If you’re looking for the right plant to have in your home, or you’re researching different types of plants and flowers out of curiosity, plants thats start with m you will find that there are many ways of grouping them together and searching through the almost infinite species that exist around the world.
But have you ever thought of searching for them by their first letter?
Categorizing plants by the letter with which their name starts is a great way of organizing them in an alphabetical way, making it easier to look through them, but also, it’s a great way of discovering plants that you otherwise would have overlooked!
To help you with this, we’ve gone ahead and compiled a list of some of the most common and interesting plants that start with the letter M, grouped together for your convenience, and so that you can browse through them and learn some basics about each.
Does that sound good? Then go ahead and take a look!
1. Madagascar Jasmine
The Madagascar jasmine, also commonly known as the waxflower, the Hawaiian wedding flower, or the bridal wreath, is a species of flower from the Apocynaceae family, scientifically known as the Stephanotis floribunda.
This flower is native to Madagascar, although it can be found in many other places of the world, being highly popular in Hawaii.
The flower is a twining and branches of liana that can grow up to 20ft in length, creating clusters of pure white and waxy tubular flowers.
These flowers are star-shaped, and they have a very strong scent, blooming during the summer season. However, after a few days, the white color turns to yellow, and the sweet scent turns sour, so they’re not appealing or pretty for very long!
2. Magnolia
You have probably heard of the Magnolia flower as it is incredibly popular and consists of one of the largest genus of flower plants, with over 210 species, all belonging to the Magnoliaceae family.
The Magnolia, named after Pierre Magnol (a French botanist) is also super ancient, and existed before bees did! So back then, the flower pollinated through beetles, which is why the flowers are actually super tough. Pretty cool right?
Magnolia flowers can be found all over the world, although they are most popular in America, Asia, and the West Indies. As for their appearance, they are evergreen and large, with a bowl or star shape.
They can be white, pink, purple, green, or yellow, and they bloom during the fall season. They also have a strong scent, which is what makes them such popular flowers for bouquets!
3. Mahonia
Mahonia is a plant genus that includes around 70 different species of evergreen shrubs and small trees, belonging to the Berberidaceae family. It is native to eastern Asia, North and Central America, and the Himalayas.
You can identify Mahonia by the pinnate leaves it grows, between 3.9 and 19.7 inches in length, and by the small flowers that are yellow in color, along with the blue and black berries they grow.
The flowers are one of the earliest to bloom, during late winter and early spring, and the berries are sharp in flavor, quite acidic. However, you shouldn’t consume the Mahonia leaves, as these can cause all sorts of bad effects!
4. Mallow
Also better known as the Malvaceae, the Mallow is a family of flower plants with many different species. Some of them include cotton, cacao, durian, and okra! Most of the Mallow plants are herbaceous, but some are trees, and there are also some lianas!
The common Mallow flower, which is the one you will come across most often, is medium in size and star-shaped, with 5 petals that have a striking purple and pink color, streaked with different shades.
Due to its pretty appearance, the Mallow flower is often cultivated as a decorative element in gardens and homes.
In fact, it is popularly considered to act as a guardian of the home and is broadly associated with love, protection, and health. Definitely, a flower to have around the house!
5. Maple
Scientifically known as Acer, the maple is a genus of trees and shrubs, from the Sapindaceae family. Most maple trees and shrubs are native to Asia, although they are also popular in Europe, North Africa, and North America.
They are very easy to identify, as Maples have distinct palmate leaves and winged fruits. As a general rule, Maple trees will grow to a height of between 33 and 148 feet tall, with shrubs being a lot shorter.
The main reason for which Maple trees are popular is their leaves and the iconic fall season colors they provide. Not to mention that they also produce Maple syrup, which is consumed all over the world! Oh, and the Maple leaf is the symbol of Canada, so there’s that too!
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6. Marigold
The Marigold is a beautiful flower, sometimes commonly known as the English Marigold, or as Mary’s Gold. Scientifically, it is known as the Tagetes, and it is a genus of herbaceous plants from the sunflower family of Asteraceae.
Native to the Americas, they are most popularly found in South America, although they have grown to be rather popular all around the world, so can be found pretty much anywhere! Especially as they grow really fast, and adapt to their surroundings with ease.
Marigolds can vary in size but aren’t really that big. They have pinnate green leaves, and the flowers themselves can be gold, orange, yellow, and white. They can also be either annual or perennial, depending on the exact species.
They are popular for decorative purposes, as they are very pretty to look at and very vibrant. And as a garden flower, they truly are very easy to take care of and maintain, since they don’t need much!
7. Mimosa
Mimosa is a genus of around 420 different species of herbs and shrubs, from the Fabaceae family. Fun fact, the name itself comes from the Greek “mimos” which means actor or mime, and the suffix “osa” which means to resemble.
So this plant is called “to resemble a mime or actor”, and there’s a reason for this! The leaves are incredibly sensitive, and they sort of mimic conscious life by moving in certain situations.
For example, when the leaves are exposed to heat or touched suddenly, they will fold and recoil, seemingly alive. It’s also why some species of Mimosa are popularly known as the Touch-me-not plant!
Mimosas are native to South America, but nowadays they can pretty much be found all over the world, especially as they are very popularly cultivated as houseplants.
That being said, they have become a bit of an invasive plant in places such as Hawaii, as they grow really fast and spread out over large areas!
8. Mint
You probably know about Mint as a plant, since it’s incredibly popular and used in many different ways for everyday life, all around the world. Scientifically known as Mentha, it is a genus of plants from the Lamiaceae family.
But all the different species in the family are incredibly similar and very hard to distinguish from one another, so it’s all basically just mint in the same way.
Mint can be grown in all sorts of different environments, and they spread quite fast, which is why it is sometimes invasive. On the upside, it’s super easy to grow and cultivate, which is a good thing given the huge amount of uses it provides!
Mint is majorly used for culinary purposes, as it is completely edible, and adds a fresh flavor to any dish. It is also used for its aromatic scent, for medicinal purposes, and just to have around the house for other miscellaneous uses.
For example, did you know that mint keeps spiders away? It can come in really handy!
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9. Moor Grass
Moor grass, also commonly known as purple moor grass, is a type of grass native to Europe, Asia, and Africa. Scientifically known as Molinia caerulea, it is part of the grass family.
It will usually grow in lowlands up to 7500 feet high or so, and it does best in acid soils. That being said, moor grass is pretty hardy, and it can grow in many different locations and conditions with ease! It is also very popular in moorlands within the British isles.
Appearance-wise, moor grass is perennial and grows up to around 35 inches tall. It has close-packed stems, with coarse green leaves that are pointed and flat.
It also has long and narrow spikes that are purple in color, and this is the main distinguishing trait, for which the type of grass is known for best!
Final Thoughts
There are many other plants that start with the letter M, but we couldn’t possibly include them all as there are too many! That is why we only talked about the few main and most popular ones, which you are likely to have heard about, or that you should know about.
We hope that the list inspires you on your search for the perfect plant, and that at the very least you have learned some interesting facts!
