Complete Plant Guide

Citrus maxima, the pomelo, is the largest citrus fruit in the world, native to Southeast Asia, with fruit that can exceed 2 kg, a thick spongy rind, and mildly sweet, low-acid flesh. It is the wild ancestor of the grapefruit, which arose from its natural cross with the sweet orange. The tree is a tropical evergreen with a dense canopy, large leaves, and highly fragrant white flowers.

830

Buddha's Hand

Citrus medica var. sarcodactylis

Citrus medica var. sarcodactylis, or Buddha's Hand, is a citrus fruit native to China and northeastern India, cultivated for centuries for its spectacular fruit that divides into several fleshy 'fingers.' An evergreen shrub or small tree with glossy green foliage, it produces fragrant white flowers tinged with purple that appear almost year-round, peaking between spring and autumn. Unlike other citrons, its fruit contains neither pulp nor juice: only the highly fragrant zest and rind are used in cooking and perfumery. Frost-sensitive, it is grown in the ground in mild climate regions (USDA zones 9 to 11) and in pots, with winter protection, in cooler climates.

831

Meyer Lemon

Citrus meyeri

Easy 💧 7 days ☀️ Direct sun

The Meyer Lemon is a hybrid citrus tree native to China, believed to be a cross between a true lemon and a mandarin orange. It produces sweeter, rounder, and thinner-skinned fruits than common lemons, with a deep yellow-orange color when ripe. Compact enough for containers, it thrives both indoors and outdoors in warm climates.

832

Calamondin

Citrus mitis

Calamondin (Citrus mitis, also classified as Citrus x microcarpa or x Citrofortunella microcarpa) is a compact evergreen citrus hybrid, likely a cross between mandarin and kumquat, native to Southeast Asia and especially popular in the Philippines. It has glossy aromatic leaves, fragrant white star-shaped flowers, and produces small, tart orange fruits used much like limes or lemons in cooking. Widely grown as an ornamental potted tree, it flowers and fruits nearly year-round and adapts well to container culture indoors or on patios.

833

Mandarin Orange

Citrus reticulata

The mandarin orange, also known as tangerine, is a small to medium evergreen citrus tree prized for its sweet, easy-to-peel fruits. Native to Southeast Asia, it thrives in full sun with well-draining soil and is suitable for both container growing and outdoor orchards. A classic symbol of winter abundance and prosperity.

834

Sweet Orange

Citrus sinensis

Easy 💧 12 days ☀️ Direct sun

The sweet orange (Citrus sinensis) is an evergreen fruit tree originally from southern China and Southeast Asia, now cultivated worldwide in tropical and subtropical climates. It produces juicy, vitamin C-rich fruits and fragrant white blossoms. One of the most economically important fruit crops globally, it thrives in warm, sunny gardens and can also be grown in large containers.

835

Hardy orange

Citrus trifoliata

Citrus trifoliata, also known as the Hardy Orange, is a deciduous shrub or small tree unique for its extreme cold tolerance. It features distinctive three-lobed leaves and formidable green thorns. In early spring, it produces large, fragrant white flowers before the leaves emerge. The fruit is a small, fuzzy, yellow-orange hesperidium that is very bitter and seedy but highly aromatic.

836

Meyer lemon

Citrus x meyeri

The Meyer lemon (Citrus x meyeri) is a citrus hybrid native to China, believed to be a cross between a true lemon and either a mandarin orange or a common orange. It was introduced to the United States in 1908 by agricultural explorer Frank Meyer. This small evergreen tree is highly popular as both an ornamental and fruiting plant, well-suited to garden beds and container growing. Its fruit is sweeter and less acidic than a true lemon, with a thin, deep yellow-orange rind. It produces fragrant white flowers, sometimes tinged purple in bud.

837

Sweet Orange

Citrus x sinensis

Hard 💧 3 days ☀️ Partial shade

The sweet orange (Citrus x sinensis) is an evergreen fruit tree in the Rutaceae family, cultivated worldwide for its sweet, vitamin C-rich fruit. It features glossy, aromatic dark green leaves and fragrant white blossoms that appear in spring and winter.

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838

British Soldiers

Cladonia macilenta

Cladonia macilenta is a fruticose lichen characterized by its slender, grayish podetia (stalks) that terminate in vibrant red reproductive structures (apothecia), resembling burnt matches. It is a symbiotic relationship between a fungus and an alga, frequently growing on decaying wood, acidic soil, or peat.

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839

Reindeer lichen

Cladonia rangiferina

Medium 💧 10 days ☀️ Partial shade

Cladonia rangiferina, known as reindeer lichen, is a light grey, shrub-like species of lichen that grows in cold regions and tundras. Although it looks like a plant, it is actually a symbiotic community of fungus and algae. It is extremely resistant to low temperatures and serves as a primary food source for reindeer during winter.

840

Farewell to Spring

Clarkia amoena

Easy 💧 10 days ☀️ Direct sun

Clarkia amoena, commonly known as Farewell to Spring or Godetia, is a charming annual wildflower native to the coastal hills and mountains of western North America. It produces showy pink, lavender, purple, and white flowers in late spring to early summer, attracting pollinators including bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. It thrives in full sun with well-draining soil and is relatively drought-tolerant once established.

841

elegant clarkia

Clarkia unguiculata

Elegant clarkia (Clarkia unguiculata) is an annual flowering plant from the evening primrose family (Onagraceae), native to California, where it naturally grows in chaparral, oak woodlands, and on dry, open slopes up to approximately 1500 meters in elevation. The plant can grow up to 90 cm tall and features stately, cup-shaped flowers with characteristic narrow, claw-shaped petals (hence the species name 'unguiculata', meaning 'claw-like'). The flowers appear in pink, purple, and white, often with darker spots at the base of the petals, adorning gardens from late spring to early summer. The species is known to attract bees and other pollinating insects.

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842

Lattice Stinkhorn

Clathrus crispatus

Hard 💧 2 days ☀️ Low light

Clathrus crispatus is a saprophytic fungus in the Phallaceae family, known for its cage-like or spherical net-shaped fruiting body that is reddish or pinkish in color. It emerges from an egg-like structure and, when mature, emits a foul odor of decaying meat to attract flies, which assist in the dispersal of its spores contained in a slimy substance called gleba.

843

Miner's Lettuce

Claytonia perfoliata

Easy 💧 3 days ☀️ Partial shade

Miner's lettuce is a low-growing, succulent-leaved annual native to the woodlands and shady slopes of western North America, from British Columbia south to California and Mexico. Its most distinctive feature is the round, saucer-like leaf that appears to be pierced by the flower stem, holding tiny clusters of white, five-petaled flowers above it. The plant earned its common name during the California Gold Rush, when miners ate its vitamin C-rich leaves to prevent scurvy. Fast-growing and freely self-seeding, it thrives in cool, damp, shady spots and is equally at home naturalized in a woodland garden or grown as an early-season salad crop.

844

Scarlet Bugler

Cleistocactus baumannii

Easy 💧 18 days ☀️ Direct sun

Cleistocactus baumannii is a columnar, shrubby cactus native to the semi-arid regions of Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay and Brazil. It forms clumps of upright or arching stems, branching from the base, that can reach up to 2 meters tall and are covered in dense rows of yellowish to brown spines. Between spring and summer it produces striking tubular flowers in shades of yellow, orange and red that attract hummingbirds. It is a hardy, easy-to-grow species popular among cactus collectors for its showy blooms and low maintenance.

845

Silver Torch Cactus

Cleistocactus strausii

Easy 💧 14 days ☀️ Direct sun

Cleistocactus strausii, known as the Silver Torch Cactus, is a perennial columnar cactus native to the mountainous regions of Bolivia and Argentina. It is widely appreciated for its erect stems covered in a dense layer of short white spines, which give it a distinct silvery appearance. Upon reaching maturity, it produces tubular burgundy-red flowers that do not fully open, projecting horizontally from the stems.

846

Golden Rat-tail Cactus

Cleistocactus winteri

Easy 💧 14 days ☀️ Bright indirect

The Golden Rat-tail Cactus (Cleistocactus winteri) is a trailing cactus native to the mountainous slopes of Bolivia. Its slender, golden-spined stems can cascade over 90 cm from a hanging basket, producing striking tubular orange to salmon-pink flowers in spring and summer. Prized as a houseplant, it is easy-going as long as its need for excellent drainage and bright light is respected.

847

Grape Ivy

Clematicissus striata

Easy 💧 7 days ☀️ Partial shade

A perennial climbing plant from the Vitaceae family, native to South America (Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia). Its slender, ribbed stems attach themselves using tendrils. The evergreen foliage, dark green and glossy, is composed of five oval, toothed leaflets arranged in a fan shape. In summer, it produces small, inconspicuous white to greenish flowers, followed by fleshy black berries that are not edible.

848

Clematis

Clematis is a genus of woody and herbaceous flowering vines in the Ranunculaceae family, prized for its showy blooms in shades of purple, white, pink, and blue. Popular for covering trellises, fences, and walls, it flowers abundantly in spring and summer.

849

Fragrant Clematis

Clematis flammula

Clematis flammula, commonly called Fragrant Clematis, is a vigorous deciduous climber in the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae), native to the Mediterranean region and North Africa. From midsummer into autumn it produces masses of small, star-shaped, sweetly almond-scented white flowers, followed by decorative fluffy seed heads. Left to scramble, it forms a dense tangled mound, but with a trellis, fence or pergola it climbs readily to 3-4 m or more.

850

Anemone Clematis

Clematis montana

Clematis montana is a vigorous, deciduous climbing vine native to the Himalayas and China, prized for its abundant spring display of star-shaped white or pink flowers that can blanket walls, fences, and trees. Fast-growing and generally trouble-free, it is one of the easiest clematis to grow for beginners.

851

Sweet Autumn Clematis

Clematis terniflora

Clematis terniflora, commonly called sweet autumn clematis, is a vigorous, deciduous, twining vine native to Japan and China. It produces a profusion of small, star-shaped, fragrant white flowers in dense terminal panicles from late summer into fall, followed by decorative silvery, plume-like seed heads. While prized for its fast cover and late-season bloom, it self-seeds prolifically and has escaped cultivation to become invasive across parts of the eastern and midwestern United States, where it smothers native vegetation, shrubs and even mature trees.

852

Traveller's Joy

Clematis vitalba

Easy 💧 5 days ☀️ Direct sun

Traveller's Joy (Clematis vitalba) is a vigorous, fast-growing deciduous climbing vine in the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae), native to Europe and western Asia. It scrambles over hedgerows, trees and fences using twisting leaf stalks, producing clusters of small, fragrant greenish-white flowers in summer followed by fluffy, silvery seed heads that persist through winter, giving the plant its other common name, Old Man's Beard.

853

Italian Clematis

Clematis viticella

Clematis viticella, commonly known as Italian Clematis or Italian Leather Flower, is a vigorous deciduous climbing vine native to southern Europe. Belonging to the Ranunculaceae family, it is widely celebrated for its prolific display of deep purple-violet flowers from midsummer through fall. One of the most resilient clematis species, it shows exceptional resistance to clematis wilt — a fungal disease that devastates many other varieties — making it a top choice for cottage gardens, arbors, and fences.

854

Hybrid Clematis

Clematis x hybrida

Clematis x hybrida is a deciduous climbing vine resulting from hybridization of Asian and European clematis species. Renowned for its spectacular large blooms in shades of purple, pink, white, blue, and red — which can reach up to 25 cm in diameter — it is one of the most beloved ornamental climbers in temperate gardens worldwide. It gracefully adorns fences, walls, trellises, and arbors.

855

Spider Flower

Cleome hassleriana

Easy 💧 5 days ☀️ Bright indirect

Cleome hassleriana, commonly known as Spider Flower, is a fast-growing annual plant native to South America — particularly Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina. It produces delicate flowers in shades of pink, purple, and white with long protruding stamens resembling spider legs, attracting butterflies, hummingbirds, and other pollinators. It is an easy-to-grow plant ideal for borders, background plantings, and cottage gardens.

856

Spider Flower

Cleome houtteana

Cleome houtteana (long known as Cleome hassleriana) is a tall, bushy annual flower prized for its striking, spider-like blooms held atop long flowering stems. Native to South America, it grows rapidly from seed to form an upright plant reaching up to 1.8 m (6 ft) in height, with palmately compound leaves and clusters of pink, purple, or white flowers featuring long, whisker-like stamens. Blooming continuously from early summer until the first frost, it is a favorite for pollinator gardens, attracting bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, and moths. The stems carry small spines and the foliage has a musky scent, so gloves are recommended when handling the plant.

857

Fringed spiderflower

Cleome rutidosperma

Easy 💧 5 days ☀️ Direct sun

The fringed spiderflower (Cleome rutidosperma) is an annual herbaceous plant in the Cleomaceae family, native to the coastal regions of West Africa, but now naturalized across much of tropical and subtropical Asia, Africa, and Australia. Its branched, erect, or decumbent stems bear trifoliate, rhomboid leaflets. Its small flowers, measuring only 1 cm in diameter, are violet or blue, distinguished by four upward-pointing petals and six white filaments with black tips. Following pollination, narrow, pointed seed pods 5-7 cm long develop, ripening up to thousands of tiny black seeds. Due to its rapid growth and prolific seed production, it is considered a weed in many tropical agricultural areas, but when planted as an ornamental, it provides a lasting, brightly colored floral display throughout the summer.

858

Glorybower (genus)

Clerodendrum

Medium 💧 6 days ☀️ Partial shade

Clerodendrum is a large genus of tropical and subtropical plants in the Lamiaceae family, comprising over 400 species of shrubs, vines, and small trees. Celebrated for their ornamental flowers, popular species include the Bleeding Heart Vine (C. thomsoniae) and the Pagoda Flower (C. paniculatum).

859

Red Bleeding Heart Vine

Clerodendrum × speciosum

Easy 💧 4 days ☀️ Partial shade

Clerodendrum × speciosum, commonly known as the Red Bleeding Heart Vine, is an ornamental hybrid between the Bleeding Heart Glory Bower (Clerodendrum thomsoniae) and the Scarlet Glory Bower (Clerodendrum splendens). This vigorous scandent shrub produces dense clusters of tubular red flowers wrapped in persistent white calyces that blush pink with age, resembling a bleeding heart. Being a sterile hybrid, it produces no viable seed and is propagated only by cuttings or division.

860

Rose Glory Bower

Clerodendrum bungei

Medium 💧 8 days ☀️ Bright indirect

Rose Glory Bower (Clerodendrum bungei) is a vigorous deciduous shrub native to China, prized for its spectacular summer and autumn blooms. It produces large, domed clusters of fragrant rose-pink to deep crimson flowers that stand out against its broad, dark green leaves. While the flowers are sweetly perfumed, the leaves emit a pungent odor when crushed. Fast-growing and adaptable, it is ideal for garden borders, screens, and wildlife gardens.

861

Lolly Bush

Clerodendrum floribundum