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PLANT ENCYCLOPEDIA

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38,238 plants

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white poplar

Populus alba

P. alba is a spreading, deciduous tree with a broad crown, suckering freely. Rounded leaves are deeply-lobed, dark green on top and white and downy underneath. Young shoots and leaves are completely white and hairy; yellow autumn colour. In spring, male catkins are red and female, green

Douglas fir

Pseudotsuga menziesii

A fast-growing large evergreen tree of conical habit, the bark becoming thick and rugged; leaves linear, dark green, two-ranked. Cones to 10cm long, with conspicuous exserted bracts

common guava

Psidium guajava

An evergreen shrub or small tree up to 6m tall with prominently-veined, ovate to oblong leaves up to 15cm long with serrated margins. White flowers to 2.5cm across with brush-like clusters of long stamens are borne singly or in small groups and may be produced year-round on newly-emerged lateral shoots. Edible, rounded, egg- or pear-shaped fruits, 2.5 to 10cm long, mature from green to yellowish green with white to deep pink or orange-red flesh

Bracken fern

Pteridium aquilinum

Pteridium aquilinum is a robust deciduous fern producing large, triangular, finely divided fronds from deep, creeping rhizomes. It has no flowers and reproduces by spores, with young fronds unfurling in spring and turning bronze in autumn. It forms extensive colonies and is valued for its bold architectural foliage in wild or large-scale plantings. However, it is highly invasive in favorable sites and should be sited with care.

Sword fern

Pteris ensiformis

Pteris ensiformis, commonly known as sword fern or slender brake, is a compact evergreen fern with arching, linear pinnae. The fronds are erect or spreading, reaching 30–60 cm in height, with a dark green, leathery texture. It forms a neat clump and is valued for its delicate, feathery appearance. Young fronds emerge with a bronze tint before maturing to deep green.

buisson ardent

Pyracantha coccinea

An upright to spreading evergreen shrub to more than 3m (10ft) high, with dark green leaves, spiny branches and dense clusters of small white flowers in late spring on the previous year's growth. These are followed by a profusion of bright orange-red berries in autumn

Live Oak

Quercus virginiana

Quercus virginiana is a large, long-lived evergreen tree with a broad, rounded canopy and heavy, horizontally spreading branches. Its leathery leaves are elliptic, dark green and glossy above, with whitish or grey felted undersides; they persist through winter and are shed as new growth begins in spring. In spring, the tree bears small, yellow-green catkins, followed by oval acorns held in shallow cups. The dark grey to black bark becomes deeply ridged and blocky with age. It is valued especially as a shade tree and for coastal windbreak planting.

common radish

Raphanus sativus

This is the wild variety from which all edible radishes have been bred. They come in many shapes, sizes and colours; from small globes to long, tapering torpedoes, in shades of red, pink, white, yellow and purple-skinned. If left to flower, the flowers are four-petalled pale yellow or cream on a stem of about 30-40cm

traveller's palm

traveller's palm

Ravenala madagascariensis

A palm-like, evergreen tree eventually reaching up to 10m tall with an unbranched trunk topped with a fan-shaped crown of dark green leaves arranged in a single plane. The leaves are long-stalked, 3-6m long and have expaned, cup-shaped leaf bases. White-petaled flowers appear in summer from groups of boat-shaped spathes that emerge at the leaf axils

Japanese knotweed

Japanese knotweed

Reynoutria japonica

Reynoutria japonica is a vigorous herbaceous perennial with stout, bamboo-like stems that die back each winter. Its broad, heart-shaped leaves are mid-green and arranged alternately along the stems. In late summer and autumn, it bears dense sprays of small creamy-white flowers. It spreads aggressively by extensive rhizomes, forming dense colonies. Although ornamental, it is highly invasive in many regions.

Dahurian buckthorn

Dahurian buckthorn

Rhamnus davurica

Rhamnus davurica, commonly known as Dahurian buckthorn, is a deciduous shrub or small tree with an upright, bushy habit. Its elliptic to obovate leaves are glossy dark green, turning yellow in autumn. In late spring to early summer it bears small, greenish-yellow flowers that are rather inconspicuous. Female plants produce black, berry-like drupes in late summer and autumn, which are attractive to birds. It is valued for its tough constitution, autumn colour, and use in hedges, screens, and wildlife plantings.

Rhipsalis baccifera

Rhipsalis baccifera

Rhipsalis baccifera

A variable species of epiphytic cactus, with slender, trailing, cylindrical green or pale blue-green stems. Young stems bear sparse woolly areoles with a few bristly spines, these often disappear as the stems mature. Small, funnel-shaped white or greenish-white flowers are produced along the stems, usually from winter to spring but sometimes year round. These are followed by small, round, translucent white or pale pink berries

azalea 'Momoko'

azalea 'Momoko'

Rhododendron 'Momoko'

An evergreen azalea to about 75cm high, with small ovate leaves that open bright green and mature to dark green. Produces clusters of bright rose pink flowers in late spring. Part of a collection bred by Georg Arends in Germany in the 1950s

Pontic rhododendron

Pontic rhododendron

Rhododendron ponticum

R. ponticum is a densely branched evergreen shrub with tough, leathery, dark green, oval leaves. Produces terminal trusses of 10 to 15 purple, funnel-shaped flowers in spring. Often used as a rootstock, surviving when the grafted variety has died

Indian azalea

Rhododendron simsii

A tender evergreen or semi-evergreen azalea up to 2m high, with a branching habit and broadly ovate leaves. Produces funnel-shaped, carmine to rich red flowers, with darker red spots on the narrow petals, in pairs or small clusters at the tips of the stems in late spring. This species was a common parent for Indica hybrids

Climbing Rose

Rosa climber

Climbing roses develop long, arching stems armed with stout prickles; they do not cling naturally and should be tied to a support. The deciduous leaves are alternate and pinnate, usually with five or seven toothed leaflets, and may be glossy or matte. Flowers range from white and pink to red, yellow and orange, and appear singly or in clusters in single through double forms. Many varieties flower again in flushes and are sweetly fragrant, giving a display over a long season.

Climbing Rose

Rosa climbing

Climbing roses are vigorous woody roses with long, flexible canes that can be trained over walls, fences, pergolas or pillars. They produce pinnate green leaves and clusters of showy, often fragrant flowers in a wide range of colours, including white, yellow, pink, red and orange. Depending on the cultivar, flowering may be a single flush in summer or repeated into autumn. The upright or arching growth habit creates a striking vertical display and adds height to the garden.

Rose

Rosa spp.

Roses are woody perennials with thorny stems, compound leaves, and showy flowers ranging from single to double petals in a wide array of colors including red, pink, yellow, white, and orange. They typically grow as bushy shrubs or climbers, reaching 1–2 meters in height depending on the cultivar. The flowers are often fragrant and bloom repeatedly from late spring through autumn, providing long-lasting ornamental value in gardens.

common raspberry

common raspberry

Rubus idaeus

A vigorous, deciduous shrub producing erect, biennial stems to 2.5m tall with or without prickles. Leaves are divided into 3-5 or 7 leaflets, each of which is coarsely-toothed and covered with a white felt on the underside. Clusters of white flowers borne on year-old stems in summer are followed by red, edible fruits. This is a parent of all cultivated raspberries. The cultivars vary in cropping season, size and fruit colour

cut-leaved coneflower

cut-leaved coneflower

Rudbeckia laciniata

R. laciniata is a rhizomatous perennial that bears yellow daisy-shaped flowerheads in late summer. With central green discs and drooping yellow petals they are held on tall wiry stems above deeply-divided foliage

common sorrel

Rumex acetosa

A hardy, clump-forming perennial herb with edible, sour-tasting, oblong leaves, arrow-shaped, 7-15cm long at the base. Small reddish flowers are produced in early summer in a narrow panicle or raceme up to 1.2m tall

leather fern

Rumohra adiantiformis

R. adiantiformis is a tufted evergreen fern to 90cm, with glossy dark green, triangular-ovate, bi- to tri-pinnate fronds that last well when cut for flower arranging

common osier

Salix viminalis

S. viminalis is a fast-growing large shrub or small tree to 6m tall, with shiny greenish-yellow young shoots and narrow leaves that are silver-hairy beneath; slender greenish catkins open before the leaves, in late winter

mealy sage

Salvia farinacea

An upright perennial grown as an annual, with lance-shaped silvery green foliage, hairy on the reverse, and slender racemes of small blue lipped flowers in summer and autumn.