Sheepberry | Viburnum lentago
Sheepberry is a small to medium sized deciduous tree with edible and medicinal uses. It grows to 9m (30ft) by 5m (16ft) with a short trunk up to 25cm (10″) in diameter. It is one of the largest of the…
Trevor Pemberton
Sweet Violet | Viola odorata
A hardy herbaceous flowering perennial with excellent edible and medicinal uses. Young leaves and flower buds are eaten raw or cooked. Usually available all through the winter. The leaves have a very mild flavour, though they soon become quite tough…
Valentine’s Plants | Peonies
A gorgeous plant in the garden but do you know they also have medicinal and edible uses? A lovely Valentine’s plant, peony flowers are reported to have a number of meanings including prosperity, romance, compassion, and bashfulness. In Greek myth…
Tropical | Bael Tree | Aegle marmelos
Aegle marmelos – Bael Tree, Golden Apple or Bengal Quince – is a mid-size, slow-growing deciduous tree native to India growing up to 18m in the right conditions. The fruits, leaves, twigs and root of the Bael tree are used…
Valentine’s Plants | Alstroemeria Lilies
Alstroemeria lilies, native to South America, are suitable for cut flowers. Often given on Valentine’s Day they have long lasting attractive flowers that represent friendship and devotion. Commonly called the Peruvian lily or lily of the Incas, the root can…
Reseda luteola and The Arnolfini Portrait by Jan van eyck
We watched a fascinating TV programme recently where a team of historical costume makers were tasked with making a high status gown as shown in a 15th century painting by Jan Van Eyck called the Arnolfini portrait . They used material…
Using the Plant Database Search
Plants For A Future have an excellent search tool to help you find plants for your project out of the 7700 available in the database. The Search tool can now be found on the homepage at pfaf.org. Search techniques includes:…
OneZoom Tree of Life
OneZoom is committed to heightening awareness about the diversity of life on earth and its evolutionary history. Here you can explore the tree of life in a new way: it’s like a map, everything is on one page, all you…
Siberian Pea Tree | Caragana arborescens
The Siberian Pea Tree – a species of legume – is a very easily grown deciduous shrub/small tree growing to 6m (20ft) by 4m (15ft) at a fast rate and yielding a good crop of edible seeds. Leaves are alternate…
Baobab, Judas Fruit | Adansonia digitata
Adansonia digitata are large deciduous trees with a large thick trunk (possibly the thickest in the world) that is thick-boled (bottle-shaped) reaching a diameter of 10-14 m (33-46 ft). The common name baobab is derived from Arabic meaning “father of…