What is a Nonflowering Plant?

Ferns

• Ferns produce spores on the underside of their fronds. Many hardy varieties can be used to fill in shady spots in the landscape. Ferns can be deciduous or evergreen. Commonly grown fern species include the Southern ladyfern (Athyrium asplenioides), a deciduous fern that grows from 1 to 3 feet tall. Hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture Plant Hardiness Zones 3 to 8, this fern has feathery fronds with red stems. Southern ladyferns thrive in partial to full shade and fertile, moist, well-drained soil. The fancy fern (Dryopteris intermedia) grows up to 3 feet tall and has deeply cut foliage that grows in round clusters. This evergreen tolerates dry soil but prefers moist, well-drained sites in shade. Fancy ferns are hardy in Zones 3 to 8 and require little maintenance.

Conifers

• Several varieties of coniferous trees produce cones rather than flowers. These include pines (Pinus spp.), firs (Abies spp.), hemlocks (Tsuga spp.), cedars (Calocedrus spp.) and junipers (Juniperus spp.). Many conifers can be used as ornamental trees in landscapes, such as the white fir (A. concolor). This evergreen produces 5-inch-long, cylindrical cones that have a purple cast when young. White firs grow to 50 feet tall and prefer sites with sun to light shade and moist, well-drained soil.

  The incense cedar (Calocedrus decurrens) also produces small, red-brown cones that last through winter. Incense cedars grow to 70 feet tall with a 20-foot spread and prefer sun to light shade and moist, well-drained soils.

Mosses

• The many members of the Bryophyta or moss family reproduce through spores. These tiny plants, which usually grow to a maximum height of 2 inches, have leaves, stems and a system of underground rhizomes or tiny rootlets. Though moss tolerate a range of conditions, it grows best in shady sites with moist soil. These plants often grow on river or stream banks, hills, rocky spots or on the east or north sides of trees. Although many gardeners regard moss as a pest, as it can invade turfgrass, this tiny, spreading plant can absorb up to twice its weight in water and holds soil in place, preventing erosion and runoff.

Fungi

• Members of the fungi family include mushrooms, morels, lichen, puffballs, mold and mildew. Like ferns and moss, fungi reproduce through spores, but do not contain chlorophyll or have roots or foliage. Most mushrooms share certain characteristic structures, such as a cap, spore-containing gills and a stem or stalk, while puffballs contain their spores in a spherical structure. Some edible mushroom species can be cultivated in home gardens.

Cycads

• Cycads are dioecious, or differently sexed, plants that reproduce pollen cones or seed cones. These ancient, palmlike plants have been growing since the Jurassic time period and some species live as long as 1,000 years. Modern species include the queen sago (Cycas circinalis). This cycad grows to 20 feet tall with 8-foot-long, palmlike fronds. Queen sagos thrive in fertile, loose sandy soils and full sun to partial shade. They are hardy in Zones 10 to 11.