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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Jasminum leptophyllum
On one of Kew’s collecting trips to Pakistan, 100 plants of the rare Jasminum leptophyllum were discovered; no other populations are known to local expedition members.
More: Kew discoveries, Saving species
Jubaea chilensis (Chilean wine palm)
Although Darwin described the Chilean wine palm as a ‘very ugly tree’, many consider it to be one of the world's most magnificent palms. Kew’s own impressive specimen is growing in our Temperate House.
More: Palms, Food, Textiles and dyes
Juglans nigra (black walnut)
A North American tree with dark-coloured timber and bark, black walnut produces timber and edible nuts (seeds) used in confectionery.
More: Trees, Ornamentals, Medicinal
Justicia brandegeeana (shrimp plant)
Justicia brandegeeana is commonly known as shrimp plant because of the colour and shrimp-like appearance of its inflorescence.
More: Ornamentals, Out of the ordinary, Medicinal
Kalanchoe schimperiana
Kalanchoe schimperiana is a leafy succulent, less commonly cultivated than other species in this genus, appreciated for its attractive flowers in early spring.
More: Ornamentals
Kerianthera longiflora
This remarkable new species was discovered in the highly endangered Atlantic Forest of eastern Brazil.
More: Coffee family, Trees
Khaosokia caricoides (Khaosok sedge)
Khaosok sedge was discovered in 2001 on limestone cliffs, accessible only by boat, in southern Thailand.
More: Kew discoveries, Saving species
Kigelia africana (sausage tree)
The sausage tree is sacred to many African communities and has a wide variety of uses in traditional and Western medicine, including commercially available skin lotions.
More: Trees, Food, Medicinal, Building materials
Kniphofia caulescens (Lesotho red hot poker)
In the uplands of South Africa, the brightly-coloured flower spikes of the Lesotho red hot poker can be seen from a distance.
More: Ornamentals, Traditions and beliefs
Lactarius chromospermus (igisazi)
Lactarius chromospermus is an African milk-cap fungus species with chocolate brown gills that only forms a symbiotic relationship with species of Brachystegia in Miombo woodland.
More: Fungi, Plant fungal relationships
Lactifluus gymnocarpoides (Ubutuntutuntu)
Lactifluus gymnocarpoides is an edible species of milk cap fungus that form relationships with the roots of certain tropical legume trees and is widespread in tropical Africa.
More: Fungi, Food, Plant fungal relationships
Lagarostrobos franklinii (Huon pine)
Huon pine is a slow-growing Australian tree, some individuals of which are thought to be over 2,200 years old.
More: Trees, Ancient, Building materials, Beauty and cosmetics, Conifers
Lamium album (white dead-nettle)
The white dead-nettle has nettle shaped leaves that do not sting, and grows in woodlands and grasslands.
More: Mint family, Food, Medicinal
Lamium maculatum (spotted dead-nettle)
The leaf markings of the spotted dead-nettle make it an attractive and popular choice for gardeners, and along with its large purple flowers easily distinguish it from the common stinging nettle (Urtica dioica).
More: Mint family, Ornamentals
Lathraea clandestina (purple toothwort)
A root parasite with explosive seed capsules, purple toothwort is becoming increasingly popular as a decorative garden plant.
More: Ornamentals
Lathraea squamaria (toothwort)
A parasite growing on the roots of a range of woody plants, toothwort owes its common name to its flowering and fruiting stems, which have been said to resemble a row of teeth.
More: Amazing adaptations, Out of the ordinary
Lavandula dentata (fringed lavender)
Fringed lavender is an attractive, highly aromatic, winter-flowering shrub for an unheated conservatory.
More: Mint family, Ornamentals, Medicinal, Beauty and cosmetics
Lavandula minutolii
Lavandula minutolii is an attractive winter-flowering shrub for the conservatory with aromatic, feathery grey leaves and spikes of blue flowers.
More: Mint family, Ornamentals
Lepidagathis fischeri
A bizarre, cushion-forming herb, Lepidagathis fischeri is resurrected annually following fire and subsequent rains in the woodlands and grasslands of eastern Africa.
More: Out of the ordinary, Amazing adaptations
Leratiomyces ceres (redlead roundhead)
Redlead roundhead is an attractive fungus easily recognised by its orange, slimy cap and dark gills. It can be found growing in large clusters on woodchip mulch.
More: Fungi
Leucocoprinus birnbaumii (plantpot dapperling)
The aptly named ‘plantpot dapperling’ mushroom often provides a surprise when its brilliant yellow fruiting bodies spring suddenly but fleetingly from plant pots in the dead of winter.
More: Fungi, House plants, Little and large
Leucojum vernum (spring snowflake)
The spring snowflake is a popularly cultivated bulbous plant with delicate white flowers, and belongs to the same family as the snowdrops.
More: Ornamentals, Medicinal, Alpines
Lewisia rediviva (bitterroot)
Bitterroot was first described as new to science in 1813 from specimens collected during one of the first western expeditions across the United States to the Pacific coast, but the species was already well-known and used by local Native Americans.
More: Alpines, Food, Medicinal, Ornamentals
Limonium arborescens (tree sea lavender)
This tree sea lavender, native to the Canary Islands, is one of the largest species in the genus Limonium.
More: Ornamentals, Saving species
Lonicera sempervirens (trumpet honeysuckle)
Trumpet honeysuckle has striking, bright red, tubular flowers and is an attractive climber, which is evergreen in very mild areas.
More: Trees, Ornamentals, Medicinal
Lupinus polyphyllus (large-leaved lupin)
Large-leaved lupin is one of the most spectacular perennial lupins native to western North America.
More: Legume family, Ornamentals
Luronium natans (floating water-plantain)
Floating water-plantain is an unusual aquatic plant, rare in the UK, with a differing leaf structure depending on the depth of water in which it grows, and showy white flowers.
More: Ornamentals
Lycoperdon perlatum (common puffball)
Fruiting throughout the autumn, the common puffball can be recognised by the shape of the fruitbody, its fragile, conical spines and the network-like pattern which is left when these are eroded or rubbed away.
Magnistipula multinervia
Magnistipula multinervia is so rare that only four trees are known, growing in a remote area deep inside Korup National Park in Cameroon.
More: Trees
Mascarenhasia arborescens
An attractive ornamental, Mascarenhasia arborescens was an important source of natural rubber in Madagascar in the early 1900s.
More: Building materials, Gums and resins, Medicinal
Massonia depressa (hedgehog lily)
A remarkable bulb from South Africa, hedgehog lily has a pair of leaves pressed flat onto the ground, and a head of small white or pinkish flowers, like a shaving brush, nestled between them.
More: Out of the ordinary, Ornamentals, Great plant hunters
Mastigostyla chuquisacensis
An attractive member of the iris family, Mastigostyla chuquisacensis is known from only two localities in Bolivia.
More: Kew discoveries
Mastigostyla torotoroensis
Found only in Torotoro National Park in Bolivia, Mastigostyla torotoroensis is a bulbous perennial herb with eye-catching blue flowers.
More: Kew discoveries
Mastigostyla woodii
Named in honour of the British botanist John R. I. Wood, Mastigostyla woodii is a member of the iris family with horizontally-facing blue-purple flowers.
Medemia argun (argun palm)
The fruits of the argun palm were first discovered by archaeologists in the tombs of the Egyptian Pharaohs.
More: Palms, Saving species, Textiles and dyes
Melaleuca alternifolia (tea tree)
The main source of commercially-produced tea tree oil, Melaleuca alternifolia is an efficacious natural antiseptic once heralded as ‘a medicine chest in a bottle’.
More: Medicinal, Beauty and cosmetics
Mellissia begoniifolia (St Helena boxwood)
Having virtually disappeared from its natural habitat for the second time, St Helena boxwood is kept safe in cultivation in Kew’s glasshouses.
More: Saving species, Fuels
Melocactus conoideus
Melocactus conoideus is a critically endangered cactus from eastern Brazil.
More: Saving species, Ornamentals
Mentha suaveolens (apple mint)
A vigorous, aromatic perennial native to southern and western Europe, apple mint is grown as a culinary herb and ornamental.
More: Food, Ornamentals, Mint family
Michelsonia microphylla (kasisi)
Michelsonia microphylla is a rare, although once locally abundant, tropical African forest tree from the Congo basin.
More: Legume family, Building materials, Trees
Micrargeriella aphylla
Micrargeriella aphylla is a rare and poorly known herb that was discovered for the first time in Angola by a Kew-led botanical team in 2011.
More: Kew discoveries, Saving species
Mimosa pudica (sensitive plant)
Few can resist touching the compound leaves of the sensitive plant and watching them fold up in response.
More: Legume family, Amazing adaptations, Medicinal, Ornamentals
Monodora myristica (calabash nutmeg)
Calabash nutmeg is a large tropical tree with huge leaves and exotic, scented flowers that hang down on cord-like twigs.
More: Building materials, Food, Traditions and beliefs, Medicinal
Morchella esculenta (common morel)
The common morel and related species, popularly known as morels, produce their distinctive fruitbodies in spring and are sought-after edible fungi.
Musa itinerans (Yunnan banana)
The Yunnan banana, native to China’s Yunnan province, is the 24,200th plant species saved at Kew's Millennium Seed Bank.
More: Food, Saving species, Making the news
Myriostoma coliforme (pepperpot earthstar)
The pepperpot earthstar was first described from Britain as a new species in 1776. It was considered extinct in the UK until recently rediscovered in Suffolk.
More: Fungi
Narcissus cantabricus (white hoop petticoat daffodil)
The white hoop petticoat daffodil is named after the characteristic shape of its flower.
More: Alpines, Ornamentals
Narcissus pseudonarcissus (daffodil)
The daffodil is the 'golden' flower that inspired the poetry of William Wordsworth.
More: Ornamentals, Traditions and beliefs
Nelumbo nucifera (sacred lotus)
Revered as a divine symbol for more than 5,000 years, the sacred lotus is a truly iconic plant.
More: Ornamentals, Traditions and beliefs, Food
Nematolepis wilsonii (shining nematolepis)
Shining nematolepis was thought to have become extinct in its one known site after the bush fires of February 2009. However, more intensive monitoring discovered a new population nearby with some adult plants and healthy seedlings.
More: Saving species
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