Please read: A personal appeal from Chris Marsh, Treasurer and Trustee of Plants For A Future. more
Search Page Content
   Bookmark and Share

      You can download this page as a PDF    

    By donating to PFAF, you can help support and expand our activities

Plant Uses
 Edible
 Medicinal
 Other uses
 Top 20 Plants
 Successful Plants
 Woodland Gardening
 Vegan Organics
 Perennial Plants
 Top Edible Plants
 Top Medicinal Plants
 Garden Design
 PFAF Page Search
 Videos - Forest Gardening
 PFAF News
 Habitat
Plant Uses / Top 20 Plants

Some plants are so good they deserve an article all to themselves. Here are some of our favorites:

  1. Allium SpeciesThe Perennial Onions (Español)
  2. Allium ursinum Wild Garlic (Español)
  3. Amelanchier Alnifolia Juneberries
  4. Apios Americana The American Groundnut
  5. Arbutus unedo The Strawberry Tree
  6. Asclepias species The Milkweeds
  7. Caragana Aborescens The Siberian Pea Tree
  8. Cornus Kousa Japanese Dogwood
  9. Crataegus Species The Hawthorns
  10. Dioscorea batatas The Hardy Yam
  11. Elaeagnus x ebbingei A Plant for all Reasons
  12. Ginkgo biloba The Maidenhair Tree
  13. Hemerocallis Species The Daylilies
  14. Hippophae salicifolia Willow-leaved Sea Buckthorn
  15. Malva Moschata Musk Mallow - Great for Salads
  16. Oxalis deppei Iron Cross Plant
  17. Sassafras Albidum
  18. Viola Odorata Sweet Violet

Top Rated Plants For Edibility

The 143 plants we consider the best for edibility.

Actinidia arguta  Tara Vine
Actinidia deliciosa  Kiwi Fruit
Agastache foeniculum  Anise Hyssop
Allium ampeloprasum  Wild Leek
Allium canadense mobilense  Canadian Garlic
Allium cepa  Onion
Allium cepa ascalonicum  Shallot
Allium cepa proliferum  Tree Onion
Allium cernuum  Nodding Onion
Allium fistulosum  Welsh Onion
Allium neapolitanum  Daffodil Garlic
Allium paradoxum  Few-Flowered Leek
Allium sativum  Garlic
Allium sativum ophioscorodon  Serpent Garlic
Allium schoenoprasum  Chives
Allium schoenoprasum sibiricum  Giant Chives
Allium triquetrum  Three-Cornered Leek
Allium tuberosum  Garlic Chives
Allium ursinum  Wild Garlic
Althaea officinalis  Marsh Mallow
Amelanchier alnifolia  Saskatoon
Amelanchier alnifolia semiintegrifolia  Pacific Serviceberry
Amelanchier confusa 
Amelanchier laevis  Allegheny Shadberry
Amelanchier lamarckii  Apple Serviceberry
Amelanchier stolonifera  Quebec Berry
Amelanchier x grandiflora 
Amphicarpaea bracteata  Hog Peanut
Amphicarpaea pitcheri  Hog Peanut
Apios americana  Ground Nut
Apios fortunei 
Apios priceana 
Araucaria araucana  Monkey Puzzle Tree
Atriplex halimus  Sea Orach
Brassica oleracea italica  Broccoli
Camassia quamash  Quamash
Campanula versicolor 
Caragana arborescens  Siberian Pea Tree
Castanea sativa  Sweet Chestnut
Cephalotaxus fortunei  Chinese Plum Yew
Cephalotaxus harringtonia  Japanese Plum Yew
Cephalotaxus harringtonia drupacea  Japanese Plum Yew
Cephalotaxus harringtonia koreana  Korean Plum Yew
Cephalotaxus harringtonia nana  Japanese Plum Yew
Cornus kousa  Japanese Dogwood
Cornus kousa chinensis  Japanese Dogwood
Corylus avellana  Hazel
Corylus maxima  Filbert
Crataegus arnoldiana 
Crataegus ellwangeriana 
Crataegus festiva 
Crataegus missouriensis 
Crataegus pedicellata  Scarlet Haw
Crataegus pensylvanica 
Crataegus schraderiana 
Crataegus tanacetifolia  Tansy-Leaved Thorn
Cucurbita maxima  Winter Squash
Cucurbita moschata  Squash
Daucus carota sativus  Carrot
Dioscorea batatas  Chinese Yam
Diospyros lotus  Date Plum
Diospyros virginiana  American Persimmon
Elaeagnus cordifolia 
Elaeagnus macrophylla 
Elaeagnus multiflora  Goumi
Elaeagnus multiflora ovata  Goumi
Elaeagnus pungens  Elaeagnus
Elaeagnus x ebbingei  Elaeagnus
Foeniculum vulgare  Fennel
Fragaria vesca 'Semperflorens'  Alpine Strawberry
Fragaria x ananassa  Strawberry
Gaultheria shallon  Shallon
Ginkgo biloba  Maidenhair Tree
Helianthus annuus  Sunflower
Hemerocallis fulva  Common Day Lily
Hemerocallis middendorffii 
Hemerocallis middendorffii esculenta 
Hippophae rhamnoides  Sea Buckthorn
Hippophae rhamnoides turkestanica  Sea Buckthorn
Hippophae salicifolia  Willow-Leaved Sea Buckthorn
Hippophae sinensis  Chinese Sea Buckthorn
Ipomoea batatas  Sweet Potato
Lathyrus tuberosus  Earthnut Pea
Lepidium meyenii  Maca
Lupinus mutabilis  Pearl Lupin
Malus domestica  Apple
Malva alcea 
Malva moschata  Musk Mallow
Malva verticillata  Chinese Mallow
Morus nigra  Black Mulberry
Oxalis tuberosa  Oca
Perideridia gairdneri  Yampa
Phragmites australis  Common Reed
Phyllostachys aurea  Golden Bamboo
Phyllostachys nidularia  Big-Node Bamboo
Physalis peruviana  Goldenberry
Prunus domestica  Plum
Prunus insititia  Damson
Prunus persica  Peach
Psoralea esculenta  Breadroot
Pyrus communis sativa  Pear
Quercus ilex  Holly Oak
Quercus ilex ballota  Holm Oak
Reichardia picroides  French Scorzonera
Ribes nigrum  Blackcurrant
Ribes uva-crispa  Gooseberry
Ribes x culverwellii  Jostaberry
Rosa rugosa  Ramanas Rose
Rubus fruticosus  Blackberry
Rubus idaeus  Raspberry
Rubus laciniatus  Oregon Cut-Leaf Blackberry
Rubus loganobaccus  Loganberry
Rubus nepalensis  Nepalese Raspberry
Rubus phoenicolasius  Japanese Wineberry
Rubus procerus  Himalayan Giant Blackberry
Rumex acetosa  Sorrel
Sagittaria latifolia  Duck Potato, Broadleaf Arrowhead
Sagittaria sagittifolia  Arrow Head, Hawaii arrowhead
Sassafras albidum  Sassafras
Secale strictum  Mountain Rye
Secale strictum kuprijanovii 
Semiarundinaria fastuosa  Narihiradake
Solanum tuberosum  Potato
Sorbus domestica  Service Tree
Tilia cordata  Small Leaved Lime
Tilia platyphyllos  Large Leaved Lime
Tilia x europaea  Common Lime
Torreya nucifera  Kaya
Typha angustifolia  Small Reed Mace
Typha latifolia  Reedmace
Ugni molinae  Uñi
Urtica dioica  Stinging Nettle
Viola odorata  Sweet Violet
Vitis vinifera  Grape
Zizania aquatica  Wild Rice

Top Rated Plants For Medicinal Uses

The 54 plants we consider have the best medicinal properties.

Abies balsamea  Balsam Fir Allium sativum  Garlic
Allium sativum ophioscorodon  Serpent Garlic Aloe vera  Aloe Vera
Althaea officinalis  Marsh Mallow Ammi visnaga  Visnaga. Khella. Bishop's Weed
Angelica sinensis  Dang Gui - Dong Quai - Chinese Angelica Arctium lappa  Great Burdock, Gobo
Arctium minus  Lesser Burdock Asparagus racemosus  Shatavari
Astragalus membranaceus  Huang Qi Calendula officinalis  Pot Marigold
Centella asiatica  Gotu Kola Chamaemelum nobile  Chamomile
Citrus limon  Lemon Citrus x meyeri  Lemon
Crataegus laevigata  Midland Hawthorn Crataegus monogyna  Hawthorn
Cynara cardunculus  Cardoon Cynara scolymus  Globe Artichoke
Dioscorea batatas  Chinese Yam Echinacea angustifolia  Echinacea
Echinacea pallida  Cone Flower Echinacea purpurea  Echinacea
Eleutherococcus senticosus  Siberian Ginseng Gentiana lutea  Yellow Gentian
Ginkgo biloba  Maidenhair Tree Gynostemma pentaphyllum  Sweet Tea Vine
Hamamelis virginiana  Witch Hazel Hippophae rhamnoides  Sea Buckthorn
Hippophae rhamnoides turkestanica  Sea Buckthorn Humulus lupulus  Hop
Matricaria recutita  German Camomile Melaleuca alternifolia  Tea Tree
Melissa officinalis  Lemon Balm Mentha x piperita officinalis  White Peppermint
Mentha x piperita vulgaris  Black Peppermint Oenothera biennis  Evening Primrose, Sun Drop
Panax ginseng  Ginseng Panax pseudoginseng notoginseng  San Qi
Pueraria montana lobata  Kudzu Vine Rheum palmatum  Turkey Rhubarb, Chinese Rhubarb - Da Huang
Rheum palmatum tanguticum  Da Huang Salvia officinalis  Sage
Schisandra chinensis  Wu Wei Zi Schisandra sphenanthera 
Silybum marianum  Milk Thistle Symphytum officinale  Comfrey
Symphytum uplandicum  Comfrey Tanacetum parthenium  Feverfew
Trigonella foenum-graecum  Fenugreek Ulmus rubra  Slippery Elm
Urtica dioica  Stinging Nettle Vitex agnus-castus  Agnus Castus

Most common plant look-ups

These are the 50 most common plants that people have looked up. (Numbers in brackets are number of lookups)
 
 

All the information contained in these pages is Copyright (C) Plants For A Future, 1996-2012.
Plants For A Future is a charitable company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales. Charity No. 1057719, Company No. 3204567,
Web Design & Management
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. Some information cannot be used for commercial reasons or be modified (but some can). Please view the copyright link for more information.