Plants That Start With Y

20 plants Animals and nature Checked 9 Oct 2026

Here are 20 plants that start with Y, each with a one-line description so you can tell what it is. The best-known ones come first, then the full list in A to Z order.

Y gives 20 plants, and yellow dominates the list. Yellow squash, yellow pine, yellow oak, yellow cedar and yellow jasmine all appear, along with the yellowwood tree. It is a good letter for showing how color names shape plant names.

Outside the yellow group, the best known plants are yam, yew and yucca, all short and easy to spell. Yarrow is a strong-scented Eurasian herb. Yerba mate is a South American holly whose leaves make a tea-like drink, a nice fact for quiz fans.

Plants starting with Y: 20
Best known: yam, yew
Longest name: yellow jasmine

Best-known plants that start with Y

The ones most people will recognise, good for school lists, quizzes and games.

yam
yew
yucca
yarrow
yellow squash
yellowwood
yerba mate

All plants that start with Y

#	Name	What it is
1	yam	any of a number of tropical vines of the genus Dioscorea many having edible tuberous roots
2	yard grass	coarse annual grass having fingerlike spikes of flowers; native to Old World tropics; a naturalized weed elsewhere
3	yarrow	ubiquitous strong-scented mat-forming Eurasian herb of wasteland, hedgerow or pasture having narrow serrate leaves and...
4	yellow bells	viscid herb of arid or desert habitats of southwestern United States having pendulous yellow flowers
5	yellow birch	tree of eastern North America with thin lustrous yellow or grey bark
6	yellow cedar	tall evergreen of the Pacific coast of North America often cultivated for ornament
7	yellow cypress	tall evergreen of the Pacific coast of North America often cultivated for ornament
8	yellow dock	European dock with broad obtuse leaves and bitter rootstock common as a weed in North America
9	yellow jasmine	poisonous woody evergreen vine of southeastern United States having fragrant yellow funnel-shaped flowers
10	yellow oak	medium to large deciduous timber tree of the eastern United States and southeastern Canada having dark outer bark and...
11	yellow pea	western United States bushy herb having yellow pea-like flowers
12	yellow pine	any of various pines having yellow wood
13	yellow root	perennial herb of northeastern United States having a thick knotted yellow rootstock and large rounded leaves
14	yellow spruce	medium-sized spruce of eastern North America; chief lumber spruce of the area; source of pulpwood
15	yellow squash	any of various squash plants grown for their yellow fruits with somewhat elongated necks
16	yellow trumpet	pitcher plant of southeastern United States having erect yellow trumpet-shaped pitchers with wide mouths and erect lids
17	yellowwood	tree with yellow wood and hanging white flower clusters
18	yerba mate	South American holly whose leaves make a tea-like drink
19	yew	any of numerous evergreen trees or shrubs having red cup-shaped berries and flattened needlelike leaves
20	yucca	any of several evergreen plants of the genus Yucca having usually tall stout stems and a terminal cluster of white...

Short plants with Y

yam
yew
yucca

Questions people ask

How many plants start with Y?

This list has 20 plants starting with Y, from well-known ones like yam, yew, yucca to rarer kinds.

What plants start with Y?

Well-known examples are yam, yew, yucca, yarrow, yellow squash, yellowwood, yerba mate.

Source: Princeton WordNet, a public dictionary database, reviewed by our editors to keep only clear, real members of the list. Meanings are short dictionary glosses.

See every letter on one page: plants A to Z