Plants that start with L

Lamb's ears is a soft, fluffy, silver-grey ground cover. It grows tall spikes of purple flowers in the spring. It is quite frost and drought tolerant.

Lamb's ears is originally from the area around Turkey and Iran.

Lantana, also called ham n eggs or bacon n eggs, is a pretty flowering plant from the tropical areas of America and Africa. It is grown for its flowers as a garden plant. In some parts of the world it has spread into the wild and is considered a pest.

Lantana has flowers in lots of colours, mostly reds and oranges, but also comes in whites and blues.

Lavender is a small bush with greyish leaves and pale purple flowers. Lavender is also the name for the color of the lavender flowers.

Lavender flowers smell very nice and still smell nice when they are dried, so they are often used in potpourri.

Leeks are members of the onion family. They grow a tight bundle of leaves above the ground rather than a round bulb like an onion. Leeks are used mainly in soups and stews. They have a much milder flavour than onions do.

A legume is a plant in the family fabaceae. Legumes grow their seeds in pods, with several seeds in a row inside the pod. They are often grown to improve the soil they are grown in. Legumes are high in protein and can be used as a meat substitute by vegetarians.

Legumes include peas, beans and peanuts.

Scientific name: citrus limon

The lemon is the fruit of the lemon tree. Lemon trees are thorny and can grow to 10 metres high. Lemons are yellow and very sour because they contain a lot of citric acid. When you make lemonade from lemon juice you need to add a lot of sugar or it will not taste good. You can make marmalade from lemons.

Lichens are not a single plant themselves, they are actually a fungus and algae growing together. The result, lichen, is completely different to both of its parts. Lichens can grow almost anywhere, but prefer to grow on tree branches or on bare rock. Lichen is often seen growing on gravestones, statues and roof tiles.

Lilacs are a group of flowering plants in the olive family. Most of them have pretty, light purple flowers. They are popular garden plants.

Lilies are a common flower that grows from a bulb under the ground. Lilies lose their leaves in winter and regrow them when it is warmer. Lilies come in a variety of different colours, mostly orange and yellow.

Limes are a citrus fruit like oranges and lemons. They are most similar to lemons but are smaller, sourer and greener. Like lemons, limes are not good to eat on their own and are used to flavor drinks and foods. A lot of Asian cooking uses limes as flavoring.