Complete Plant Guide

Easy 💧 7 days ☀️ Direct sun

Medicago is a genus of 87–105 species of flowering plants in the legume family Fabaceae, native to the Mediterranean Basin and extending across temperate Eurasia and sub-Saharan Africa. The genus includes alfalfa (M. sativa), one of the world's most important forage crops, and black medick (M. lupulina), a common lawn and pasture plant. Plants bear trifoliate clover-like leaves, small flowers in purple, yellow, or white, and distinctive spiral or bur-shaped seed pods. As nitrogen-fixing legumes through symbiosis with Rhizobium bacteria, they naturally enrich the soil and are cornerstone plants in sustainable agriculture.

2271

Spotted Medick

Medicago arabica

Spotted medick (Medicago arabica) is a sprawling annual herb in the legume family Fabaceae, native to the Mediterranean basin. It is easily recognized by its trifoliate leaves bearing dark purple spots and small yellow flowers that bloom from spring through summer. The plant plays an important ecological role by fixing atmospheric nitrogen through its symbiosis with Sinorhizobium medicae bacteria, making it a valuable cover crop and green manure plant.

2272

Black Medick

Medicago lupulina

Easy 💧 10 days ☀️ Direct sun

Black Medick (Medicago lupulina) is an annual or short-lived perennial herb in the legume family (Fabaceae), native to Eurasia and Africa and naturalized worldwide in temperate regions. It produces small, bright yellow flowers arranged in tight globose clusters, followed by distinctive small black seed pods that give the plant its common name. A prolific nitrogen-fixer, it enriches the soil wherever it grows and provides valuable nectar for bees, butterflies, and other pollinators. It thrives in open, sunny habitats including lawns, roadsides, meadows, and disturbed ground.

2273

Rose Grape

Medinilla magnifica

Hard 💧 7 days ☀️ Bright indirect

Medinilla magnifica is a stunning tropical epiphytic shrub native to the Philippines. Known for its dramatic cascading clusters of pink flowers surrounded by large pink bracts, it is one of the most spectacular flowering houseplants. Its thick, leathery dark green leaves with prominent veins add to its ornamental appeal even when not in bloom.

2274

Showy Medinilla

Medinilla speciosa

Medium 💧 7 days ☀️ Bright indirect

Medinilla speciosa is a perennial epiphytic evergreen shrub in the Melastomataceae family, native to the misty mountain forests of Indonesia (Java, Sumatra, Sulawesi, the Moluccas and the Lesser Sunda Islands), peninsular Malaysia, Borneo and the Philippines. It grows with woody, branching stems and opposite, leathery green leaves up to 20 cm long with prominent veins. From early summer into fall it produces large, pendant panicles of small, bright pink flowers on reddish stems, followed by rounded berries that ripen from pink to a striking metallic purple-black over about a month.

2275

Brazilian Red Cloak

Megaskepasma erythrochlamys

Medium 💧 4 days ☀️ Bright indirect

Brazilian Red Cloak (Megaskepasma erythrochlamys) is a stunning tropical shrub native to Venezuela and Suriname, belonging to the Acanthaceae family. It is celebrated for its spectacular inflorescences composed of large crimson bracts surrounding small two-lipped white flowers, creating a breathtaking display in tropical and subtropical gardens. The plant can reach 2 to 3 meters in height, with large, glossy dark green oval leaves up to 50 cm long.

2276

Guinea grass

Megathyrsus maximus

Easy 💧 14 days ☀️ Bright indirect

Megathyrsus maximus, popularly known as Guinea grass, is a large perennial grass native to Africa. It is widely recognized for its robustness, rapid growth, and formation of dense clumps. Its leaves are long and linear, and its inflorescences occur in open, branched panicles. Although it is one of the world's main tropical forages, it is also used in degraded area recovery projects and as a visual barrier in large gardens.

2277

Bracelet Honey Myrtle

Melaleuca armillaris

Melaleuca armillaris, commonly known as the bracelet honey myrtle, is a large evergreen shrub or small tree native to southern Australia (South Australia, Victoria, and Tasmania). It can reach 15 to 30 feet (4.6 to 9 meters) in height with a similar spread and is characterized by grey, papery bark that peels in strips, fine needle-like foliage of intense green, and spectacular cylindrical spikes of creamy-white flowers, resembling bottlebrushes, which bloom in spring and summer. Its species name 'armillaris' (from the Latin for bracelet) refers to the ring-like arrangement of its fruit capsules along the branches. Very hardy, it tolerates drought, wind, salt spray, and air pollution, making it an excellent windbreak or screening hedge in Mediterranean and coastal gardens. Its abundant nectar-rich flowering attracts honeyeaters, native bees, and many other pollinators. Its essential oil, rich in 1,8-cineole, possesses antibacterial and antifungal properties recognized by several scientific studies.

2278

Crimson bottlebrush

Melaleuca citrina

Easy ☀️ Bright indirect

Melaleuca citrina, commonly known as crimson bottlebrush, is an evergreen shrub or small tree native to eastern Australia and endemic to coastal regions of New South Wales and Victoria. It belongs to the Myrtaceae (myrtle) family and was among the first Australian plants cultivated outside the country (introduced to England in 1770). The plant is renowned for its striking bright red flower spikes that bloom primarily in summer, attracting honeyeaters, spinebills, and other birds. The lanceolate evergreen leaves release a pleasant citrus-like fragrance when brushed or crushed.

2279

Weeping Bottlebrush

Melaleuca viminalis

Hard 💧 7 days ☀️ Low light

The Weeping Bottlebrush (Melaleuca viminalis) is a fast-growing evergreen shrub or small tree native to eastern Australia, prized for its graceful, pendulous branches and vivid crimson-red bottlebrush-shaped flower spikes that bloom from spring through summer. Its narrow, leathery leaves create a soft, weeping canopy that attracts hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies. Hardy and low-maintenance once established, it thrives in warm climates as a specimen tree, hedge, or screen planting.

2280

Wood Cow-wheat

Melampyrum nemorosum

Melampyrum nemorosum is a striking annual hemiparasitic wildflower native to European woodlands and their edges, from Central to Eastern Europe. It is instantly recognisable by its dramatic two-tone display: tubular golden-yellow flowers nestled among vivid purple-blue upper bracts — a combination so distinctive it earned it the folk name "Night and Day" across many European languages. As a facultative root hemiparasite in the family Orobanchaceae, it obtains supplementary water and minerals from neighbouring host plants (typically grasses, sedges, or herbaceous woodland species) via haustoria, while still performing photosynthesis. In Slavic tradition the plant is known as 'Ivan-da-Marya', a symbol of the union of opposites: the yellow flowers representing the masculine (Ivan) and the purple bracts the feminine (Maria). It typically grows 15–50 cm tall, preferring moist, humus-rich, slightly acidic soils in semi-shaded habitats such as woodland margins, scrubby meadows, and calcareous grassland edges.

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2281

Warty Knight

Melanoleuca verrucipes

Hard 💧 2 days ☀️ Low light

Melanoleuca verrucipes, commonly known as the Warty Knight, is a distinctive mushroom characterized by its white cap and a stem covered in dark, warty scales or granules. It typically appears in gardens, parks, and compost-rich areas. Unlike many other Melanoleuca species, its stem texture makes it easily identifiable to mycologists.

2282

Chinaberry Tree

Melia azedarach

The Chinaberry tree is a fast-growing deciduous tree prized for its rounded canopy of fern-like leaves and fragrant lavender flower clusters that appear in spring. Native to Asia and Australia but now widely naturalized in warm climates worldwide, it tolerates heat, drought, and poor soils with ease, making it a tough, low-maintenance shade tree. All parts of the tree, especially the yellow berries, are toxic if ingested, so it is best planted away from children and pets.

2283

White sweet clover

Melilotus albus

Easy 💧 7 days ☀️ Direct sun

White sweet clover (Melilotus albus) is an annual or biennial herbaceous plant in the legume family (Fabaceae), native to Eurasia and now widely distributed throughout the world's temperate regions. The plant can grow up to 2 meters tall and bears long, narrow racemes of small white flowers with a subtle, sweet scent of coumarin. Thanks to its deep taproot, it is particularly drought-resistant and improves the soil through nitrogen fixation in symbiosis with Rhizobium bacteria.

2284

Yellow Sweet Clover

Melilotus officinalis

Yellow sweet clover (Melilotus officinalis) is a biennial herb in the Fabaceae (legume) family, native to Europe and Asia and now naturalized across much of the world. It forms freely branching stems up to about 1.5 m tall, with trifoliate leaves and small, fragrant yellow flowers borne in slender racemes that are highly attractive to bees. It grows from a deep taproot, fixes nitrogen in the soil through symbiosis with rhizobia, and is widely used as a green manure and honey plant.

2285

Lemon Balm

Melissa officinalis

Medium 💧 14 days ☀️ Direct sun

Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) is a perennial aromatic herb in the Lamiaceae family, native to the Mediterranean and Southern Europe. Prized for its delicate lemon scent, it is widely cultivated for medicinal, culinary, and ornamental purposes. Its dark green leaves are rich in essential oils with calming, antioxidant, and antiviral properties.

2286

Turk's Cap Cactus

Melocactus zehntneri

Melocactus zehntneri, commonly known as Turk's Cap Cactus, is a globose cactus native to the Caatinga biome of northeastern Brazil. Its most distinctive feature is the cephalium — a cylindrical structure of white bristles and wool that develops at the apex of the plant only at maturity, from which small pink flowers and red fruits emerge. It is perfectly adapted to the harsh conditions of one of Brazil's most arid ecosystems.

2287

Woolly Pyramidbush

Melochia tomentosa

Easy 💧 7 days ☀️ Direct sun

The Woolly Pyramidbush (Melochia tomentosa) is a perennial shrub in the Malvaceae family, native to arid and semi-arid regions of tropical and subtropical America, ranging from the southwestern United States to South America. It reaches between 0.3 and 2.5 meters in height, with stems and ovate leaves covered in a dense, whitish stellate pubescence that gives it a velvety appearance. It produces small pink to purple flowers clustered in the leaf axils, with a blooming period extending primarily from spring to fall, attracting abundant pollinators such as butterflies and native bees. Its fruits are winged pyramidal capsules, a distinctive characteristic of the genus. It grows naturally along roadsides, rocky slopes, xerophytic scrublands, and dry forests, from sea level up to 1,600 meters in altitude.

2288

Moonseed

Menispermum canadense

Medium 💧 6 days ☀️ Partial shade

Menispermum canadense, commonly known as Moonseed or Canada Moonseed, is a vigorous, deciduous climbing vine native to eastern North America, ranging from southern Canada to northern Florida and west to Manitoba and Texas. It grows in moist thickets, woodland edges, and stream banks, twining to heights of up to 6 metres (20 feet). The large, heart-shaped to palmately lobed leaves (5–20 cm across) are its most recognisable feature. In late spring and early summer (May–August), it bears small, inconspicuous greenish-white to yellowish-green flowers in drooping panicles. These are followed in autumn by clusters of blue-black, grape-like drupes, each containing a single distinctive crescent-shaped seed — the source of the common name. CAUTION: all parts of the plant, especially the fruit, are severely toxic. The alkaloid dauricine causes convulsions and can be fatal; the fruit has caused deaths in children who mistook it for wild grapes.

2289

Mint (genus)

Mentha

Easy 💧 4 days ☀️ Bright indirect

Mentha is a genus of aromatic herbs in the Lamiaceae family, widely grown for culinary and medicinal uses. It includes peppermint (M. piperita) and spearmint (M. spicata). Mint grows vigorously and can become invasive in garden beds.

2290

Peppermint

Mentha × piperita

Easy 💧 8 days ☀️ Bright indirect

Peppermint (Mentha × piperita) is a hybrid aromatic herb, a cross between watermint (Mentha aquatica) and spearmint (Mentha spicata), belonging to the family Lamiaceae. One of the most widely cultivated herbs in the world, it is prized for its intensely refreshing menthol aroma and its broad range of medicinal and culinary applications. It spreads vigorously through underground rhizomes.

2291

Apple Mint

Mentha × rotundifolia

Apple Mint (Mentha × rotundifolia) is a vigorous hybrid perennial herb in the Lamiaceae family, a natural cross between Mentha suaveolens and Mentha longifolia. It features soft, rounded, woolly leaves that release a pleasant fruity apple-like scent when crushed. Known for its fast, spreading growth via underground rhizomes, it is a popular and easy-to-grow culinary and aromatic herb suitable for gardens and containers.

2292

Water Mint

Mentha aquatica

Mentha aquatica, commonly known as water mint, is an aromatic perennial herb in the mint family (Lamiaceae), native to Europe, North Africa, and western Asia. It grows naturally along pond edges, streams, ditches, and marshy meadows, where its square stems and oval, toothed leaves spread rapidly by creeping runners. From midsummer into fall, dense whorls of small pink to lilac flowers cluster at the stem tips, attracting bees, butterflies, and other pollinators. Every part of the plant carries a strong minty-menthol fragrance, released readily when the leaves are brushed or crushed.

2293

Field Mint

Mentha arvensis

Field Mint (Mentha arvensis) is an aromatic perennial herb in the Lamiaceae family, native to temperate regions of Eurasia and North America. Renowned for its intense menthol fragrance, it is widely used in cooking, traditional medicine, and as a natural insect repellent. It spreads vigorously through underground rhizomes and can become invasive if not contained.

2294

Horse Mint

Mentha longifolia

Easy 💧 4 days ☀️ Bright indirect

Mentha longifolia, commonly known as horse mint or wild mint, is a vigorous perennial herb in the Lamiaceae family, native to Europe, Asia, and Africa. It grows up to 120 cm tall with lance-shaped, grey-green leaves covered in soft silvery hairs. During summer it produces dense spikes of pale lilac to mauve flowers that are highly attractive to bees, butterflies, and other pollinators. It has a strong, fresh menthol-like fragrance and a long history of culinary and medicinal use.

2295

Pennyroyal

Mentha pulegium

Pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium) is a fast-growing, low, mat-forming perennial herb in the mint family (Lamiaceae), native to the Mediterranean region, Europe, and North Africa. It bears small, aromatic mint-scented leaves and dense whorls of tiny lilac-purple flowers in summer. Caution: it contains pulegone, a compound that is highly toxic in concentrated (essential oil) form — it should never be ingested, especially by pregnant people, children, or pets.

2296

Mint

Mentha sp

Mint (Mentha sp) is a genus of aromatic perennial herbs in the family Lamiaceae, native to Europe and Asia. Renowned for its refreshing scent and intense flavor, it is widely cultivated in gardens, pots, and kitchen herb plots. It spreads vigorously through underground stolons and can become invasive if not contained. Its leaves are used fresh or dried in cooking, folk medicine, and aromatherapy.

2297

Spearmint

Mentha spicata

Easy 💧 5 days ☀️ Bright indirect

Spearmint (Mentha spicata) is a vigorous perennial herb in the Lamiaceae family, native to Europe and the Mediterranean but now naturalized worldwide. It is prized for its fresh, mildly sweet menthol fragrance — gentler than peppermint — and is one of the most widely cultivated culinary and medicinal herbs on the planet. The plant spreads aggressively through underground rhizomes, forming dense colonies. Bright green serrated leaves top upright stems that produce slender spikes of lilac or white flowers in summer, attracting bees and butterflies.

2298

Pineapple Mint

Mentha suaveolens

Mentha suaveolens, commonly called pineapple mint or apple mint, is an aromatic perennial herb in the mint family (Lamiaceae), native to southern and western Europe and the Mediterranean. It forms low, spreading clumps of soft, woolly, rounded leaves with a sweet, fruity fragrance reminiscent of apples or pineapple, and spreads vigorously by underground runners (stolons). Small white to pale pink flower spikes appear in summer, attracting bees and pollinators.

2299

Peppermint

Mentha x piperita

Easy 💧 3 days ☀️ Bright indirect

Peppermint (Mentha x piperita) is a natural hybrid between watermint (M. aquatica) and spearmint (M. spicata), cultivated for centuries for its intense menthol aroma and remarkable medicinal properties. This vigorous perennial herb features ovate, sharply-toothed dark green leaves that release their characteristic cool, refreshing scent when touched. In late summer, it produces small pale purple to pink flowers in dense terminal spikes, attracting pollinators. A fast spreader via underground rhizomes, peppermint is one of the most widely used aromatic plants in the world.

2300

Dog's Mercury / Annual Mercury

Mercurialis

Medium 💧 7 days ☀️ Partial shade

Herbaceous plants of the Euphorbiaceae family, native to Europe, Asia, and North Africa. The genus includes both annual (M. annua) and perennial (M. perennis) species that thrive in shaded woodland habitats. All parts are highly poisonous to humans and livestock. M. perennis spreads vigorously via underground rhizomes, often carpeting woodland floors in dense mats. Both species exhibit dioecious reproduction with separate male and female plants producing small green, apetalous flowers.

2301

Annual mercury

Mercurialis annua

Easy 💧 4 days ☀️ Direct sun

An annual herbaceous plant in the Euphorbiaceae family, native to the Mediterranean and the Near East. It is a common weed in cultivated fields, gardens, roadsides, and wasteland. It typically reaches 30-50 cm in height, occasionally up to 1 meter. The stem is erect and branched. Leaves are opposite, lanceolate with serrated margins, measuring 3-6 cm. It is a dioecious plant: yellowish male flowers in spikes, and solitary green female flowers. The fruit is a capsule with a warty surface.

2302

Puka

Meryta

Medium 💧 7 days ☀️ Bright indirect

Meryta is a genus of about 28 species of evergreen trees and shrubs in the Araliaceae family, native to subtropical and tropical islands of the Pacific Ocean, with the greatest diversity in New Caledonia and further species from New Zealand (M. sinclairii, the "puka"), Norfolk Island, and the Marquesas. This is a genus-level care profile rather than a single species, since most Meryta share similar growth habits and care needs. They are prized for their large, glossy, simple leaves that give a bold, tropical look to gardens and interiors, are dioecious (separate male and female plants), fast-growing, and tolerant of coastal wind and salt spray, but are frost-tender and require protection in cooler climates.

2303

Common Ice Plant

Mesembryanthemum