Flowering plants, shrubs and trees provide the environment with much needed oxygen and fight soil erosion. They also provide food and shelter for many animals, as well as contribute to the fertility of soil with their dead leaves and flowers.
Plants that eat other creatures? It sounds like a genetic experiment gone awry. But there's actually nothing unnatural about it; carnivorous plants have been around for thousands of years. Find out all about the Venus Flytrap. See more »
Butterwort, a marsh plant that catches insects as its food. The common butterwort, or bog violet, grows as high as six inches (15 cm).
See more »Cactus, the common name for a family of desert plants. The plural is cacti or cactuses.
See more »Caladium, a tropical American plant grown for its decorative leaves. Caladiums are popular house and greenhouse plants, and bear some of the most beautifully colored leaves of all plants.
See more »Camellia, an evergreen tree or shrub that bears beautiful flowers resembling roses.
See more »Camomile, or Chamomile, one of a genus of herbs of the composite family. The common, or Roman, camomile is native to western Europe.
See more »Canada Thistle, a European weed, introduced into Canada and the United States. It has spiky purplish-pink flowers.
See more »Candytuft, a hardy annual or perennial herbaceous plant of the mustard family. It is native to central Europe and the Mediterranean region.
See more »Canna, a tropical and subtropical plant grown for its gorgeous flowers and handsome foliage.
See more »Caper, a Mediterranean shrub or one of its pickled unopened flower buds. These tart buds are used in sauces and salad dressings.
See more »Carnation, a fragrant flower belonging to the pink family. It is native to southern Europe and has been cultivated for more than 2,000 years.
See more »Cascara Buckthorn, a shrub or small tree that grows in the Pacific Northwest of North America.
See more »Castor Oil, a thick, smooth, yellowish liquid derived from the seeds of the castor-oil plant, or castor bean.
See more »Catalpa, a flowering tree found in the Northern Hemisphere. It blooms in early summer, bearing tubular, bell-shaped flowers that are white, speckled with brown.
See more »Cattail, a reedlike plant found in marshes and swamps all over the world. In England these plants are often called bulrushes.
See more »Cedar, any of a large number of trees having fragrant, durable wood. True cedars are conifers (cone-bearing trees) of the genus Cedrus.
See more »Celandine, a garden plant of the poppy family. It grows 12 to 30 inches (30 to 75 cm) high and has clusters of small, yellow flowers.
See more »Cherry Laurel, or Laurel Cherry, anevergreen shrub or tree of the rose family, grown for its handsome foliage.
See more »Chickweed, an annual belonging to the pink family. It is also called by a number of other names, including starweed, starwort, satinflower, tongue-grass, and winter weed.
See more »Chicle, the coagulated latex of the sapodilla tree. It is a tough, firm, elastic substance chiefly used in making chewing gum.
See more »Chicory, or Succory, an edible perennial herb. It is native to Europe but also grows in America.
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