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

Showy Lady's Slipper

Showy Lady's Slipper is a large, slow-growing native orchid prized for its inflated white pouch flushed with rose-pink. It is the state flower of Minnesota and one of the most spectacular wild orchids of North America.

flower

Clematis

Clematis is a versatile climbing vine renowned for its large, showy flowers that cover trellises, fences, and arbors in a spectacular seasonal display.

shrub

Scarlet Runner Bean

A vigorous climbing bean grown for its showy scarlet flowers and long, flat pods, equally at home on an ornamental fence or a garden trellis.

herb

Rambutan Tree

The rambutan is a tropical evergreen tree bearing showy clusters of red, soft-spined fruit. It demands hot, humid, frost-free conditions.

tree

Pineapple Guava

Pineapple guava (feijoa) is a fruiting evergreen shrub with showy red-stamened flowers and aromatic green fruit. It is hardy, drought-tolerant, and ornamental.

shrub

Saskatoon Berry

Saskatoon berry is a hardy North American shrub producing blueberry-like fruit and showy spring blossoms. It is cold-tolerant, low-maintenance, and valued as an ornamental and wildlife shrub.

shrub

Begonia

An enormous genus grown for both showy flowers and spectacularly patterned foliage. From bedding wax begonias to dramatic rex begonias, there is a begonia for nearly every garden and windowsill.

flower

Horse Chestnut

Horse chestnut is a large deciduous shade tree famous for its showy upright spikes of spring flowers and shiny brown conkers in spiky husks.

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

Hydrangea

A leafy garden shrub famous for big rounded clusters of summer flowers that can shift between blue and pink depending on soil pH. Hydrangeas are showy, thirsty, and shade-tolerant.

shrub

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

Okra

Okra is a heat-loving annual in the mallow family, grown in warm-climate gardens for its showy hibiscus-like flowers and slender, ridged green seed pods. It thrives in hot summers.

herb

Desert Rose

The desert rose is a striking caudex succulent with a swollen trunk and clusters of showy, trumpet-shaped pink to red flowers. It is widely grown as a bonsai-like ornamental.

succulent

Flowering Kale

Flowering kale is a cool-season ornamental grown for its showy rosettes of frilly leaves in pink, purple, white, and cream. The color intensifies in cold weather, making it a star of fall and winter displays.

flower

River Birch

A fast-growing native birch famous for its showy, peeling cinnamon-and-cream bark and tolerance of wet soils. The most heat-tolerant of North American birches.

tree

Pomegranate Tree

The pomegranate is a deciduous fruiting shrub or small tree grown for its leathery-skinned fruit and showy orange-red flowers. It is hardy, drought-tolerant, and long-lived.

shrub

Oleander

Oleander is a heat- and drought-loving evergreen shrub with showy clusters of pink, white, or red flowers all summer. Beautiful and tough, it is a mainstay of warm-climate landscapes.

shrub

Korean Fir

Korean Fir is a compact, slow-growing conifer famous for producing showy violet-blue upright cones even on young trees. Its short needles show silvery undersides, making it a favorite garden and dwarf-conifer specimen.

tree

Rose of Sharon

A hardy deciduous hibiscus that blooms profusely in late summer with showy, often two-toned flowers. Upright and easy to grow, it brings tropical-looking color to temperate gardens when little else is flowering.

shrub

Ornamental Pepper

A compact form of the common pepper grown for showy, upward-facing fruits that ripen through purple, cream, yellow, orange and red, often all at once. Popular as a fall and holiday houseplant or patio accent.

houseplant

Fireweed

A tall, magenta-flowered perennial famous for blanketing burned and disturbed land, which gives it its name. Its spires of pink-purple flowers make it both a pioneer species and a showy garden plant.

flower

Dogwood

Flowering dogwood is a small ornamental tree beloved for its spring display of showy white or pink bracts. Native to eastern North America, it offers four-season interest with berries and red fall foliage.

tree

Camellia Tree

The camellia is a glossy-leaved evergreen shrub or small tree bearing large, showy rose-like flowers in shades of red, pink and white during fall, winter and spring. It is a classic shade-garden ornamental.

shrub

Tulip Tree

One of the tallest eastern hardwoods, named for its showy tulip-shaped greenish-orange flowers and uniquely four-lobed leaves. A fast-growing member of the magnolia family.

tree