People want to know how can identify their houseplants by leaf. I’m a horticultural adviser and want to give you an easy guideline for house plant identification by leaf shape. Keep reading.
In this post, I tried to provide you with two methods for identifying indoor plants with leaf shapes:
- First, I created a key of various leaf shapes to identify house plants by picture.
- Second, I will introduce one of the best plant identifiers to identify houseplants online.
Let’s get going.
Part One: Using a Key for House Plant Identification by Leaf Shape
Have you ever experienced the keys to identify a plant? They are straightforward and useful. Here, you can find a key to identify your indoor plant by its leaf shape. I’ve created it myself.
Although various leaf shapes are in plants, I tried to select ones that are more common among houseplants. I also avoid using specific botanical terms to make it easy for all people.
How to use this key?
Before diving into it, you must know there are two main types of leaves in plants:
- A: Simple leaves
- B: Compound leaves
Please note that images. The first step to identifying your indoor plant with leaf shape is to determine whether it has simple or compound leaves. After that, if you have an indoor plant with Simple leaves, follow Key A; otherwise, jump into Key B.
Key A: Indoor Plants with Simple Leaves
These indoor plants have undivided leaves. You can find at least 13 types of Simple leaves in indoor plants. in the following, you can find them with examples. It will help you with your houseplant identification by leaf shape.
A-1: House Plants with Simple Linear Leaves.
You can find them with slender, narrow, long leaves.
- Blue Fescue Grass
- Corkscrew Rush
- Spider Plant
- Dracaena: I discussed various species and varieties of Dracaena before and taught you how to identify them. In addition, there are red varieties of Dracaena plants that can add a touch of beauty to your indoor decor.
- Snake Plant
- Yucca
- Elephant Foot Palm
- Bromeliads
A-2: House Plants with Simple Ovate leaves.
Below you can see one of the most common houseplants with oval-shaped leaves.
- Nerve Plant
A-3: House Plants with Simple Elliptical Leaves.
These plants have Ellipse-shaped leaves.
- Prayer Plant: Very beautiful. Indoor plants with green leaves on top and red (burgundy or purple) underneath.
- Calathea
- Fiddle Leaf Fig
- Croton: They are gorgeous houseplants with red, green, and yellow leaves. I love them.
A-4: House Plants with Simple Oblong Leaves.
- Persian Shield is a popular indoor plant with rectangular-shaped leaves
A-5: House Plants with Simple Cordate Leaves.
They are beautiful indoor plants with heart-shaped leaves.
- African Violet
- Polka Dot Plant
- Coleus
- Peperomia
- Pothos: It is one of the popular vining houseplants with heart-shaped leaves
- Wandering Jew: If you want a vining indoor plant with purple leaves, Wandering Jew can be the best. But please note that to save its purple leaves, you must keep it in the right light condition, otherwise, its purple leaves will turn green.
A-6: House plants with Simple Lanceolate Leaves.
Below you can find several house plants that have lance-shaped leaves.
- Orchids
- Amaryllis
- Persian Shield
- Chinese Evergreen
- Lucky Bamboo
- Ti Plant
A-7: House plants with Simple Acicular Leaves.
Needle-shaped leaves are common among Pine houseplants.
- Norfolk Island Pine (Araucaria heterophylla)
A-8: House Plants with Simple Reniform Leaves.
- Strawberry Begonia
- Aralia
- Geranium
A-9: House Plants with Simple Orbicular Leaves.
- Chinese Money Plant has orbit-shaped leaves
A-10: House Plants with Simple Sagittate Leaves.
In the following, you can find indoor plants with Arrowhead-shaped leaves.
- Philodendron
- Croton
A-11: House plants with Simple Hastate Leaves.
These types of leaves are similar to Sagittate Leaves, but are two-lobed Sagittate. Arrowhead plant (Syngonium) is a popular indoor plant that has Hastate leaves
A-12: House plants with Simple Oblique leaves.
These types are unequal leaf bases and are common among Begonia houseplants.
Key B: Indoor Plants with Compound Leaves
The leaves of these house plants are divided into multiple leaflets that are attached to the stem. There are two General types of compound leaves among houseplants:
B-1: Houseplants with Pinnately Compound Leaves.
- Areca Palm (Dypsis lutescens)
- Australian Tree Fern (Sphaeropteris cooperi)
- Cat Palm (Chamaedorea cataractarum)
- Kentia Palm (Howea forsteriana)
- Lady Fern (Athyrium filix-femina)
B-2: Houseplants with Palmately Compound Leaves
- Schefflera arboricola (Umbrella Plant)
- Pachira aquatica
- Plerandra elegantissima (False Aralia)
Part Two: Using an Online Tool for House Plant Identification by Leaf Shape
Another way to identify indoor plants with leaf shapes is to get help from a plant identifier. These are online tools (often free) that can detect plants with their images. Here, I want to introduce one of the best: Google Lens.
It is a free online tool with a broad collection of houseplants that allows it to identify indoor plants easily in about 2 seconds with high accuracy. In addition, you can use it for identifying trees, wild plants, flowers, and ornamental plants.
Working with Google Lens is very easy. You can take an online picture of the leaves of your indoor plant (or upload it from your gallery) and then click on the “Start” button. It will tell you the name of your houseplant. very easy.
The good news is that this tool can also detect plant disease. So, with the Google Lens, you cannot only identify your indoor plant by leaf shape but also detect its disease. Thanks to it.
Conclusion
Identifying house plants by leaves is a common challenge for indoor gardeners. People often ask me about this issue. Here, I tried to help you in two ways. I’ve created a “house plant leaf-shaped Identification key” with images that make it easy for you.
I also showed you how to identify house plants by Leaf pictures. I introduced a plant identifier (Google Lens) and taught you how to work with it. Have you ever experienced it or another plant identification tool?
Do you think identifying houseplants with leaf shapes is easier with a key or a tool? Please tell our readers your ideas and experiences below this page.
Elahe Rabiei
Hi, I’m Elaheh. My Academic major is plant protection, and houseplants are my expertise. As a houseplant lover, my house is full of indoor plants and it is my passion to take care of them. Hence, I’m here to share my knowledge and experience about growing healthy houseplants. I am also a plant protection advisor, so feel free to ask me any questions you may have.