Plants & Trees Encyclopedia

Clove — Cloves (Syzygium aromaticum, syn. Eugenia aromaticum or Eugenia caryophyllata) are the aromatic dried flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae. Cloves are native to Indonesia and used as a spice in cuisine all over the world. The name derives from French clou, a nail, as the buds vaguely resemble small irregular nails in shape. Cloves are …

Clematis — Clematis (from Ancient Greek klematis, a climbing plant, probably periwinkle) is a genus of mostly vigorous climbing lianas, with attractive flowers. Some species are shrubby, and some others are herbaceous perennial plants. They are found throughout the temperate regions of both hemispheres, and also in mountains in the tropics. The cool temperate species are deciduous, but many of …

Cineraria — Cineraria is now generally treated as a genus of about 50 species of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, native to southern Africa. The genus includes herbaceous plants and small subshrubs. In the past, the genus was commonly viewed in a broader sense including a number of species from the Canary Islands and Madeira which are now transferred …

Chrysanthemum — Chrysanthemums are a genus (Chrysanthemum) of about 30 species of perennial flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, native to Asia and northeastern Europe. The genus once included many more species, but was split several decades ago into several genera; the naming of the genera has been contentious, but a ruling of the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature in …

Chive — Chives (Allium schoenoprasum) are the smallest species of the onion family Alliaceae, native to Europe, Asia and North America. They are referred to only in the plural, because they grow in clumps rather than as individual plants. Allium schoenoprasum is also the only species of Allium native to both the New and the Old World. Its species name …

Chinquapin — Chinquapins are shrubs and trees of the CHESTNUT genus Castanea. They differ from the CHESTNUT tree in their hairy leaves and smaller, single-seeded burrs. Wood from the common, or Allegheny, chinquapin, Castanea pumila, a small tree of the eastern and southern United States, is used for posts. Evergreen chinquapins, Castanopsis, grow mainly in eastern Asia, except for two …

Black-Eyed Susan Vine — Thunbergia alata, commonly called Black-eyed Susan vine, is a herbaceous perennial climbing plant species in the Acanthaceae family. It is native to Eastern Africa, and has been naturalized in other parts of the world. It is found in Cerrado vegetation of Brazil and Hawaii, along with eastern Australia and the southern USA in the states of …

Chicory — Chicory is the common name given to the flowering plants in genus Cichorium of the family Asteraceae. There are two cultivated species, and four to six wild species. Common chicory (Cichorium intybus) is a bushy perennial herb with blue or lavender flowers. Originating from Europe, it was naturalized in North America, where it has become a common roadside …

Chestnut — Chestnut (Castanea), including chinkapin, is a genus of eight or nine species of deciduous trees and shrubs in the beech family Fagaceae, native to warm temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. Most of the species are large trees growing to 20-40 m tall, but some species (the chinkapins) …

Chick-Pea — The chickpea, chick pea, garbanzo bean, Indian pea, ceci bean, bengal gram, hummus, kadale kaalu (Kannada), sanaga pappu (Telugu), chana or channa (Cicer arietinum) is an edible legume (English “pulse”) of the family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae. The garbanzo is often used as a source of protein by vegetarians and vegans since it has one of the highest protein …