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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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Amorphophallus titanum (titan arum)

The titan arum is a giant among plants, with a massive flowering structure that rises some three metres above the ground. Its flowering is rare and unpredictable, and always grabs the headlines!

More: Little and large, Ornamentals, Out of the ordinary, Amazing adaptations, Making the news

Anemone halleri (Haller’s anemone)

Haller’s anemone is insulated with dense hairs, allowing it to grow even in freezing temperatures.

More: Ornamentals, Amazing adaptations

Aristolochia grandiflora (pelican flower)

Pelican flower produces enormous trumpet-shaped flowers, which smell of rotting meat and attract flies and wasps as its pollinators.

More: Little and large, Ornamentals, Medicinal, Amazing adaptations

Chamaegigas intrepidus

Chamaegigas intrepidus is a rare aquatic plant from Namibia, with a remarkable ability to recover after drought.

More: Amazing adaptations, Saving species

Dracaena jayniana (red dragon tree)

Dracaena jayniana is an endangered dragon tree from Thailand, the dried red sap of which is used to make a tonic drink.

More: Ornamentals, Food, Amazing adaptations, Kew discoveries, Making the news

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

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

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

Nepenthes bicalcarata (fanged pitcher plant)

Nepenthes bicalcarata, a distinctively ‘fanged’ pitcher plant from Borneo, has a mutually beneficial relationship with ants living inside its tendrils.

More: Amazing adaptations, Carnivorous, Ornamentals, Out of the ordinary

Nepenthes robcantleyi (Robert Cantley’s pitcher plant)

A pitcher plant from the Philippines, description of Nepenthes robcantleyi was based on plants known from only a single location, where the forest has since been cut down.

More: Carnivorous, Amazing adaptations, Kew discoveries

Ophrys apifera (bee orchid)

The striking flowers of the bee orchid resemble a bee, resting on a pink flower.

More: Orchids, Amazing adaptations

Oxytenanthera abyssinica (Bindura bamboo)

Oxytenanthera abyssinica (Bindura bamboo) is a drought-resistant bamboo from tropical Africa. Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank holds several thousand seeds from this species.

More: Fuels, Medicinal, Grass family, Amazing adaptations

Pachypodium lealii (bottle tree)

The bottle tree owes its name to the unusual swollen shape of its trunk, which acts as a water store. Traditional hunters in northern Namibia have used its highly toxic sap as an arrow poison.

More: Amazing adaptations

Plantago moorei (Moore's plantain)

Forming low cushions of densely packed hairy leaves, Moore’s plantain survives the harsh drying winds, cool temperatures and strong ultraviolet light prevailing in the Falkland Islands.

More: Amazing adaptations