30 Plants That Start With L

1. Lavender

Common Name(s): Lavender
Scientific Name: Lavandula
Native to: The Old World

Lavender belongs to the same family as many well-known herbs, such as basil, mint, and oregano. It’s grown worldwide and valued for its pleasant scent, often being made into essential oils.

2. Larch

Common Name(s): Larch
Scientific Name: Larix lyallii
Native to: Temperate-cold zone of the Northern Hemisphere

These large deciduous conifers grow 65 to 100 feet (20 to 45 meters) tall and often dominate ridges across Canada and Siberia.

3. Lily

Common Name(s): Lily
Scientific Name: Lilium
Native to: Northern Hemisphere

Many flowers are named lilies but only those flowering plants of the genus “Lilium” are true lilies. They hold significance in many cultures, portraying a range of concepts including love, innocence, fertility, royalty, and death.

4. Lemon Grass

Common Name(s): Lemongrass, Barbed wire grass, Silky heads, Cochin grass, Malabar grass, Oily heads, Citronella grass, Fever grass
Scientific Name: Cymbopogon
Native to: Asia, Africa, and Australia

With a scent resembling lemons, this herb is commonly used in cooking, medicine, and essential oils.

5. Lovegrass

Common Name(s): Lovegrass, Canegrass
Scientific Name: Eragrostis
Native to: Worldwide

A large collection of widespread grasses, lovegrass is most commonly used as livestock fodder. It’s said the name comes from its tendency to catch on ladies' long skirts.

6. Leucothoe

Common Name(s): Leucothoe, Doghobble
Scientific Name: Leucothoe
Native to: Asia and the Americas

This popular garden flower grows well in shade, and turns from scarlet to bronze across the seasons.

7. Leatherleaf Fern

Common Name(s): Leatherleaf fern, Leather fern
Scientific Name: Rumohra adiantiformis
Native to: Tropical Southern Hemisphere

This ornamental dark green fern is cultivated both for floristry and groundcover.

8. Lettuce

Common Name(s): Lettuce
Scientific Name: Lactuca sativa
Native to: Egypt

Originally cultivated in Ancient Egypt, this hardy annual is part of the daisy family. It’s a rich source of vitamin K, vitamin A, and folate.

9. Lilac

Common Name(s): Lilac
Scientific Name: Syringa
Native to: Southeastern Europe

Often used to symbolize love, these beautiful plants can be found in shrubs across parks and gardens throughout the temperate zone.

10. Loblolly Bay

Common Name(s): Loblolly-bay, Holly-bay, Gordonia, Bay
Scientific Name: Gordonia lisianthus
Native to: Southeastern United States

You can find this small flower in the swampy soils of pine forests along the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains. The older flowers release a scent of woody orange when cut.

11. Liverwort

Common Name(s): Liverwort, Common hepatica, Kidneywort, or Pennywort
Scientific Name: Anemone hepatica
Native to: Temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere

Fresh, this herb contains toxins but these are removed by drying. Medieval herbalists used it to treat liver conditions.

12. Love-in-a-Mist

Common Name(s): Love-in-a-Mist, Devil in the bush
Scientific Name: Nigella damascena
Native to: Southern Europe

This plant belongs to the buttercup family and thrives on damp and neglected patches of land.

13. Lantana

Common Name(s): Lantana, Shrub verbena
Scientific Name: Lantana
Native to: Tropical regions in Africa and the Americas

These flowers can be a mix of red, orange, yellow, or blue and can change color as they mature.

14. Lily-of-the-Valley

Common Name(s): Lily-of-the-Valley, May bells, Our Lady's tears, Mary's tears
Scientific Name: Convallaria majalis
Native to: Northern Hemisphere of Asia and Europe

These plants are beautiful and sweet-smelling, but considered invasive in North America. They are used in perfume and are Finland's national flower.

15. Loquat

Common Name(s): Loquat, Japanese plum, Chinese plum
Scientific Name: Eriobotrya japonica
Native to: Central China

The loquat fruit is high in sugar and is used to make jam, herbal teas, and light wines.

16. Lobster Claw

Common Name(s): Lobster-claws, Toucan beak, Wild plantain, False bird-of-paradise.
Scientific Name: Heliconia
Native to: Tropical Americas and Western Pacific

Often mistaken for the similar-looking bird-of-paradise flower, these beautiful flowers are used in landscaping and floristry.

17. Lungwort

Common Name(s): Lungwort
Scientific Name: Pulmonaria
Native to: Europe and Western Asia

These bright purple and pink flowers are prized ornamental plants and grow well in damp, shaded areas.

18. Lupine

Common Name(s): Lupin, Lupine, Bluebonnet
Scientific Name: Lupinus
Native to: Mediterranean

These plants have been consumed for centuries with efforts from the 18th century to cultivate a sweeter variety of the bitter plant.

19. Leek

Common Name(s): Leek
Scientific Name: Allium ampeloprasum
Native to: Ancient Egypt

Dried specimens of these alliums have been found in Ancient Egypt, perhaps being cultivated further back than this.

The name is derived from the Old English leac which is also where the closely related garlic gets its name.

20. Lysimachia

Common Name(s): Lysimachia
Scientific Name: Lysimachia
Native to: Northern and Eastern Europe

Fossilized seeds of Lysimachia have been found both in Denmark and Belarus. A species of bees have evolved to pollinate the plant.

21. Linden

Common Name(s): Linden, Lime Tree
Scientific Name: Tilia
Native to: Europe

The European version of this plant is known as Linden, and as lime trees in Britain and Ireland. The flowers can be used to make herbal tea.

22. Lady Palm

Common Name(s): Lady palm, Broadleaf lady palm, or Bamboo palm
Scientific Name: Rhapis excelsa
Native to: Southern China and Taiwan

The Lady Palm makes a popular potted plant, especially in offices, due to its low light and humidity needs.

23. Livistona

Common Name(s): Livistona
Scientific Name: Trachycarpeae
Native to: All Continents (except Antarctica)

Although found every, this leafy palm is most concentrated in Asia and found in both tropical and subtropical regions.

24. Lords and Ladies

Common Name(s): Lords-and-ladies, Adam and Eve, Adder's meat, Wild arum, Bobbins, Cows and Bulls, Cuckoopint, Devils and angels, Friar's cowl, Jack in the pulpit
Scientific Name: Arum maculatum
Native to: Worldwide

This plant, with an abundance of names, was once used for laundry starch. The root was roasted and ground to create a tea-like beverage.

25. Lychnis

Common Name(s): Lychnis, Rose campion, Dusty miller, Mullein-pink, Bloody William
Scientific Name: Silene coronaria
Native to: Asia and Europe

This flower is short-lived but self-seeding and receiver of many horticultural awards, making it a popular garden choice.

26. Limonium

Common Name(s): Limonium, Sea-lavender, Statice, Caspia, Marsh-rosemary
Scientific Name: Limonium
Native to: Subcosmopolitan

Despite a close resemblance and common nicknames, this plant is not related to lavender or rosemary. They are known as “everlasting flowers” due to a part of the flower remaining on the stem after the true flowers have fallen.

27. Lotus

Common Name(s): Lotus, Water-lily
Scientific Name: Nelumbo, Nymphea
Native to: Asia and Australia

The name lotus is well-known and applied to many plants, including those of the genus Nelumbo and Nymphaea genus. These aquatic flowers look like lilies floating atop the water.

28. Lemon Balm

Common Name(s): Lemon Balm
Scientific Name: Melissa officinalis
Native to: South-central Europe, the Mediterranean basin, Iran, and Central Asia

This herb belongs to the mint family and is grown to attract bees as well as to use as a herb and make essential oils.

29. Larkspur

Common Name(s): Larkspur
Scientific Name: Delphinium
Native to: Northern Hemisphere, and tropical Africa

These beautiful purple plants are present in long, pointed lobes. They are highly prized garden flowers, but all parts of the plant are considered toxic.

30. Leopard’s Bane

Common Name(s): Leopard’s bane, Aconite, Monkshood, Wolf's bane, Women's bane, Devil's helmet, Queen of poisons, Blue rocket
Scientific Name: Aconite
Native to: The Northern Hemisphere of North America, Europe, and Asia

This name is applied to several plants, most commonly Aconite. The bright flower grows in mountainous regions and has been used both as a medicine and a poison.

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