Discover 32 Plants That Start With A

Written by Nina Phillips
Published: March 1, 2024
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There are so many plants in the world, that it’s near impossible to learn about them all. However, researching plants by letter is a good way to start. This list encompasses some plants that start with A, including flowers, vegetables, fruits, trees, and shrubs.

Flowers That Start With A

There are many flowers that start with A. The list below includes just some of the thousands you can find with a common or scientific name starting with the letter.

Acanthus: Also known as bear’s breeches, this genus of flowering plants lives in Asia and the Mediterranean Basin. The clumped flower spikes come in a variety of different colors.

African Flame Lily: Due to the origins of this plant, and the fact that the flower’s colors resemble flames, this plant’s common name is African flame lily. It may also be called simply a flame lily, climbing lily, or tiger claw.

Amaryllis: Amaryllis is the only genus is Amaryllidinae and only has two species. The more common is Amaryllis belladonna, which is native to the Western Cape part of South Africa.

Anemone: Anemones are part of the buttercup family. This wildflower is found on all continents except for Oceania and Antarctica.

Anemones are bold and beautiful flowers.

©y-studio/ via Getty Images

Asian Spider Flower: Asian spider flowers are also known as tickweeds. This plant has small yellow flowers and often grows in areas where the soil is disturbed.

Astragalus: Astragalus is a genus of plants with over 3,000 different species. It’s part of the legume family and though it has beautiful flowers, it’s more often used for health and medicine.

Azaleas: Azaleas are known for their bold flowers. The most popular ones mostly originated from Asia and parts of North America.

Azaleas in the Quad at LSU

Azaleas are popular flowers for outdoor gardens.

©Lebraix LeDoux/Shutterstock.com

Vegetables That Start With A

Vegetables are a difficult category, as no two people agree on what a vegetable is. But these are some of the plants usually described as vegetables that start with an A.

Adzuki Beans: Adzuki beans are also known as red beans or red mung beans. They’re found most commonly in East Asia.

Alfalfa Sprouts: Alfalfa sprouts are microgreens. Alfalfa is part of the legume family and is often used for animal feed, but the sprouts are used as food for people.

Sprouted alfalfa seeds on wooden spoon (Very Shallow Depth of Field, Focus on sprouts in the front)

These little plants are the germinated seeds of alfalfa, also known as alfalfa sprouts.

©Ildi Papp/Shutterstock.com

Amaranth: Various species of amaranth have different uses. Some are simply ornamental plants while others can be used as a leafy vegetable.

American Groundnut: The American Groundnut is part of the legume family. However, it’s most often harvested for the tubers and not the fruits and seeds, though they are also edible.

Apios americana

Groundnut is also called potato bean because its tubers are similar to potatoes in nutritional content.

©ChWeiss/Shutterstock.com

Arame: Arame is a vegetable of the sea. It’s a type of seaweed often used in Japan, though it’s popular in several other Asian countries as well.

Artichoke: Artichokes are actually a type of thistle. The part people eat are the flowering heads, but before they bloom.

Grown in the Aquitaine Provence of France, these artichokes were being sold at the Bergerac open air market in the spring.

If left to bloom, these plants would become bright purple flowers.

©Danita Delimont/Shutterstock.com

Arugula: Arugula also goes by the name rocket or eruca. It’s a leafy vegetable known for its bitter and peppery taste.

Asparagus: Asparagus is a spring vegetable. Until they flower, they tend to grow straight up with needle-like leaves.

asparagus vs broccoli

Asparagus is a delicious vegetable, often paired with lemon and garlic.

©DUSAN ZIDAR/Shutterstock.com

Fruits That Start With A

There are so many interesting fruits around the world, some you’ll never see in a grocery store. These are just some of the fruits that start with an A.

Abiu: This is a tropical fruit found in South America. The taste resembles caramel custard and the inside is creamy and jelly-like.

Ackee: Ackees are closely related to lychees and longans. It’s Jamacia’s national fruit and though a fruit, it is often cooked like a vegetable.

A basket of raw Jamaican ackees in their pods; blighia sapida

Ackee and codfish is one of the most common ways to use this fruit.

©Sevenstock Studio/Shutterstock.com

Ambarella: Ambarellas are also known as June plums or golden apples. They are green with a crunchy texture and tart taste.

Ambrosia Melon: Ambrosia melon is a hybrid between a muskmelon and a cantaloupe. It’s often confused with cantaloupe in appearance but has a much more floral taste.

Closeup of inside of Ambrosia or Cantaloupe Melon

Ambrosia melons look a lot like cantaloupes, even on the inside.

©Shannon Mendez/Shutterstock.com

Annatto: Annatto is a fruit that isn’t often eaten directly. While it can be used for flavor and smell, it’s often used to add a bit of an orange or yellow tint to foods.

Apple: Apples are a common fruit. They come in colors ranging from green to red and can be sweet or tangy.

Fresh delicious natural apples different varieties in a basket close - up - yellow, green, red.

There are well over 7,500 different species of apples grown in the world.

©Simol1407/Shutterstock.com

Apricot: Apricots are a type of stone fruit. They are also sometimes called Armenian plums. They’re round and yellow, similar to a peach, but with more of a plum taste.

Ashwagandha: Ashwagandha is part of the nightshade family. It’s said to have many health benefits, including relieving stress and anxiety.

Ashwagandha leaves close up

Ashwagandha is a shrub, but most people use the fruit more than the leaves.

©thala bhula/Shutterstock.com

Asian Pear: Asian Pears are big round pears that have a little crunch. They are in the same family as apples, peaches, and strawberries.

Avocado: Sometimes marked as a vegetable, an Avocado is known for its bright green flesh that’s smooth and creamy. It also has the name alligator pear due to its rough skin.

Two ripe raw hass avocados close up

Avocados are often bright green inside with a dark greenish outside that’s heavily textured like alligator skin.

©barmalini/iStock via Getty Images

Other Plants That Start With A

Some plants don’t easily fit into the categories above. Trees, shrubs, and succulents that start with the letter A are what you’ll find in this section.

Acacia: Acacias is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly found in Australia and Africa. They’re part of the pea family.

Agave: Agave is a type of succulent found in dry areas of the Americas. People often use the nectar as a sweetener in desserts and drinks.

Agave Americana or century plant with long green leaves with prickly margins, growing in a park

This beautiful agave is a plant that only blooms once every 30 years.

©Elena Kirey/Shutterstock.com

Alocasia: Alocasia are popular ornamental plants, with a large number of hybrids. Naturally, they’re found in Asia and Australia.

Aloe Vera: Aloe vera is a succulent you might be familiar with. Not only are they popular for homes, but the gel inside is often used in food and skincare products.

Aloe, while useful, can be dangerous if you ingest the wrong parts.

©Thamizhpparithi Maari / CC BY-SA 3.0 – License

Areca Palm: Also known as yellow palm, butterfly palm, golden cane palm, or bamboo palm, this is a small palm often used for decoration. The trunks are golden and are sometimes similar in appearance to bamboo.

Artemisia: There are roughly 400 species that fall under the Artemisia genus. They are commonly called sagebrush, mugwort, or wormwood.

Ash Tree: Ash trees are trees in the lilac and olive family. They are highly beneficial to the soil as they raise the pH and increase nutrients.

White Ash (Fraxinus americana) in the full colour display for the autumn sun

This is a white ash,

Fraxinus americana

.

©thatmacroguy/Shutterstock.com

Summary of Plants That Start With an A

PlantScientific Name
AcanthusAcanthus
African Flame LilyGloriosa superba
AmaryllisAmaryllis
AnemoneAnemone
Asian Spider FlowerCleome viscosa
AstragalusAstragalus
AzaleasRhododendron
Adzuki BeansVigna angularis
Alfalfa SproutsMedicago sativa
AmaranthAmaranthus cruentus
American GroundnutApios americana
ArameEisenia bicyclis
ArtichokeCynara cardunculus
ArugulaEruca sativa
AsparagusAsparagus officinalis
AbiuPouteria caimito
AckeeBlighia sapida
AmbarellaSpondias dulcis
Ambrosia MelonCucumis melo
AnnattoBixa orellana
AppleMalus domestica
ApricotPrunus armeniaca
AshwagandhaWithania somnifera
Asian PearPyrus pyrifolia
AvocadoPersea americana
AcaciaAcacia
AgaveAgave americana
AlocasiaAlocasia
Aloe VeraAloe barbadensis
Areca PalmDypsis
ArtemisiaArtemisia
Ash TreeFraxinus

The photo featured at the top of this post is © organi/iStock via Getty Images


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About the Author

Nina is a writer at A-Z Animals, FIDIS Travel, and Giant Freakin Robot. Her focus is on wildlife, national parks, and the environment. She has been writing about animals for over three years. Nina holds a Bachelor's in Conservation Biology, which she uses when talking about animals and their natural habitats. In her free time, Nina also enjoys working on writing her novels and short stories. As a resident of Colorado, Nina enjoys getting out in nature, traveling, and watching snow hit the mountains from her enclosed porch.

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