Plants that start with N

N is for Nasturtium

Nasturtiums are a common plant grown for their pretty flowers. Nasturtium's leaves and flowers are edible and can be used in salads. Nasturtiums attract good insects to the garden and repel bad ones like some caterpillars and are often grown as companion plants around a vegetable garden.
Some people call a kind of watercress a nasturtium.

katermikesch / Pixabay License

N is for Natal plum

Fruit

Natal plum is a type of small, thorny fruit tree that grows in warm parts of Africa. It has small red fruit and white star shaped flowers.

Forest and Kim Starr / CC BY-SA

N is for Nectar

Plant parts

Nectar is the sweet, sticky stuff found in the centre of flowers. It is there to attract insects like bees to the flowers so the bees will pollinate the flowers. Bees use the nectar to make honey, most other birds and insects just eat the nectar as they find it.

Nelson de Witt / CC BY-SA

N is for Nectarine

Stone fruit

A nectarine is simply a type of peach that has smooth skin instead of fuzzy skin.

The Marmot / CC BY-SA

N is for Nettle

Plants

Nettles are a common plant that has stinging hairs on the stems and under the leaves. The hairs have an acidic poison on them, which is why they sting. You should try to avoid touching nettles with your bare skin.

svklimkin / Public Domain

N is for Norfolk Island Pine

Plants

Norfolk Island pine trees are a very distinctive type of tree originally only found on Norfolk Island. They grow very well on the coast. They have interesting compound leaves that make long, round straps made up of tiny leaves that look like a scaly snake. The adult trees are symmetrical and are often planted in a line along roadsides. They are not a true pine tree, and will not tolerate cold climates the same way pine trees do.

Toby Oxborrow / CC BY-SA

N is for Nut (Seed)

Plant parts

A nut is a seed of a plant that has a very hard outside layer. Some nuts are found inside the plant's fruit, other nuts are actually the fruit itself.

Steffen Zahn / CC BY-SA