Kids Encyclopedia

Hickory — Trees in the genus Carya (from Ancient Greek kary “nut”) are commonly known as Hickory. The genus includes 17-19 species of deciduous trees with pinnately compound leaves and large nuts. A dozen or so species are native to North America (11–12 in the United States, 1 in Mexico), and 5–6 species from China and Indochina. Another Asian species, …

Hibiscus — Hibiscus, or rosemallow, is a large genus of about 200–220 species of flowering plants in the family Malvaceae (the mallow family, along with members like cocoa, cotton, okra, baobab and durian) native to warm temperate, subtropical and tropical regions throughout the world. The genus includes both annual and perennial herbaceous plants, and woody shrubs and small trees. The …

Hemlock — Tsuga is a genus of conifers in the family Pinaceae. The common name hemlock is derived from a perceived similarity in the smell of the crushed foliage to that of the unrelated herb poison hemlock; see hemlock for other senses of the word. Unlike the herb, the species of Tsuga are not poisonous. There are between eight and …

Heliotrope — The Heliotropes (Heliotropium) is a genus of plants in the family Boraginaceae with 250 to 300 species. Several of them are popular garden plants, most notably Heliotropium arborescens. Some species are weeds and many are toxic if eaten in large quantities. The name Heliotrope (Helios is Greek for sun, tropein means turn) derives from the fact that these …

Heather — Calluna vulgaris is the sole species in the genus Calluna in the family Ericaceae. It is the true Heather of Europe, and National Flower of Norway. However it also has an affiliation to Scotland. It is a small perennial shrub growing to 20-50 cm tall (rarely to 1 m), and is found widely in Europe and Asia Minor …

Hawthorn, Washington — Washington hawthorn, C. phaenopyrum, is an ideal lawn or street tree. Its dense branches and twigs bear small, bright-scarlet, apple-like fruit in September. The dried fruits of Crataegus pinnatifida are used in naturopathic medicine and traditional Chinese medicine, primarily as a digestive aid. The fruits of the species Crataegus pinnatifida (Chinese Hawthorn) are tart, bright red, and …

Hackberry — Hackberry (Celtis) is a genus of about 60-70 species of deciduous trees widespread in warm temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, in southern Europe, southern and eastern Asia, and southern and central North America, and south to central Africa. The genus is present in the fossil record at least since the Miocene of Europe. They are generally medium-sized …

Grapefruit — The grapefruit is a subtropical citrus tree grown for its fruit which was originally named the “forbidden fruit” of Barbados. These evergreen trees are usually found at around 5-6 m tall, although they can reach 13-15 m. The leaves are dark green, long (up to 150 mm) and thin. It produces 5 cm white four-petalled flowers. The fruit …

Gourd — Cucurbitaceae is a plant family commonly known as gourds or cucurbits and includes crops like cucumbers, squashes (including pumpkins), luffas, melons and watermelons. The family is predominately distributed around the tropics, where those with edible fruits were amongst the earliest cultivated plants in both the Old and New Worlds. Most of the plants in this family are annual …

Goldenrod — The goldenrod is a yellow flowering plant in the Family Asteraceae. About 100 perennial species make up the genus Solidago, most being found in the meadows and pastures, along roads, ditches and waste areas in North America. There are a handful of species from each of Mexico, South America, and Eurasia. Some American species have also been introduced …