Plants & Fungi A - Z
Explore our profiles of plants and fungi.
These illustrated profiles contain a wealth of facts, including details on conservation, uses and habitats – as well as Kew’s connections with the species. They have been chosen to inspire interest in plants, detail our science and conservation work and showcase star plants in the Gardens.
This is a constantly growing resource with new profiles added every week - so do be sure to check back regularly.
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Cicer arietinum (chickpea)
Widely cultivated for its nutritious seeds, chickpea is thought to have originated in Turkey, Syria and Iran.
More: Food, Medicinal, Legume family
Citrullus lanatus (watermelon)
Watermelon has long been valued for its refreshing fruits, which have also been used as an ingredient in cosmetics.
More: Food
Clathrus archeri (devil's fingers)
Clathrus archeri, also known as devil's fingers, has a gelatinous egg stage from which the fruitbody arises, its four to eight reddish arms each coated with dark, foul-smelling tissue.
More: Fungi, Out of the ordinary
Clerodendrum paniculatum (pagoda flower)
The pagoda flower, so called because of its tall, pyramidal inflorescences, is one of the most spectacular Clerodendrum species.
More: Mint family, Medicinal, Saving species, Ornamentals
Cochlospermum orinocense (Tefé rose)
A striking South American tree, the empty fruits of which may turn up in your potpourri.
More: Trees, Textiles and dyes, Beauty and cosmetics
Codonopsis tangshen (bellflower)
Codonopsis tangshen is an unusual climber, bearing subtle, yellowish-green, bell-shaped flowers, with purple markings on the inside; the root is used in China to make a tonic.
More: Medicinal, Ornamentals
Coffea ambongensis
The giant beans of Coffea ambongensis are more than twice the size of those used in commercial coffee production.
More: Coffee family, Kew discoveries
Coffea arabica (Arabica coffee)
Coffee is one of the world’s favourite drinks, one of the most important commercial crop-plants, and the second most valuable international commodity; Arabica coffee is considered to produce the finest coffee beans.
More: Coffee family, Food, Medicinal, Building materials, Trees
Coffea pterocarpa
Coffea pterocarpa is a newly identified coffee species with distinctive winged berries.
More: Coffee family, Kew discoveries
Cojoba graciliflora (Guadeloupe blackbead)
Guadeloupe blackbead has beautiful clusters of creamy-white flowers and stunning red pods shaped like a string of beads and containing black seeds.
More: Legume family, Ornamentals, Medicinal, Trees
Cola nitida (kola nut)
A tropical tree from West African rainforests, kola nut seeds are popularly chewed as a caffeine-containing stimulant and are an ingredient in some soft drinks.
More: Food, Medicinal, Traditions and beliefs, Trees
Colophospermum mopane (mopane)
The mopane tree is reputed to provide the best fuelwood in Africa.
More: Fuels, Trees, Legume family
Commiphora guidottii (scented myrrh)
Believed to be the source of the scented myrrh mentioned in the Bible, Commiphora guidottii is a tree native to Somalia and Ethiopia.
More: Gums and resins, Traditions and beliefs, Medicinal, Beauty and cosmetics
Crassula coccinea (red crassula)
Red crassula is a succulent plant with flat heads of striking, bright scarlet flowers.
More: Ornamentals
Crinum brachynema (karnaphul)
Crinum brachynema is a Critically Endangered bulbous plant, with great potential as an ornamental, and is restricted to Gujarat and Maharashtra States in western India.
More: Medicinal, Ornamentals
Crinum purpurascens (starry crinum)
The bulb, leaves and sap of starry crinum are used in traditional medicine in West Africa for treating a range of ailments from pneumonia to snake-bite.
More: Medicinal, Ornamentals
Crinum woodrowii (Woodrow's crinum lily)
Woodrow’s crinum lily is a Critically Endangered bulbous plant with great potential as an ornamental, and is restricted to Maharashtra State in western India.
More: Medicinal
Crocus baytopiorum
The stunning pale blue flowers of the Turkish Crocus baytopiorum make it one of the most distinctive Crocus species.
More: Alpines, Ornamentals
Crocus sieberi (Sieber’s crocus)
The corms of Sieber’s crocus are edible, apparently tasting of hazelnuts, and are eaten raw by mountain shepherds in Greece.
More: Alpines, Ornamentals
Cucurbita pepo (pumpkin)
A vine native to Mexico and the USA, Cucurbita pepo has been domesticated for thousands of years and is the source of an astonishing variety of cultivated forms, including Halloween pumpkins, courgettes (zucchini) and squashes.
More: Food, Medicinal, Traditions and beliefs
Curcuma caulina (Indian arrowroot)
A tall herb from southwestern India, Indian arrowroot is cultivated for its tubers, which are an important source of starch in times of food scarcity.
More: Food
Curcuma inodora (scentless turmeric)
An attractive, perennial herb from India, scentless turmeric is cultivated as an ornamental and also used in traditional medicine.
More: Ornamentals, Medicinal
Curcuma pseudomontana (hill turmeric)
Hill turmeric is an Indian herb used in local and tribal medicine and as a source of arrowroot starch.
Curcuma roscoeana (jewel of Burma)
A popularly cultivated Curcuma, with beautiful, bright orange or yellow flowers, jewel of Burma is a member of the ginger family and an important Thai export.
More: House plants
Cuscuta epithymum (clover dodder)
Clover dodder is one of the most rapidly growing parasitic plants.
More: Medicinal
Cylindrocline lorencei
A botanical curiosity, Cylindrocline lorencei was considered extinct in the wild in 1990, but has recently been reintroduced to Mauritius.
More: Saving species
Cylindropuntia imbricata (tree cholla)
The tree cholla is a cactus closely related to the prickly pear (Opuntia) and is equally spiny.
More: Ornamentals
Cymbidium hookerianum
The large-flowered Cymbidium hookerianum was named in honour of Sir Joseph Hooker, the second Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
More: Orchids
Cymbopogon citratus (lemon grass)
Lemon grass is a tall, Asian grass, long-known for its attractive scent and medicinal properties.
More: Grass family, Beauty and cosmetics, Food
Cyphelium notarisii (soot lichen)
Found on wooden structures, Cyphelium notarisii can be distinguished from similar lichens by the sooty residue left on fingers after rubbing the fruitbodies.
More: Fungi
Cypripedium calceolus (lady's slipper orchid)
The lady's slipper orchid is one of the best known and most widely illustrated of all flowering plants.
More: Orchids, Saving species
Cyrtostachys bakeri
A spectacular new species of canopy palm recently discovered by Kew botanists in the remote Western Province of Papua New Guinea.
More: Palms, Kew discoveries
Cyttaria darwinii (Darwin's fungus)
Darwin's fungus is a parasitic, golf ball-like fungus that was named in honour of Charles Darwin, who collected it in Tierra del Fuego during his voyage on HMS Beagle in 1832.
More: Fungi, Food, Great plant hunters
Dactylorhiza purpurella (northern marsh orchid)
Northern marsh orchid is a European species with vivid purple-violet flowers.
More: Orchids
Dalbergia andapensis (hazovola)
An endangered tree from northeast Madagascar, Dalbergia andapensis is threatened by local deforestation.
More: Legume family, Trees
Daniellia alsteeniana (mulombe)
Daniellia alsteeniana is one of the most charismatic and conspicuous trees in the woodlands and dry forests of northeastern Angola, where Kew is documenting species diversity to help build a case for conservation of this unique region.
More: Legume family, Trees, Gums and resins, Building materials, Saving species
Daucus carota (wild carrot)
Wild carrot has delicate white flower heads and a thin, wiry taproot bearing little resemblance to the fleshy, bright orange root vegetable produced commercially.
Davidia involucrata (handkerchief tree)
Native to China, handkerchief tree was once considered to be the Holy Grail of exotic flora, and seeds were first sent to England by the legendary botanist Ernest Wilson in 1901.
More: Great plant hunters, Ornamentals, Trees
Delonix decaryi (fengoky)
Delonix decaryi, a tree with a cigar-shaped trunk, is found in the dry spiny forest of Madagascar, and sometimes planted as a living fence.
More: Trees, Legume family
Delonix regia (flamboyant)
Although widely cultivated in the tropics since the 19th century, the native habitat of flamboyant was unknown to science until the 1930s, when it was rediscovered growing in the wild in Madagascar.
More: Trees, Legume family, Ornamentals
Dendrobium aphyllum
The proper scientific name of this commonly cultivated, tropical Asian orchid – most frequently known as Dendrobium aphyllum – is surrounded by much confusion.
More: Orchids
Dendrobium bensoniae (Lady Benson’s dendrobium)
A large-flowered orchid from the forests of northeastern India and northern Burma, Lady Benson’s dendrobium is cultivated by orchid enthusiasts.
More: Orchids, Ornamentals, House plants
Dendrobium daklakense
Dendrobium daklakense is a showy, attractive Vietnamese orchid that has evaded discovery until very recently.
More: Orchids, Kew discoveries
Dendrobium nobile (noble dendrobium)
The dependable noble dendrobium is one of the most popular epiphytic orchids in cultivation.
More: Orchids
Deschampsia cespitosa (tufted hair-grass)
Tufted hair-grass is a large, tussock-forming grass, once used to form the roof of one of the oldest thatched cottages in England.
More: Grass family, Building materials
Dianthus carthusianorum (Carthusian pink)
Carthusian pink is an elegant, hardy, small-flowered Dianthus named in honour of the Carthusian order of monks.
More: Alpines, Ornamentals
Dicksonia antarctica (Australian tree fern)
Australian tree fern is a handsome plant native to south-eastern Australia, where it grows in fertile, high-rainfall areas and moist, sheltered gullies.
More: Ancient, Ornamentals
Digitalis purpurea (common foxglove)
A popular ornamental, with tall spires of tapered, tubular, purple to pink or white flowers, common foxglove is also a source of digitoxin, used in the heart drug digitalis.
More: Medicinal, Ornamentals
Dionaea muscipula (Venus flytrap)
The Venus flytrap “eats” insects and sometimes even small frogs that become trapped in its modified, toothed leaves; if the prey struggles, the trap will close even tighter.
More: Carnivorous, Out of the ordinary, Ornamentals, House plants
Dioscorea bako (bako)
Bako, only recently discovered and described, symbolises the importance of wild yams and their biodiversity to the Malagasy people.
More: Food
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