Plants & Trees Encyclopedia

Watermelon — Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum & Nakai, family Cucurbitaceae) refers to both fruit and plant of a vine-like (climber and trailer) herb originally from southern Africa and one of the most common types of melon. This flowering plant produces a special type of fruit known by botanists as a pepo, which has a thick rind (exocarp) and fleshy …

Water Lilly — Nymphaeaceae is the botanical name of a family of flowering plants. The family is also called the water lily family. The white water lily is the national flower of Bangladesh. It is also the birth flower for July. Water lilies are rooted in soil in bodies of water, with leaves and flowers floating on the water surface. …

Water Hyacinth — The seven species of water hyacinths comprise the genus Eichhornia of free-floating perennial aquatic plants native to tropical South America. With broad, thick and glossy ovate leaves, water hyacinths may rise some 1 metre in height. The leaves are 10-20 cm across, supported above the water surface by long, spongy and bulbous stalks. The feathery, freely hanging …

Walnut, English — Juglans regia (the Common walnut, Persian walnut, or English walnut), is the original walnut tree of the Old World. It is native in a region stretching from the Balkans eastward to the Himalayas and southwest China. The largest forests are in Kyrgyzstan, where trees occur in extensive, nearly pure walnut forests at 1,000–2,000 m altitude (Hemery 1998)—notably …

Walnut, Black — Juglans nigra, commonly known as black walnut or American walnut, is a tree species native to eastern North America. It grows mostly alongside rivers, from southern Ontario, Canada west to southeast South Dakota, south to Georgia, northern Florida and southwest to central Texas. It is a large deciduous tree attaining heights of 30–40 meters(100–130 feet). Under forest …

Violet — Viola, commonly called Violets, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Violaceae, with around 400-500 species distributed around the world. Most species are found in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, however viola species are also found in widely divergent areas such as Hawaii, Australasia, and the Andes in South America.Many violas are also found in Texas. Most …

Viburnum — Viburnum (Viburnum) is a genus of about 150-175 species of shrubs or (in a few species) small trees that were previously included in the family Caprifoliaceae. Genetic tests by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group showed however that they are correctly classified in the family Adoxaceae. They are native throughout the temperate Northern Hemisphere, with a few species extending into …

Vanilla — Vanilla is a flavouring derived from orchids in the genus Vanilla native to Mexico. The name came from the Spanish word “vainilla,” meaning “little pod.” Vanilla is valued for its sweet flavor and scent and is widely used in the preparation of desserts and perfumes. Today, the majority of the world’s vanilla is produced in a small region …

Turnip — The turnip (Brassica rapa var. rapa) is a root vegetable commonly grown in temperate climates worldwide for its white, bulbous taproot. Small, tender, varieties are grown for human consumption, while larger varieties are grown as feed for livestock. The most common type of turnip is mostly white-skinned apart from the upper 1–6 centimeters, which protrude above the ground …

Turmeric — Turmeric (Curcuma longa) is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial plant of the ginger family, Zingiberaceae which is native to tropical South Asia. It needs temperatures between 20 and 30 deg. C. and a considerable amount of annual rainfall to thrive. Plants are gathered annually for their rhizomes, and re-seeded from some of those rhizomes in the following season. It …