Trees/flowers/herbs/plants list enlarged Feb.2017
Insomnias can be health issues in and of themselves (American Academy of Sleep Medicine pdf) or part of a continuum whose extreme end is socioeconomics —nowhere safe to sleep, longer daily struggles than leave enough hours for sleep, etc.— that only humanist society can remedy.
Midway on the continuum are all the ordinary life demands and dysfunctions, sicknesses/injuries with sleep-wrecking pain and other sensory hell, medical treatments with iatrogenic impact (adverse effects) or that do the opposite of what they should (paradoxical effects), and all the griefs, anxieties, soul-deep angers, and daily troubles large and small that keep us awake worrying, rehearsing in our minds how to handle them tomorrow, and impelling us to get out of bed and try to solve them right now!
And the many side-trackers that prevent even going to bed timely. It's no wonder sleep deprivation is often an article topic in in newsstand magazines and medical journals: a lot of people are short on sleep and searching how to solve that.
Including me, since childhood, from many causes. Years later, in desperate circumstances, before I knew much about drug risks, I accepted my then-doctor's prescriptions that he said would help everything by getting me good sleep so I'd heal up fine. For some people, that works. Rx and OTC (over-the-counter) meds that induce sleep, and meds with a somnolence side-effect (e.g., most antihistamines, some of them sold as sleep aids, many pain Rxs) are among the most purchased in the U.S.
But scientific consensus finds a tremendous range of them causing harm, not least: long-term cognitive impairment. For many reasons, more and more folks seek alternatives to drugs, again including me because that desperate time Rxs the doctor changed every week or two ended me up wrecked worse and cost me the career I had poured every resource into for three decades. Turned out there was worse ahead, a common result but not the point here, which is: WHAT ARE THE OPTIONS OTHER THAN DRUGS?
The historical remedy is vigorous physical exertion, which I stumbled into around age eight, and that helped for years. But in my twenties, as job and family demands and health issues grew, there just weren't enough hours in the day for enough physicality. I turned to a central theme in alternative/complementary medicine and physical therapy, stress-reduction techniques, that help sleep by decreasing tension physically (e.g., progressive muscle relaxation) and mentally. These days collectively called "mindfulness", they draw extensively upon eastern disciplines popularized in the west in the 1960's through '80's (interesting discussions in Benson & Klipper's Beyond the Relaxation Response ). BUT NOT ALL OF US HAVE THE RESOURCES THAT STUDYING AND PRACTICE OF THOSE DISCIPLINES REQUIRE Classes and training take time, money, travel, and energy many sleep-deprived people can't spare from more basic life necessities. Happily, some simpler, easier methods do exist that can help - read on about one of them.
Back in the early 1980s, the mother of a dangerously ill baby told me her counselor taught her an alphabetical trees-flowers-etc way to get to sleep so she'd keep healthy enough to do everything her child needed of her. (On a happy note, mother and child did fine - they're now grandmother and mother plus children/g'children.) But it didn't help me at all the first weeks I tried it, and I was ready to consider it just another bust.
THEN I SAW 'TREES-FLOWERS' WORK FOR SOMEONE RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME...
A friend was in intensive care (ICU) after emergency surgery a few days before, and her family was extremely worried - she wasn't sleeping despite all the meds the hospital was giving her. I brought a steno pad and pencil, because they said she “couldn’t communicate” because of tubes up her nose, down her throat, in her arm, and et cetera. When I showed her the pencil and pad and asked if she'd like to chat by writing, she motioned for me to put the pencil in her hand and the pad under it, and she wrote YES. I asked if she needed anything from the nurse or anyone else, and she wrote NO. I asked had she really not slept since she came out of surgery. She wrote, CANT. SCARED. I said friends had taught me a sort of game that can help with sleep - would she like to try it? She tapped on the pad where she'd written YES.
So, I said how it works is, we just think of a name of a tree or flower for each letter of the alphabet. Doesn't matter if we don't know what the tree or flower looks like or anything else about it. Could just be one we’d heard of. If we can't think of a tree or flower for the letter we're at, we go on to the next, no big deal.
She wrote, OK. So I began, "For 'A' I'm thinking...aspen. For 'B' you could think of..." She wrote, BEGONIA. I said, "for 'C' I could think of..." and found I was stuck. My friend grinned around the tubes and wrote in big letters on the pad, CEDAR.
"I sure went blank there, didn't I?" I said. "So I guess I still have to come up with something. Okay, for 'D' I'm thinking...daisy."
She didn't write anything for "E" — the pencil drooped from her hand and her eyes shut.
I ran for the nurse. The nurse came running. I couldn't breathe. "Don't faint, she's fine," the nurse said after about a million years. "All the vitals are good, she's just asleep. Finally. What did you do? We couldn't get her to sleep." I pointed at the steno pad and explained, once I got my breath back. "Interesting," the nurse said. "I might try that myself."
COINCIDENCE? My friend was out of ICU a few days later, home from the hospital not long after, and soon back at work. Recuperation needs good sleep, so I thought this might not be pure coincidence, and it encouraged me to stick with the trees-flowers thing myself.
At first, I was finishing it and starting over at "A" more times a night than I could keep track of. That's how the baby's mother had said it's done: no need to keep track or fret over it. She also said no need for concern about missing letters. To be that unconcerned, I needed a list to glance at before turning out the light. So, I borrowed a gardener friend's seed catalogs for names (Wikipedia didn't exist back then, and our main public library had no botany encyclopedias). Most fruits, vegetables and herbs have flowers and are easy to remember, so that grew the list nicely, and I could settle in to relinquish expecting anything of my list except thinking of it every night after lights-out, one letter at a time.
Gradually I noticed it often didn't seem to take hours to fall asleep the way it had for years. Slowly, it took less and less.
These days, I'm often asleep before I get far in the list at all. Does that make it surefire? Nah, nothing as forceful as that. And it doesn't do much for my circadian dysrhythmia or nightmares or other sleep problems. In a pleasant, secure life, it might be perfect, but a lot of us don't have a life like that; and in mine, anything that sometimes helps (not to mention mostly!) without adverse effects is beyond price.
I don't care that it doesn't KEEP me asleep, either, because every time I wake during the night, it usually helps me fall asleep again pretty soon instead of staring into darkness for hours.
The time I first heard of the trees-flowers method was in my working research-librarian years, yet oddly neither then nor anytime since —editing a community health organization newsletter, back in grad school, reading medical journals online— have I found identifiable mention of it ... only some insights into how/why methods like this may work.
Skip past this paragraph if you feel like how/why might distract you - you know yourself best. If any healthcare professionals reading this can add information, please title comments "How This Works" or similar, so readers who want to try the list innocently can skip that for now too. This kind of technique seems to simply engage the mind just enough to displace racing repetitive thoughts, impulse ideas, compulsive frets, even moderate levels of physical distress, by substituting a neutral, mildly pleasant, little mental task of zero significance. Significant thought and even physical discomfort require focus, and —as we now know of"multi-tasking"— the human mind doesn't actually fix well on more than one focus at a time but it does switch great amongst multiples, one to the next to the next, skimming along. Trees-flowers involves just enough skim-level switching to occupy the mind, and the insignificance then encourages calmness and quiet in.
It’s insignificant because ABSOLUTELY NOTHING HINGES ON ANY PARTICULAR OUTCOME. THERE’S NO WIN OR LOSE, NOTHING TO ACHIEVE, AND NOTHING TO FRET OVER. The doing is all there is. Whatever way is easiest —be it one tree or flower name per letter, or a whole bunch — that's fine. If any particular way is uncomfortable somehow, let your mind noodle around and adapt it comfortably.
After a few years, in my case, multiple names for each letter come comfortably to mind, so bother choosing just one? Someone else might find it easiest to group by two or three per letter, or just see all that come rather than put any limits on any one letter. When the letter finishes itself, it’s naturally done, right?
THIS ISN'T A DISCIPLINE LIKE MANTRA YOGA/MEDITATION. It's not an exercise with rules of practice as mindfulness techniques often are, or anything that might sort of HOLD ONTO each tree and flower or group of’em. It’s really the opposite — it lets go of every one that comes along, just gives it away, freely.
So, give yourself latitude to mess up alphabetical sequence, be vaguely amused or indifferent with a letter that brings no tree or flower to mind, or remember it somewhere else in the alphabet. Let yourself off the hook even about whether falling asleep happens or not. If you drift into fretting over anything, or re-awaken after dozing off or actually sleeping, shrug mentally because it doesn't matter, it's simple to just pick up again wherever in the alphabet makes sense to you in that moment, or anywhere whim suggests.
BELOW IS AN ALPHABETICAL LIST OF TREES AND FLOWERS. One way to make use of it is print it out to have handy. Or bookmark it here. Or email a copy to someone else interested in this and cc to yourself. There's space to write more in that you may hear about if you like.(And you can always cross out any you don't.
No need to actually memorize. Most people unconscioulsy learn new things by a combination of sensory inputs, so looking at them to read the names, speaking them out loud if you feel like it, and hearing yourself speak them, is three inputs right there. Handwriting or keyboarding — that’s physical/tactile, so that’s another input. You’ll probably find you already absorbed lots of them in daily life without noticing. If you want more from the list that’s below, skim anytime during the day or before bed (even on lunch-break) and combine inputs for any letters you think might come up empty. Yes, kind of like kindergarten ... when a lot of us slept a lot better than we do now.
THE THING TO NOT ADD ... IS RULES Rules are about measuring up, and competition, even if only with yourself. But competition boosts adrenalin, the last thing anyone needs in falling sleep. Why not let it be not even worth bothering to turn on the light to see the list if you come up empty for this or that letter — the light and motion would more likely waken you more, and chances are anyway that a name for that letter will float to mind later and be remembered if/when you start from "A" again.
And if not, it doesn't matter! Which is pretty great, itself.
Just because DK is a creative bunch, it's probably better to NOT add fictional plants — they could lead to thinking about the books and movies you got them from or invented them for - creativity can be more stimulating and wakening instead of less. Less is what this is all about.
By the way, the book most helpful to me was GETTING TO SLEEP by Ellen Mohr Catalano c1990, New Harbinger. Probably out of print, there may be a copy or two at betterworldbooks (mostly used) or others. Her best tip if electricity costs allow, is very cool temperature bedroom — as low as 60°F and enough covers to be comfortable, or save a.c. elec with 65° or 66 and floor fans dispersing the body-heat envelope. Okay, here's the list. Feel free.
AN ALPHABETICAL LIST OF TREES, FLOWERS,
ETC TO GLANCE AT BEFORE SLEEP
Acacia, Açaí palm, acanthus, achillea, aconite, ada, adonis, aeonium, afgekia, african daisy, african violet, agapanthus, agapetes, agave, agrimony, ailanthus, aiera, airfern, ajania, ajuga, alder, alfalfa, algae, allium, allspice, almond, aloe, alyssum, amanita, amaranth, amaryllis, anemone, angelica, anise, apple, apricot, arnica, arrowroot, artemesia, artichoke, arum, arugula, asclepias, ash, ashoka, asparagus, aspen, asphodel, aster, astragalus, avicennia, avocado, azalea,_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Basil blackeyed susan, blackberry, boysenberry, begonia, beech, baby's breath, buttercup, banana, butternut, butterfly-bush, bee-balm, bluebell, blueberry, blue-bonnet, bougainvillea, bunnytail, bittersweet, borage, broom, buckwheat, buckeye, bellflower, bachelor button, banana squash, breadfruit, butterbean, blackbean, broccoli, bracken, bottlebrush tree, black currant, bird of paradise, baobab, balsam, bay, bayberry, barberry, barley, boxwood, birch, burning-bush, burdock, black oak, blue spruce, bristlecone pine, bedstraw, bloodroot, bleedingheart, borage, belladonna, briar, bryony, begamot, _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Calla lily, cana lily, climbing rose, chrysanthemum, cornflower, chili pepper, carnation, cranberry, clover, cosmo, comfrey, clematis, chaparral, cherry, Carolina cherry, celosia, celery, caraway, currant, coral bell, cat-mint, catnip, crab-apple, cyclamen, cinquefoil, cottonwood, castor bean, cucumber, cantaloupe, coriander, cilantro, chamomile, collard, columbine, canary vine, cayenne, crocus, cauliflower, chervil, cumin, calendula, campanula, clove, clary sage, cinnamon, chive, crocus, cashew, carob, caper, cabbage-rose, candleberry, cranberry, crab apple, california poppy, cow parsley, cowslip, camassia, casava, cholla, carrot, carrotwood, cork oak, crookneck squash, coffee, cicely, cinchona, camphor, cypress, chicory, chickpea, chickweed, creeping charlie, charlock, cleavers, candyflower, claret cup, cardamom, coltsfoot, cohosh, costmary, candleberry, candlenut, _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Daisy dahlia, day-lily, ditch-lily, dogwood,dog-rose, dogbane, delphinium, daffodil, dianthus, dewberry, desert paintbrush, dusty miller, dandelion, dutch elm, dutchman's breeches, dutchman's pipe, drimia, deodar cedar, digger pine, dieffenbachia, davids maple, date palm, datura, douglas fir, dill, dracena, digitalis, dichondra, dewdrop, drooping sedge, dropwort, daikon, _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Eggplant, eidelweis, elm, elderberry, elderflower, elk sedge, elegance maple, easter lily, earlycall, evening primrose, everlasting, ebony, echeverria, echinacea, edgeworthia, elodee, erodium, erica, erinacea, emu bush, emmer, einkorn, enostemon, endive, engleman spruce, eastern white pine, english walnut, english yew, ephedra, eucalyptus, exacum _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Fir tree, forsythia, fuschia, freesia, four-o'clock, flower-of-an-hour, fennel, feather-flower, feverfew, flashplant, foxglove, foxtail grass, flax, flag, flame-grass, flame-tree, flame violet, forget-me-not, flamingo-feather, false hibiscus, fingerroot, fig, figwort, ficus, fescue, fortunella, frangipani, fritillary, fiddlehead fern, fiddlewood, firecracker flower, filbert, fairy bell, fleabane, frogbit, firethorn, field elm, flowering peach, flowering plum, fan palm, fenugreek, freekeh, fava bean, _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Greengage plum, garlic, garlic-chive, globeflower, gooseberry, gladiolus, grape, gailardia, gazania daisy, gerbera daisy, geranium, germander, gayfeather, gardenia, greenbean, gentian, goldenrod, gloriosa daisy, glory-of-the-snow, guinea-hen flower, gillyflower, guile-foyle, gillyfoil, guava, ground-nut, goober-pea, gorse, ginger lily, globe thistle, gum tree, gum arabic, gysophila, goldenseal, gingko, garbanzo, gotukola, grapefruit, grape ivy, golden oak, gourd, gama grass, ginseng, goat’s beard, guar, gabon nut, _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Hyacinth heather, henna, hemp, hydrangea, hymenoxys, hibiscus, hickory, hops, hoodia, honeysuckle, honeydew, hazel, helianthus, hollyhock, heuchera, hyssop, hedge-rose, heliopsis, heliotrope, hens-and-chicks, horsetail rush, hook sedge, hemlet orchid, hacksaw fern, hellebore, huckleberry, honey locust, henbane, hypericum, holly, hearts-ease, horse sugar, horse chestnut, horseradish, horehound, hornbeam, hemlock, hawkweed, hawthorn, huisache, haricot, _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Indigo, indianpipe, indian paintbrush, iris, ilex, illicium, ipomas, iphelon, imbu, impatiens, irish moss, ireland bell, ironwood, ironweed, ironbark, imperata, iberis, ivy-leaf toadflax, ice plant, irish yew, incense cedar, isatis, ivory palm, inula, indonesia bay laurel, italian alder, italian, cypress, italian stone pine, iriartea, inumaki, ixia, _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Jacaranda, jasmine, jessamine, johnny jump-up, jack bean, jack pine, jack-in-the-pulpit, jonquil, jade, jerusalem artichoke, jerusalem lily, jerusalem cherry, jerusalem thorn, jicama, jujubee, juniper, justicia, junegrass, jewel orchid, jacob's ladder, judean date palm, jarrah, joshua tree, japanese cedar, japanese pagoda tree, japanese gooseberry, jeffrey pine, jelecote pine, jatoba, jamaican dogwood, jester's shoe, Japanese Pink Saucer Magnolia._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Kumquat, kangaroo paw, kentucky coffee tree, kansas gayfeather, kidneybean, kale, kiwi, king palm, kingwood, kalanchoe, kalimaris, koeleria, kingcup, khat tree, kava, karuka, kurrajong, kanna, kaffir bread, kaffir date, kaffir plum, kaffir lime, key lime, knights-ease, knotweed, kaibab, koolibah, kohlrabi, kauri pine, king billy pine, kapok, kahikatea kawakami maple, katsura, kousa dogwood, kiawe, kakaw cacao, koseret, konjac, kratom, kola nut, kandmool, _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Lemon lemongrass, lemon verbena, lemonbalm, lemon thyme, lilac, liatris, lavender, leek, larkspur, lupin, lambs ear, lambs quarter, lily, lily of the valley, lime, lima bean, locust bean, lentil, lotus, lobelia, leilani, linaria, lysimachia, loquat, linden, laurel, ladyslipper, lady’s-bedstraw, lad’s-love, lodgepole pine, limber pine, loblolly pine, licorice, lovage, live oak, larch, lantana, loganberry, laburnum, _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Marshmallow morning glory, marionberry, marjoram, maudelin, mirabilis, moonflower, moonseed, mallow, marrow, meadow rue, moss rose, magnolia, mulberry, marguerite, mustard, madder rose, melon, mugwort, motherwort, meadowsweet, milleflore, millmoss, mignonette, mullein, mother-of-thyme, myrtle, mountain laurel, modesto ash, mandarin orange, maple, mango, mahogany, magnolia, mountain mint, mountain strawberry, milkweed, milk thistle, mace, mimosa, moringa, mesquite, _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Nopale narcissus, nasturtium, nicotiana, nightblooming jasmine, navy bean, napa cabbage, nemesia, nerine, nectarine, nicandra, nippon daisy, nolana, nutmeg, nutmeg yew, norfolk pine, norway maple, nepalese alder, netleaf hackberry, naboom, north american gooseberry, ngaio, neem, nigella, noni, _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Orchid orange, oregano, obedience, osaka cabbage, oxalis, oris-rose, onion, oysterberry, olive, olive moringa, oleander, oregon myrtle, oroya, oil palm, oticica, oolong, orach, opium poppy, oriental poppy, orrisroot, osage orange, osier, ouabayin, oxeye, olida, oroblanco, _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Poppy peony, portulaca, passiflora, primrose, persimmon, pinks, pansy, papaya, peach, plum, plantain, pear, phlox, poplar, petunia, pumpkin, pussywillow, pennyblack, pennyroyal, plantagenesta, pinto bean, pistachio, porcupine grass, pokeweed, paw paw, pampas grass, pampas plume, prince's plume, perovskia, pepper, pincushion, periwinkle, penstemon, potato, purple-robe, paperwhite, pineapple, pineapple sage, parsley, parsnip, prickly pear, pecan, peanut, poinciana, poinsettia, potentilla, paprika, perky sue, peppermint, pine, pinyon pine, privet, prunella, purslane, pomegranate, _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Quartz verbena queen-of-the-prairie, queen anne's lace, queen palm, quinaquine, quamash, quassia, quebracho, quercus, quick grass, quillwort, quailberry, quince, quaking aspen, quiver tree, queensland pitt, queensland bottle tree, quadwing silverbell, quinoa, Queensland grass-cloth, quisqualis, _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Redbud raspberry, rhododendron, rose, russian olive, russian sage, russian thistle, ranunculus, ramosa, rugosa, rue, rue anemone, rudbeckia, rosemary, redbean, red plume, radish, red fir, red oak, red osler, red pepper, red pine, redwood, rock rose, rambling rose, runner rose, runner bean, rowan, royal fern, rubbertree, rutabaga, rhubarb, russet potato, red clover, reed, rush, rice, rubber tree, ragwort, raffia, _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Safflower sunflower, starflower, star anise, strawberry, strawflower, snowpea, sweetpea, sugarpea, snap pea, snapdragon, snowdrop, squashblossom, summer squash, sumac, savory, salvia, statice, sage, saffron crocus, sandwort, soapwort, sassafras, sarsparilla, scarlet-flower, scarlet globemallow, sorrel, soybean, sorghum, stringbean, stevia, stock, shallot, shiso, shasta daisy, sweet-annie, sweet potato, sweet pepper, sweetgum, sweetbay, sweetflag, speedwell, spearmint, spikenard, sequoia, sesame, sedum, sugar maple, silver maple, silver birch, silvergrass, sequoia, scrub oak, sago palm, selfheal, salal, Siberian miner's lettuce, spring beauty, scilla, squill, spiderwort, salsify, St John’s wort, sawbush, saw palmetto, summer savory, shiitake, Scotch broom, _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Tangerine, tangelo, trillium, trumpetvine, tarragon, taro, thyme, thistle, tiger lily, trout lily, torenia, tomato, tomatillo, tea-rose, tea tree, teak, turkscap, trumpet lily, trumpet flower, tradescantia, trefoil, tulip, turban squash, tansy, tithonia, tarda, twisted myrtle, tuberose, turmeric, tulsi, tamarind, tamarisk, tamarack, turmeric, turnip, teasel, thrift, thimbleberry (a.k.a. "toilet-paper plant"), trailing blackberry, thatch palm, thundergod, thalassia, _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Ucua, ucuuba, ule, ugu, ulluco, ursinia, uebelmannia, ugni, ulex, umbellularia, uncinia, uniola, urginia, umbrella palm, umbrella magnolia, umckaloabo, unicorn plant, ukurundu maple, umbu, unedo strawberry tree, upland willow oak, upas, uvalha, utah serviceberry, underwood (heh, yes, that's a typewriter, you caught me.) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Viola, verbena, vinca, velvet plant, velvet ash, velvet leaf, velvet maple, velvet tamarind, verbascum, vetch, vetiver, vanilla, valerian, vanda, vermonia, vestia, viburnum, virgilia, vitex, vitaliana, veronica, venus flytrap, virginia pine, vine-leaf maple, vahls box, vervain, viola, violet, violet willow, varnishwood, veruca, vigna, vernonia, valley oak, voodoo lily_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Waxflower, wax myrtle, waterlily, water hyacinth, watercress, wintercress, wandering jew, wahoo (yes, really), weigela, wisteria, woodruff, whiteclip, white pine, white ash, whitebean, waxbean, weld, woad, winklerose, wheatgrass, wild cherry, wild rice, wafer-ash, wormwood, wild ginger, windflower, winged bean, widow's tears, whitlow grass, wood fern, wood rush, wallflower, walnut, witchhazel, wintergreen, white clover, wonderboom, whitebeam, willow, wakame, woolly thyme, wild cinnamon, winter cinnamon, weeping fig, weeping willow, wingleaf soapberry, wych elm, wineberry, wolfberry, western yew, wenge, wake-robin, wattleseed, wasabi, wandoo, _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Xigua xantha, xanthosoma, xylosma, xeranthemum, xanthoceras, xanthoparmelia scabrosa, xanthorhiza, xerophylum, (xerophyte? xylum? hmm...) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Yangmei,, yellowhorn, yellowroot, yellowood, yellow alder, yellow anise, yellow bells, yellow buckeye, yellowfever tree, yellow willow, yellow-skunk cabbage, yellow poplar, yellow pine, yellow elf, yellow elder, yellow bean, yew, yucca, yacon, yarrow, yaupon holly, yagrumo macho, yagrumo hembe, yatay pindo palm, yunnan box, yerba buena, yerba santa, youngberry, yam bean, yamroot, yam, york gum, _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Zinnia, zizania, zamia, zenobia, zebrawood, zea, zelkova, zigba, za baobab, zaragosa mangrove, zulu fig, ziziphus, zedoary, zigzag vine, zucchini, za’atar, zostera, zha cai, zingana, zanthoxylum,zigodenas, _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _