Plants

Lilly pilly is one of the most widely planted native plants in Australia, a glossy-leaved evergreen that turns up as a clipped suburban hedge, a towering rainforest giant, and, increasingly, a genuine ingredient on restaurant menus, all under the same common name. Depending on the species, a lilly pilly might reach 30 meters tall in … Read more

With well over 1,000 wattle species native to Australia, no single list could cover them all, but a relatively small number of species account for most of what people actually encounter, whether that’s a golden roadside shrub in spring, a tannin-producing plantation tree, or a gnarled survivor scattered across the red desert interior. The species … Read more

The Moreton Bay fig tree is a massive evergreen native to eastern Australia, instantly recognizable by the huge, wall-like buttress roots that fan out from its trunk like frozen ripples. In the wild it begins life as a strangler fig, germinating high in the canopy of another tree before its roots ever touch soil, yet … Read more

Golden Penda: A Complete Guide to This Australian Native Tree Golden Penda is a rainforest tree from the far north of Queensland, Australia, prized for flower clusters so densely golden that a mature specimen in full bloom can look like it’s been dipped in paint. It’s become one of the most widely planted ornamental trees … Read more

Colorado blue spruce is one of the most recognizable evergreens in North America, a stiff, symmetrical conifer whose silvery-blue needles make it a fixture of yards, parks, and holiday displays from coast to coast. It is also the official state tree of Colorado, and it began life as a tree of high, cool, dry mountain … Read more

Lodgepole pine is one of the most widely distributed pines in western North America, a tough, fast-growing conifer that has learned to turn wildfire into a planting program. Its cones can stay sealed with resin for decades, and they open only when heat melts the seal, which is why lodgepole forests so often rise from … Read more

The catalpa tree is a group of deciduous flowering trees known for huge heart-shaped leaves, showy trumpet-like flowers, and long bean-like seed pods. Botanical authorities such as Kew accept 8 species, spread across 3 regions: the central and eastern United States, the Caribbean, and China. Only 2 species are native to North America, and each … Read more

Catalpa Tree (Catalpa spp.): The Tree That Grows Its Own Fishing Bait The catalpa tree is one of the easiest trees in North America to recognize and one of the hardest to ignore, with heart-shaped leaves as big as dinner plates, showy trumpet-like flowers in early summer, and long bean-like pods that hang from the … Read more

Sitka Spruce: The Giant of the Pacific Coast Sitka spruce is the largest spruce in the world, a towering rain forest conifer that grows in a narrow band along the Pacific coast from northern California to southern Alaska, where it is the official state tree. Trees have been measured at more than 300 feet tall, … Read more

The pecan tree is the largest of the hickories and the only major nut crop native to North America, growing wild in the Mississippi River floodplain and in the river bottomlands of Texas and northern Mexico. It thrives in the long, hot summers and moderately cool winters of that region, and its name comes from … Read more