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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Abelmoschus esculentus (okra)
Okra is valued for its edible green fruits, said to be shaped like ‘lady’s fingers’, one of its common names in British English.
More: Food, Textiles and dyes, Medicinal
Acacia karroo (sweet thorn)
The fast-growing sweet thorn, with its striking yellow pompom-like flowerheads, is perhaps the most well-used acacia in southern Africa.
More: Legume family, Trees, Gums and resins, Food, Medicinal, Building materials
Acacia nilotica (acacia)
The wood of Acacia nilotica was used by ancient Egyptians to make statues and furniture.
More: Building materials, Medicinal, Trees, Legume family, Gums and resins, Traditions and beliefs
Acacia senegal (gum arabic)
Gum arabic has been used for at least 4,000 years in the preparation of food, in human and veterinary medicine, in crafts and as a cosmetic.
More: Medicinal, Building materials, Legume family, Trees, Gums and resins, Beauty and cosmetics
Actinidia deliciosa (kiwi fruit)
Although native to China, it was commercialisation of this climber in New Zealand (and clever marketing under the name kiwi fruit) that made it the popular and widespread fruit it is today.
More: Food, Ornamentals, Medicinal
Adansonia digitata (baobab)
Baobab, Africa’s iconic ‘upside-down’ tree, is pollinated by bats and bushbabies.
More: Food, Medicinal, Trees, Traditions and beliefs, Textiles and dyes
Aesculus indica (Indian horse chestnut)
A relative of the common horse chestnut, the Indian horse chestnut from the Himalaya is a spectacular early summer flowering tree, which produces smaller seeds than the common horse chestnut, making it less useful for the 'conker' player.
More: Ornamentals, Trees, Medicinal
Agaricus arvensis (horse mushroom)
The horse mushroom is a good, sought-after edible fungus, related to the common cultivated mushroom (A. bisporus) and with a pleasant aniseed-like odour.
Albizia adianthifolia (flat-crown albizia)
Flat-crown albizia is an African tree with a wealth of uses, from the simple provision of shade to the preparation of a love charm.
More: Legume family, Ornamentals, Gums and resins, Medicinal, Building materials, Plant fungal relationships, Traditions and beliefs, Trees
Alisma plantago-aquatica (common water-plantain)
An attractive wetland plant, common water-plantain has delicate white, pale pink or lilac flowers that open in late afternoon and close again at dusk.
More: Ornamentals, Medicinal
Allium sativum (garlic)
Garlic is a strongly aromatic bulb that has long been used in cooking and medicine.
Alocasia macrorrhizos (elephant ear taro)
Elephant ear taro is a massive aroid with a spectacular cluster of upwardly pointing, arrow-shaped leaf blades which can reach one metre in length.
More: Medicinal, Food, Ornamentals, Little and large
Aloe dichotoma (quiver tree)
The strange-looking quiver tree is an icon of southern Africa’s most arid habitats.
More: Trees, Ornamentals, Medicinal
Aloe ferox (Cape aloes)
Aloe ferox is a South African aloe valued for its colourless leaf ‘gel’ and bitter brown exudate.
More: Medicinal, Beauty and cosmetics
Aloe marlothii (mountain aloe)
Tall mountain aloes growing on hillsides are a common sight in southern Africa.
More: Medicinal, Ornamentals
Aloe plicatilis (fan aloe)
Fan aloe is an unusual, many-branched succulent with striking scarlet flowers and fan-like clusters of leaves.
More: Ornamentals, Medicinal, Trees
Aloe vera (aloe vera)
Aloe vera has been described as a wonder-plant. The colourless jelly-like leaf parenchyma tissue is used in an extraordinary array of everyday products, from dishwashing liquid to yoghurt.
More: Medicinal, Beauty and cosmetics, Food
Aloe welmelensis (Hargeissa)
Aloe welmelensis is a rare and threatened succulent plant species found only in one river valley in southern Ethiopia.
More: Medicinal
Amanita muscaria (fly agaric)
One of the most iconic and distinctive of British fungi, fly agaric, with its red cap and white spots, is renowned for its toxicity and hallucinogenic properties.
More: Fungi, Medicinal, Traditions and beliefs
Amorphophallus paeoniifolius (elephant yam)
A striking aroid from tropical Asia, elephant yam is extensively cultivated for its edible tubers.
Ananas comosus (pineapple)
Pineapple is a tropical plant widely cultivated for its distinctive fruits with their sweet yellow flesh and juice.
More: Food, Medicinal, Textiles and dyes, Ornamentals
Angelica archangelica (angelica)
Well-known as a decoration for cakes and puddings, angelica is a tall, aromatic herb that has been cultivated since ancient times.
More: Food, Medicinal, Ornamentals
Arabidopsis thaliana (thale cress)
Thale cress hit the headlines in 2000, when this small garden weed became the first plant to have its genome sequenced.
More: Making the news, Medicinal
Arisaema consanguineum
Arisaema consanguineum is a striking plant with rather sinister-looking flowers and bold foliage.
More: Ornamentals, Food, Medicinal
Arisaema jacquemontii (Jacquemont’s cobra lily)
The subtly attractive Jacquemont’s cobra lily is native to the Himalaya, southern India, and the Khasi Hills region in north-east India, and can be cultivated in shady areas of temperate gardens.
More: Ornamentals, Food, Medicinal
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
Artemisia annua (sweet wormwood)
A sweetly aromatic herb with small, yellow flower heads, sweet wormwood contains the chemical artemisinin and its aerial parts are used in making anti-malarial drugs.
More: Medicinal, Beauty and cosmetics, Ornamentals
Artocarpus altilis (breadfruit)
Breadfruit is a tall tropical tree with divided leaves and large green to yellow fruits with an edible, starchy, white or cream-coloured flesh.
More: Food, Great plant hunters, Medicinal, Textiles and dyes, Building materials, Trees
Asparagus officinalis (garden asparagus)
Garden asparagus is a widely grown seasonal vegetable that has been cultivated for thousands of years, and this and a few other species of the genus are still harvested from the wild in parts of the Mediterranean.
Beta vulgaris (beet)
Beetroot, Swiss chard, sugar beet and mangel-wurzel are all cultivars of the same species, Beta vulgaris.
More: Food, Medicinal, Textiles and dyes
Betula pendula (silver birch)
The silver birch is a temperate tree, grown as an ornamental plant, also for its timber. It is used for a range of purposes, from broom-making and steeple-chase fencing to medicines.
More: Trees, Medicinal, Building materials
Boesenbergia rotunda (fingerroot)
Fingerroot is a medicinal and culinary herb, with bright yellow, finger-shaped rhizomes.
Boswellia sacra (frankincense)
Frankincense, an oily gum resin from the tree Boswellia sacra and related species, is named in the Bible as one the three gifts given to the baby Jesus by the 'Three Wise Men'. It has been used for thousands of years in many different cultures.
More: Gums and resins, Traditions and beliefs, Medicinal
Broussonetia papyrifera (paper mulberry)
A shrub or tree, with mulberry-like leaves, paper mulberry is important as a source of fibre for cloth and paper.
More: Trees, Textiles and dyes, Ornamentals, Medicinal
Calocybe gambosa (St George’s mushroom)
St George's mushroom is one of the few good edible fungi to be found in spring, usually appearing in late April close to St George’s Day (23rd April), hence the popular name.
Caloncoba welwitschii
In the dense, green, tropical forest undergrowth in Africa, the profusion of petals of the bright white flowers of Caloncoba welwitschii provide quite a spectacle.
Calvatia gigantea (giant puffball)
Calvatia gigantea produces perhaps the largest fruitbody of any fungus, and is aptly referred to as the giant puffball. The unmistakeable fruitbodies, which appear in late summer and autumn, are often the size of footballs and sometimes much larger.
More: Fungi, Food, Medicinal, Little and large
Camellia sinensis (tea)
Tea is the most important non-alcoholic beverage in the world, and over three million tonnes are grown annually.
Castanea sativa (sweet chestnut)
Sweet chestnut is a medium-sized tree that is widely cultivated for its edible nuts contained in prickly husks.
More: Building materials, Trees, Medicinal, Traditions and beliefs
Catharanthus roseus (Madagascar periwinkle)
The Madagascar periwinkle is a popular ornamental plant found in gardens and homes across the world, and is also used in the treatment of cancer.
More: Medicinal
Centaurea montana (perennial cornflower)
A low-growing perennial with beautiful, large, blue flowerheads, perennial cornflower is native to central and southern Europe.
More: Alpines, Medicinal, Ornamentals
Chimonanthus praecox (wintersweet)
Wintersweet is grown chiefly for the wonderful scent produced by its small flowers in late winter and early spring.
More: Medicinal, Beauty and cosmetics, Ornamentals
Chlorophytum tuberosum (musli)
The dried roots of Chlorophytum tuberosum are used as a popular tonic and aphrodisiac in Ayurvedic medicine.
More: Medicinal, Ornamentals, Food
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, Beauty and cosmetics, Medicinal
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
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 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
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
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