25 Stunning Plants Starting with S

The letter “S” starts off the names of many delicious herbs, spices, fruits, and vegetables. It also heads a few beautiful flowers, some mighty trees, and the occasional shrub.

Read on to find out a bit more about some botanical favorites beginning with “S”.  Then make sure to check out our list of beautiful flowers that start with S for more inspiration.

Plants Starting with S – Quick Look

  1. Sunflower
  2. Sumac
  3. Spider Plant
  4. Strawberry
  5. Sweet Potato
  6. Spicebush
  7. Self-Heal
  8. Senna
  9. Satin Pothos
  10. Squash
  11. Snowdrop
  12. Sea Grape
  13. Scarlet Pimpernel
  14. Smoke Tree
  15. Shooting Star
  16. Solomon’s Seal
  17. Spinach
  18. St. John’s Wort
  19. Skunk Cabbage
  20. Snow-in-Summer
  21. Shallot
  22. Sycamore Tree
  23. Sweet Pea
  24. Sassafras
  25. Sage

1. Sunflower

sunflower

  • Common Name(s): Sunflower
  • Scientific Name: Helianthus
  • Native to: The Americas

Named after the sun not just for their appearance, these flowers exhibit a trait called heliotropism, meaning their faces track the sun throughout the day.

The seeds of the sunflower make a great snack that’s full of nutrients. Most sunflowers are grown to make oil that is used in cooking the world over.

Check out our guides on growing both mammoth and dwarf sunflowers in your garden.

2. Sumac

sumac

  • Common Name(s): Sumac
  • Scientific Name: Rhus
  • Native to: Subtropical and temperate regions worldwide

The dried and ground ‘red drupe’ fruit of sumac makes a delicious spice with a unique lemon taste that is commonly used in Middle Eastern dishes.

3. Spider Plant

spider plant

  • Common Name(s): Spider plant, Spider ivy, Ribbon Plant, Hen and Chickens
  • Scientific Name: Chlorophytum comosum
  • Native to: Tropical southern Africa

You’ve almost certainly seen one of these before, as they have become immensely popular as a potted houseplant. This is because they are easy to grow and thrive in a range of climates.

4. Strawberry

strawberry

  • Common Name(s): Strawberry
  • Scientific Name: Fragaria × ananassa
  • Native to: France

The first half of the strawberry’s name comes from the fact that it needed so much mulch that it was often surrounded by straw.

As for the second half, it’s untrue. Technically, they aren’t berries at all, as berries should have seeds inside rather than on the surface.

5. Sweet Potato

sweet potato

  • Common Name(s): Sweet potato
  • Scientific Name: Ipomoea batatas
  • Native to: Tropical regions of the Americas

Though associated with both, sweet potatoes are only distantly related to potatoes and are in an entirely different order to yams.

They are popular in cuisine across Africa and Asia, as well as in the United States and New Zealand.

6. Spicebush

spicebush

  • Common Name(s): Spicebush, Common spicebush, Northern spicebush, Wild allspice, Benjamin bush
  • Scientific Name: Lindera benzoin
  • Native to: Eastern North America

These bushes love to grow in rich woodland, so the sight of them is often taken as a sign of good agricultural land.

7. Self-Heal

self-heal

  • Common Name(s): Self-heal, Heal-all, Woundwort, Heart-of-the-earth, Carpenter's herb, Brownwort, Blue curls
  • Scientific Name: Prunella vulgaris
  • Native to: Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America

Although many plants are grown and used for their healing properties, this particular one earned itself a name for it. It’s been used in remedies worldwide, especially for sore throats.

8. Senna

senna

  • Common Name(s): Senna
  • Scientific Name: Senna
  • Native to: The tropics

These shrubs can become rather tall and are often grown ornamentally. Cassia gum is also extracted from the plant and used as a thickening agent in the food industry.

9. Satin Pothos

satin pothos

  • Common Name(s): Satin pothos, Silver vine
  • Scientific Name: Scindapsus pictus
  • Native to: South-East Asia

With their large matte green leaves and silvery splotches, these climbers make an excellent potted houseplant.

10. Squash

squash

  • Common Name(s): Squash
  • Scientific Name: Cucurbita
  • Native to: The Andes and Mesoamerica

Before food storage, squash was an excellent choice as a crop as the winter variety can last months on the shelf and is packed full of vitamin A.

11. Snowdrop

snowdrop

  • Common Name(s): Snowdrop
  • Scientific Name: Galanthus
  • Native to: Europe and the Middle East

These beautiful little white flowers appear towards the end of long winters and are regarded as the symbol of spring arriving.

12. Sea Grape

sea grape

  • Common Name(s): Sea grape, Baygrape
  • Scientific Name: Coccoloba uvifera
  • Native to: Coastal Americas and the Caribbean

This fun plant has many uses. The tree is planted ornamentally, but its presence can also help stabilize coastal areas. When it bears fruit, it can be made into a tasty jam or eaten directly from the tree.

13. Scarlet Pimpernel

scarlet pimpernel

  • Common Name(s): Scarlet pimpernel, Red pimpernel, Red chickweed, Poor man's barometer, Poor man's weather-glass, Shepherd's weather glass, Shepherd's clock,
  • Scientific Name: Anagallis arvensis
  • Native to: Europe, Western Asia, and North Africa

These flowers come in a wide array of colors. As you might guess from its many alternative names, it reacts to the weather. If the sun shines, it is fully open and will sometimes close up completely in overcast weather.

14. Smoke Tree

smoke tree

  • Common Name(s): Smoke tree, Smokebush
  • Scientific Name: Cotinus
  • Native to: Temperate northern hemisphere

These bushes are so named for the fluffy gray growth over them that makes it appear as though they are surrounded by smoke.

15. Shooting Star

shooting star

  • Common Name(s): Shooting Star, Eastern shooting star
  • Scientific Name: Primula meadia
  • Native to: Eastern North America

These flowering plants are part of the primrose family. Their beautiful pink flowers are often cultivated in rock gardens.

16. Solomon’s Seal

solomon’s seal

  • Common Name(s): Solomon’s seal, King Solomon’s seal
  • Scientific Name: Polygonatum
  • Native to: The temperate Northern Hemisphere

The Latin scientific name of the plant means “many knees.” The name “Solomon’s seal” may be because the roots have small indents that look like royal seals, or because the cut roots might resemble Hebrew characters.

17. Spinach

spinach

  • Common Name(s): Spinach
  • Scientific Name: Spinacia oleracea
  • Native to: Iran

Spinach is best eaten or frozen straight away, as it begins to quickly use its nutrients from day 1 once it’s harvested.

18. St. John’s Wort

st. john’s wort

  • Common Name(s): St. John’s wort
  • Scientific Name: Hypericum perforatum
  • Native to: Europe, western Asia, and North Africa

St. John’s Wort can be found in any health food shop as a herbal remedy for low mood or anxiety.

19. Skunk Cabbage

skunk cabbage

  • Common Name(s): Skunk cabbage, Western skunk cabbage, Yellow skunk cabbage, American skunk cabbage, Swamp lantern
  • Scientific Name: Lysichiton americanus
  • Native to: North America

As you may have already guessed, this plant emits an unpleasant ‘“skunky” odor when in bloom. It can be found in swamps and wet woods across the Pacific Northwest.

20. Snow-in-Summer

snow-in-summer

  • Common Name(s): Snow-in-Summer
  • Scientific Name: Cerastium tomentosum
  • Native to: Alpine Europe

This flowering plant can cover areas in felt-like silver foliage and is happy in poor soils, making it a popular choice for rock gardens.

21. Shallot

sallot

  • Common Name(s): Shallot
  • Scientific Name: Allium cepa
  • Native to: Asia

A cultivar of the more common onion, shallots are less pungent than their counterpart and their aromatic flavor is a welcome addition to many dishes.

22. Sycamore Tree

sycamore tree

  • Common Name(s): Sycamore Tree, American sycamore, American planetree, Western plane, Occidental plane, Buttonwood, Water beech
  • Scientific Name: Platanus occidentalis
  • Native to: North and Central America

These are some of the fastest-growing shade trees, with some recorded to have gained an extra 6 feet of height in under a year. The trees themselves can easily stand for hundreds of years.

23. Sweet Pea

sweet pea

  • Common Name(s): Sweet pea
  • Scientific Name: Lathyrus odoratus
  • Native to: Sicily, southern Italy, and the Aegean Islands

This isn’t a plant for eating, despite the name as the peas it produces are toxic in larger quantities. Instead, sweet peas are cultivated for the pleasing pastel-colored flowers they produce.

24. Sassafras

sassafras

  • Common Name(s): Sassafras
  • Scientific Name: Sassafras
  • Native to: Eastern North America and eastern Asia

This tree’s claim to fame is as the traditional root beer flavor. The ground-up leaves were part of the root beer recipe until it was found to be harmful to health.

Root beer now usually contains a blend of vanilla, molasses, licorice, and anise.

25. Sage

sage

  • Common Name(s): Sage, Common sage
  • Scientific Name: Salvia officinalis
  • Native to: The Mediterranean region

Like many delicious herbs, sage’s origin can be traced back to the Mediterranean region and is hugely important in Italian, Balkan, and Middle Eastern cuisine.