Dutchman’s-Pipe — Aristolochia is a large plant genus with over 500 species. Collectively known as birthworts, pipevines or Dutchman’s pipes, they are the namesake of the family (Aristolochiaceae). They are widespread and occur in the most diverse climates, but they are not native to Australia. Some species, like A. utriformis and A. westlandii, are threatened with extinction. This is a …

Douglas Fir — Douglas-fir is the common name applied to coniferous trees of the genus Pseudotsuga in the family Pinaceae. There are five species, two in western North America, one in Mexico and two in eastern Asia. The Douglas-firs gave 19th century botanists problems due to their similarity to various other conifers better known at the time; they have at …

Dogwood — The Dogwoods comprise a group of 30-50 species of deciduous woody plants (shrubs and trees) in the family Cornaceae, divided into one to nine genera or subgenera (depending on botanical interpretation). Four subgenera are enumerated here. Most species have opposite leaves and a few have alternate. The fruit of all species is a drupe with one or two …

Dogbane — Apocynum is a genus with about seven species, commonly known as Dogbane and Indian Hemp. The genus occurs throughout most of the temperate Northern Hemisphere, except for being absent from western Europe. Apocynum species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Mouse Moth. Dogbane, Apocynum, or Indian hemp, is an herb of …

Deutzia — Deutzia is a genus of about 60 species of shrubs in the family Hydrangeaceae, native to eastern and central Asia (from the Himalaya east to Japan and the Philippines), and Central America and also Europe. By far the highest species diversity is in China, where 50 species occur. The species are shrubs ranging from 1-4 m in height. …

Dieffenbachia — Dieffenbachia is a genus of tropical plants in the Family Marantaceae noted for their patterned leaves. Members of this genus are popular as houseplants because of their tolerance to shade. The Dieffenbachia is often referred to as the “King of Plants”. The cells of the Dieffenbachia plant contain needle-shaped calcium oxalate crystals called raphides. If a leaf is …

Day Lily — Daylilies comprise the small genus Hemerocallis of flowering plants in the family Hemerocallidaceae. They are not true lilies which are Lilium in Liliaceae. Daylilies are not commonly used as cut flowers for formal flower arranging, yet they make good cut flowers otherwise as new flowers continue to open on cut stems over several days. Originally native from …

Daisy — The family Asteraceae or Compositae, known as the aster, daisy or sunflower family, is the second largest family of flowering plants, after Orchidaceae, in terms of number of species. The name ‘Asteraceae’ is derived from the type genus Aster, while ‘Compositae’, an older but still valid name, means composite and refers to the peculiar inflorescence. According to the …

Delphinium — Delphinium is a genus of about 250 species of annual, biennial or perennial flowering plants in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae, native throughout the Northern Hemisphere and also on the high mountains of tropical Africa. The common name, shared with the closely related genus Consolida, is Larkspur. The leaves are deeply lobed with 3-7 toothed, pointed lobes. The main …

Daffodil — Narcissus is the botanic name for a genus of mainly hardy, mostly spring-flowering, bulbs in the Amaryllis family native to Europe, North Africa, and Asia. There are also several Narcissus species that bloom in the autumn. Though Hortus Third cites 26 wild species, Daffodils for North American Gardens cites between 50 and 100 excluding species variants and wild …