Plants that start with C

Cacti are unusual plants. They grow in extremely hot, dry areas like deserts and they use as little water as possible. Their leaves have become spines and their stems are green like leaves of other plants are. Cacti store water in their thick stems.

Camellias are an attractive plant native to southern and eastern Asia. They have pretty flowers in shades from white through pink to deep red. They grow from about 2-20m high, and are not drought tolerant but will tolerate frost. Most people grow them as ornamental garden plants.
The tea plant is a variety of camellia.

Cantaloupe are also called rockmelon, mushmelon, muskmelon or spanspek. They are a medium-sized sweet melon with orange flesh. They are usually cut into pieces and eaten fresh.

Carnations are a popular cut flower, with greyish green leaves and flowers that come in shades of pink, white and red, and in solid colours as well as patterned. The edges of most carnation petals are distinctively frilly.

The carrot is a bright orange edible root. Carrots are crunchy when you eat them raw.
Carrots can be eaten on their own raw or cooked or used in soups, stews, cakes, puddings and in all manner of ways. They are a very common, widely-used vegetable.

lan Cauliflowers are a member of the cabbage family. The part of the cauliflower that we eat is a very dense, white mass of unopened flowers. Cauliflowers are very similar to broccoli.
Cauliflower are usually cut up into bite-sized pieces, and then steamed, boiled or stir-fried. They can be used in a wide variety of dishes. Cauliflowers go well with white or cheese-based sauces.

Celery is a plant that grows to be about 1 metre high. It is green and leafy with thick stems and a large root bulb under the ground. In some countries the root is cooked and eaten, but in most countries only the stem of the celery is used.
Celery is used mostly cooked in soups and raw in salads.

Cherries are a small, red fruit with a single stony seed. The cherry is related to almonds, peaches, plums and apricots.
You can eat cherries fresh, or use them cooked in cakes and pies.

The chickpea, also called garbanzo bean or Indian pea, is a legume that is widely used in the Middle East and India.
Chickpeas can be soaked overnight and cooked whole, and eaten plain, in a salad, or as part of a stew or curry. They can also be ground into flour and used for baking. They are the main ingredient of falafels and hummus.

Chives are a member of the onion family. Chives grow in clumps from a bulb under the ground. You can use the leaves cut up on salads or on potato or pasta dishes. You can use the flowers in salads too. Chives are very easy to grow from seed, and they can also grow new chives by digging up a clump and splitting off the smaller side bulbs.
There are different varieties of chives, one of the most useful being garlic chives, which have leaves and flowers with a strong garlic flavour.