Plants That Start With U

Last Updated on December 13, 2022 by Derek

Because there are so many kinds of plants out there in the wide, green world, gardeners, botanists, and scientists alike have tried a whole host of ways to try and separate them into easily distinct categories.

For many amateur gardeners, one of the best ways is to do this is to separate them by the latter of the alphabet that their name starts with. It’s easy, it’s simple, and works great for most letters. But things get a little tricky when you make your way to the more obscure letters.

List of plants starting with U

Here is a list of the plants beginning with the letter U featured in this article:

• Umbrella Bamboo
• Umbrella Palm
• Ursinia
• Upright Brome
• Umbrella Indian Rhubarb Plant
• Unita Cactus

Plants that start with the letter ‘U’, for example, tend to be a little thinner on the ground than a lot of other lettered vegetation. Perhaps it’s because there aren’t many words in the English language that cover the specific beauty of some species of flowers. It’s hard to say.

However, that doesn’t mean that other languages have been missing out on the plant naming game and the letter ‘U’. And English does happen to cover a few unique plants too.

With that in mind, here are just some of the plants in the world that start with the letter ‘U’!

Umbrella Bamboo

One of the most widely grown species of bamboo across the world, Umbrella bamboo was originally grown and cultivated in Central and East Asia, particularly in Japan and China.

In the last few decades and centuries, however, Umbrella bamboo has also been grown in places across Europe and North America, where the long sweeping leaves that grow from the plant that gives it its name, are seen as a very pretty ornamental piece for any garden.

How tall does Umbrella Bamboo get?

Bamboo of this variety can grow to heights of up to 14 feet in some cases and can grow in a whole range of different kinds of soil, so long as it is relatively fertile and can drain well. This means they can grow on mountainsides, near rivers, and in jungles. It is no wonder that it is grown across the world, with it being such a tough little plant!

Video – Umbrella Bamboo care

Being a type of bamboo, it is an evergreen plant, which means that it does not wilt or die back in the colder months. They are also a clump-type growing bamboo, which means that it grows in large clumps, and spread very slowly, and can be fairly easily managed with a little time and patients.

It’s all these features, plus the fact that it can tolerate cold periods as low as 5 degrees Fahrenheit, which means that many people have grown this plant as a kind of hedge species. This makes for one of the most striking kinds of hedges out there. And with its ability to flower, as well as live for up to a hundred years in some cases, it has to be one of the toughest hedge pants out there too!

Umbrella Palm

For a palm plant that you might recognize in your own homes, we take a look at the Umbrella palm, also known as the Umbrella Papyrus, or the Umbrella Sedge. Named after its wide-spreading palm leaves, this variety of plants is one of the most popular ornamental plants in the world, where their leaves add a dash of tropical feeling to whatever home they are grown in.

Growing to almost 2 feet in height when they are potted, growing from clumps that can easily be kept and maintained in a pot. The flowers that these little evergreen plants produce are white, quite small, and very sharp. They are even sometimes called flower spikes in some parts of the world.

How do you care for an umbrella palm tree?

These plants require a lot of attention when it comes to their water management. Because they are tropical plants, they require a lot more water than other kinds of houseplants, but can easily die due to root rot if given too much water.

This is one of the reasons you won’t find this plant out in many backyards or gardens: keeping track of that, whilst also being very sensitive to heat, make them a nightmare to manage if you are growing them in a subtropical or temperate climate.

Ursinia – Flowers beginning with U

Ursinias almost resemble the classic daisy flowers that you find across Europe and North America. Perhaps that shouldn’t be too surprising, given that this family of flowers, which are mainly found in South Africa, are quite closely related.

Growing up to just under 2 feet in height, the bright yellow flowers that these plants produce are very popular as part of floral arrangements around the world. This is helped by the fact that they are also very easy to grow and maintain, whether they’ve been potted or planted.

Combined with the fact that they can handle fairly dry soil for small amounts of time, and they can grow their flowers all year round, even in winter on some sporadic occasions, it’s a small wonder that they have become so popular.

The leaves on this plant also make for some very deep green foliage to cover your flower beds with. Especially if you aren’t planting any ferns in your flower beds, but want to get a similar effect from some of your plants.

Just remember that you may need a few of these plants to fill their section of the backyard, as they don’t grow very wide, even at their biggest.

Upright Brome

For a species of grass that begins with ‘U’, we turn to the continents of Europe and Asia, to find the Upright Brome. This hardy grass grows from the British Isles to mainland Europe, growing in North Africa and Asia, and even spreading to North America in recent years.

Because of how widespread it has become, many areas have used different names to call this plant by. In some areas, it is an Upright Brome grass, in others, its name is meadow brome, and erect brome in others.

As the name suggests, this kind of grass stands very straight and tall, reaching heights of almost six feet when it has been allowed to grow. As the brome part of its title implies, the tips of this plant grow very hairy, with its spikelets, the fluffy or hairy tips you find on a grass’s panicles, and can have up to twelves flowers in a good season.

Upright Brome tends to grow in very dry soil, especially if the earth isn’t used for agriculture and livestock grazing. Because it is very fast-growing and can be sown at any time of year, it has been known to completely drive out other species of plants and grasses that grow much lower than it does, becoming the dominant plant life in a given field.

This is especially true in fields and meadows that aren’t managed very well, and can very easily become invasive if not properly managed.

However, it is edible to many forms of livestock, such as cattle and rabbits, which can be very helpful in keeping populations of this grass under control. If managed correctly, it can easily grow in balance with other kinds of plants.

Umbrella Indian Rhubarb Plant

This rhubarb-growing plant is known by a few names. Known as the Umbrella plant in many parts of the world, it is also called the Indian Rhubarb by just as many people, as well as its scientific name, Darmera Peltata.

Despite what the name might make you think, Umbrella plants do not come from India, or anywhere from the Indian subcontinent or South Asia. They originally come from California and Oregon, where the temperate climate gives this plant the chance to grow at almost any time of the year.

How do you grow Indian rhubarb?

Umbrella plants prefer to grow in areas where there is quite a lot of shade. Considering that some types of rhubarb can grow with almost no light, this makes it a great option if you want to grow something in an area that doesn’t receive a lot of direct sunlight.

The plants love to grow in very wet and moist soil, like along the banks of a lake, stream, or pond. They can be grown elsewhere too though, such as in your backyard. Just make sure you keep it well-watered to simulate those damp conditions it loves so much!

Uinta Cactus

If you were wondering if any species of cacti started with the letter ‘U’, then you’re in luck! The Uinta cactus is just one of the few species starting with this rare first letter.

For many years, it was thought that the Uinta cactus was just one variant of this little plant. But in the past few years, scientists have managed to recognize three distinct species, all coming from the Uinta Basin in Colorado.

Uinta is one of the shorter species of cactus out there, coming in at anywhere between 1.5 to 10 inches tall, and prefers to grow out of the soil that is very coarse, or rock faces with a lot of gravel.

Although the main stem is usually deep green, there have been a few examples of the plant with an almost blue, seafoam color. This makes it quite an interesting little plant to look at if you don’t miss it for its small size.

With a very short, oval stem, and long thin spines that spread out from the plant, this is certainly amongst the most difficult cacti to handle, especially for its size. Those spikes help protect the small, deep purple flowers that only reach about 2 inches in diameter at most.

This little cactus is currently a threatened species, as human activity on the plateaus it grows on, such as riding off-road vehicle use and road construction, are ruining the ground it normally grows on, as well as the spreading of species of weeds that are new to the region and driving them out.

Frequently Asked Questions

What flowers begin with the letter U?

Ulex
Umbrella Magnolia
Ulex-Europaeus
Ulex-Gallii
Ugly Fruit Flower
Upright Virgin’s Bower
Uva-ursi
Ursinia
Urn Plant
Umbrella Plant

Are All Plants Starting With ‘U’ Evergreen?

Whilst many of the plants we have talked about will not do count as evergreens of some kind or other, like the Umbrella Palm Plant and the Umbrella Indian Rhubarb Plant, since they can flower and grow all year round, some of them are not.

The Uinta Cactus, for example, is a succulent plant, that holds onto its water storage for long periods to survive, rather than continuously growing, which would be difficult in the desert environment it grows in normally.

Is Umbrella Palm an Indoor Plant?

Yes, the umbrella palm can be an indoor plant. However, it can also be an outdoor plant, depending on your personal preferences.

If you decide to keep this as an indoor plant, you will need to pay close attention to how you are caring for it. It needs to have a consistent moisture level. We would recommend carrying out the correct research to help ensure this.

Is Umbrella Bamboo Fast Growing

Yes, umbrella bamboo is fast growing. This is the case for the vast majority of bamboo plants, and can be both a positive and negative thing.

Interestingly the umbrella bamboo can grow up to 60 cm each year. As a result of this, you will need to be prepared to ensure you are cutting the plant back when this is needed.