Teasel — Dipsacus is a genus of flowering plant in the family Dipsacaceae. The members of this genus are known as teasel or teazel or teazle. The genus includes about 15 species of tall herbaceous biennial plants (rarely short-lived perennial plants) growing to 1-2.5 m tall, native to Europe, Asia and northern Africa. The genus name is derived from the …

Tansy — Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare) is a perennial herbaceous flowering plant of the aster family that is native to temperate Europe and Asia. It has been introduced to other parts of the world and in some cases has become invasive. It is also known as Common Tansy, Bitter Buttons, Cow Bitter, Mugwort, or Golden Buttons. Tansy is a flowering herb …

Rose, Miniature — All of the classes of Old Garden Roses — gallicas, centifolias, etc. — had corresponding miniature forms, although these were once-flowering just as their larger forms were. As with the standard-sized varieties, miniature Old Garden roses were crossed with repeat-blooming Asian species to produce everblooming miniature roses. Today, miniature roses are represented by twiggy, repeat-flowering shrubs ranging …

Saffron — Saffron (Saffron Crocus), the common name for Crocus sativus of the IRIS family, Iridaceae, is a perennial fall-flowering plant. Its stigmas are a source of a yellow dye and a food flavoring. Native to Anatolia, saffron provided both a perfume and a yellow dye for the ancient world. Used today as a spice, it imparts a slightly bitter …

Sternbergia — Sternbergia is a genus in Amaryllidaceae of around 10 species that show a broad distribution throughout Mediterranean Europe and Asia, and was first described by Clusius in 1601 as Narcissus, before being redescribed by Linnaeus as Amaryllis in 1753. The plant referred to by both these descriptions is now recognised as being Sternbergia lutea, which was described by …

Senna — Senna (from Arabic sana), the sennas, is a large genus of around 250 species of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae, subfamily Caesalpinioideae. This diverse genus is native throughout the tropics, with a small number of species reaching into temperate regions. Almost all species were at one time or another placed in Cassia, a close relative which until …

Saint-John’s-Wort — St John’s wort used alone refers to the species Hypericum perforatum, also known as Tipton’s Weed or Klamath weed, but, with qualifiers, is used to refer to any species of the genus Hypericum. Therefore, H. perforatum is sometimes called Common St John’s wort to differentiate it. The species of Hypericum have been placed by some in the family …

Pokeweed — The pokeweeds, also known as poke, pokebush, pokeberry, pokeroot, polk salad, polk sallet, inkberry or ombú, comprise the genus Phytolacca, perennial plants native to North America, South America, East Asia and New Zealand. Pokeweed contains phytolaccatoxin and phytolaccigenin, which are poisonous to mammals. However, the berries are eaten by birds, which are not affected by the toxin because …

Poison Hemlock — Conium is a genus of two species of perennial herbaceous flowering plants in the family Apiaceae, native to Europe and the Mediterranean region (C. maculatum), and to southern Africa (C. chaerophylloides). By far the most familiar species is Conium maculatum (Hemlock or Poison Hemlock), the most common of several species of hemlock noted for their toxicity. It …

Peony — The peony or paeony (Paeonia) is the sole genus in the flowering plant family Paeoniaceae. They are native to Asia, southern Europe and western North America. Most are herbaceous perennial plants 0.5–1.5 metres tall, but some are woody shrubs up to 1.5–3 metres tall. They have compound, deeply lobed leaves, and large, often fragrant flowers, ranging from red …