Narcissus — 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 …

Mullein — The Mulleins (Verbascum) are a genus of about 250 species of flowering plants in the figwort family (Scrophulariaceae). They are native to Europe and Asia, with the highest species diversity in the Mediterranean region. They are biennial or perennial plants, rarely annuals or subshrubs, growing to 0.5-3 m tall. The plants first form a dense rosette of leaves …

Lotus — Nelumbo is a genus of water flowers or water lilies commonly known as lotus . The word originates from the Sinhalese word Nelum. There are two species in the genus, one of which is the well-known National Flower of India. Taxonomists disagree as to exactly which family that the genus is in, with many saying that it is …

Rue — Rue (Ruta) is a genus of strongly scented evergreen subshrubs 20-60 cm tall, in the family Rutaceae, native to the Mediterranean region, Macronesia and southwest Asia. Different authors accept between 8-40 species in the genus. The most well-known species is the Common Rue. The leaves are bipinnate or tripinnate, with a feathery appearance, and green to strongly glaucous …

Ivy — Hedera (English name ivy, plural ivies) is a genus of 15 species of climbing or ground-creeping evergreen woody plants in the family Araliaceae, native to the Atlantic Islands, western, central and southern Europe, northwestern Africa and across central-southern Asia east to Japan. On suitable surfaces (trees and rock faces), they are able to climb to at least 25–30 …

Iris — Iris is a genus of between 200-300 species of flowering plants with showy flowers which takes its name from the Greek word for a rainbow, referring to the wide variety of flower colors found among the many species. As well as being the scientific name, iris is also very widely used as a common name and refers to …

Hydrangea — Hydrangea (common names Hydrangea and Hortensia) is a genus of about 70-75 species of flowering plants native to southern and eastern Asia (from Japan to China, the Himalaya and Indonesia) and North and South America. The flowers are extremely common in the Azores Islands of Portugal, particularly on Faial Island, which is known as the “blue island” due …

Honeysuckle — Honeysuckles are arching shrubs or twining vines in the family Caprifoliaceae, native to the Northern Hemisphere. There are about 180 species of honeysuckle, with by far the greatest diversity in China, where over 100 species occur; by comparison, Europe and North America have only about 20 native species each. Widely known species include Lonicera periclymenum (European Honeysuckle or …

Hollyhock — The hollyhocks comprise about 60 species of flowering plants in the genus Alcea in the mallow family Malvaceae, native to southwest and central Asia. They are biennial or short-lived perennial plants growing to 3.5 m tall, with broad, rounded, palmately lobed leaves and numerous flowers, pink or yellow in the wild species, on the erect central stem. Alcea …

Heather — 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 …