaped leaves and bold white veins. It is dramatic and upright but notoriously demanding about humidity and watering.
houseplant
Norfolk Island Pine
Norfolk Island Pine is a tropical conifer with symmetrical tiers of soft, feathery branches, popular as a houseplant and living Christmas tree. It is not a true pine.
houseplant
Lucky Bamboo
Despite the name, lucky bamboo is not a bamboo but a Dracaena, often grown in water and trained into curls or stalks. It is a popular feng shui gift symbolizing good fortune.
houseplant
Huckleberry
A wild, blueberry-like shrub of western North American mountains, bearing small purple-black berries. Notoriously difficult to cultivate, it grows mostly in the wild.
shrub
Banana Plant
The banana is a giant tropical herb, not a true tree, grown for its fruit and dramatic paddle-shaped leaves. Its 'trunk' is actually a pseudostem of tightly rolled leaf sheaths.
herb
Satin Pothos
A trailing tropical vine with heart-shaped, matte green leaves splashed in shimmering silver. Despite the name it is not a true pothos, but it shares the same easygoing, low-light tolerance.
houseplant
Plantain
Broadleaf plantain is a tough, low-growing lawn and trail-side herb (not the banana relative) with broad ribbed leaves arranged in a flat rosette. It is one of the most common colonizers of compacted ground.
herb
Foxtail Fern
Despite its name, foxtail fern is not a true fern but a member of the asparagus family, grown for its plush, upright plumes of needle-like 'leaves.' Its dense, bottlebrush fronds resemble fluffy green foxtails.
houseplant