46 Tree Names Starting With Letter P

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This is the complete list of tree species starting with the letter P.

This guide is comprehensively researched and will help you identify all trees whose names begin with the letter P.

Let’s get right into it.

1. Palma Pita

Scientific Name: Yucca faxoniana

Family: Asparagaceae

Native: Western Texas to Northern Mexico

Type: Evergreen

This plant grows to a large 7m tall with a single rosette of dense leaves. 

The leaf is stiff, and tapering, resembling a dagger in a pale blue-green color. The flower is bell-shaped and pendant.

The fruit is a succulent and fleshy berry.

2. Palmella

Scientific Name: Yucca elata

Family: Asparagaceae

Native: Central Arizona to Western Texas and North Mexico

Type: Evergreen

This tree grows to 4.5m tall with several narrow leaves in dense clusters. The leaves are flexible and linear.

The flower is ovoid, spreading, and borne in panicle-like clusters. The fruit is an ovoid cylindrical capsule with three lobes.

3. Palmetto, Mexican

Scientific Name: Sabal mexicana

Family: Arecaceae

Native: Southern Texas to Central America

Type: Evergreen

This tree grows from 12 to 15m tall with circular leaves that lack spines.

The upper surface is lustrous green and the lower surface is gray-green.

The flowers are tiny, bisexual, and creamy-white in color. The fruit is a round black drupe.

4. Parasoltree, Chinese

Scientific Name: Firmiana simplex

Family: Malvaceae

Native: China

Type: Deciduous

This tree grows up to 20m long with a clustered crown of branches.

The leaves are alternate, simple, and palmate. The flowers are unisexual with greenish-white sepals and mature from June to July.

The fruit is five follicles that mature into a leaf-like structure.

5. Pea Tree, Siberian

Scientific Name: Caragana arborescens

Family: Fabaceae

Native: North Asia

Type: Deciduous

This stiffly branched tree grows to 5m tall with alternate and pinnately compound leaves that have a dark green upper surface.

The flowers are yellow, borne in clusters on the leaf axils from April to June.

The fruit is an oblong, compressed legume with a thick and pulpy texture.

6. Peach

Scientific Name: Prunus persica

Family: Rosaceae

Native: China

Type: Deciduous

This deciduous shrub or small tree is 3 to 10m tall with a single, erect trunk.

The leaves are alternate, simple, and lanceolate. The flower is borne singularly or in clusters with rich pink petals.

The fruit is a round orange drupe, tinged with red, and having a pitted stone.

7. Pear, Bradford

Scientific Name: Pyrus calleryana

Family: Rosaceae

Native: China and Vietnam

Type: Deciduous

This plant is popularly grown for ornamental purposes and has a dense, oval, crown.

The leaf is dark green in color and becomes purple or red in autumn, making it an attractive and eye-catching sight.

The fruit is brown and 15mm long.

8. Pecan

Scientific Name: Carya illinoinensis

Family: Juglandaceae

Native: North Asia

Type: Deciduous

This large deciduous tree grows from 40 to 6m tall with a single trunk. The leaves are alternate with a dark green upper surface and a paler lower surface.

The flowers are slender catkins. The fruits are nuts, borne in clusters of 2-10, having a rich brown color.

9. Poui, Black

Scientific Name: Jacaranda mimosifolia

Family: Bignoniaceae

Native: South America

Type: Deciduous

This tree grows to heights of 8 to 16 meters tall with a diameter of 20 to 30 centimeters. The leaf is alternate and compound with a stout petiole and multiple leaflets.

The flowers are tubular and flare at the apex. The fruit is a brown capsule that is winged.

10. Peppermint, White

Scientific Name: Eucalyptus pulchella

Family: Myrtaceae

Native: Southern Tasmania

Type: Evergreen

This tree grows from 6 to 20m tall with erect branches and smooth bark.

The leaf is dark green and 5 to 10cm long, to 5mm wide.

The flower is borne in axillary umbels of 9 to 15. The fruit is an ovoid to a cup-shaped capsule.

11. Peppertree

Scientific Name: Schinus molle

Family: Anacardiaceae

Native: Western South America

Type: Evergreen

This shrub or tree grows to 15m tall with one or many trunks. The leaves are alternate and pinnately compound and the upper surface is green and hairless.

The flowers are small, white to cream in color, and produced in drooping clusters. The fruit is a round pink drupe.

12. Pepperwood

Scientific Name: Umbellularia californica

Family: Lauraceae

Native: Redwood forests, slopes, and canyons of California

Type: Evergreen

This magnificent tree stands up to 45m tall with a trunk up to 1m in diameter. It has highly aromatic pungent leaves and pale-yellow flowers in clusters of 6 to 8.

The fruit is a circular to ovoid drupe that resembles a golf ball on a tee.

13. Persimmon, Black

Scientific Name: Diospyros texana

Family: Ebenaceae

Native: Southern half of Texas, south to northeast Mexico

Type: Evergreen or Deciduous


This slow-growing shrub or small tree is 2 to 16m tall with a diameter of 50 cm. The leaf is alternate, simple, and leathery with a dark-green upper surface.

The flower is urn-shaped, creamy-white, and borne in small clusters. The fruit is a blackberry.

14. Pin Gris

Scientific Name: Pinus banksiana

Family: Pinaceae

Native: Arctic timberline

Type: Evergreen

This tree grows to 27m tall with a diameter of 60 cm. The leaf is a needle about 2 to 5 cm long, yellow-green in color, thick, and twisted.

The pollen cone is yellow to orange-brown. The seed cone is borne in whorls and is light brown.

15. Planetree, Arizona

Scientific Name: Platanus wrightii

Family: Platanaceae

Native: Arizona, New Mexico, Northwest Mexico

Type: Deciduous

This tree has a massive trunk and large arching white-barked branches.

The leaves are alternate, simple, and have palmate lobes.

The female flowers are borne on a common stalk up to 30 cm long. The fruit is 5 to 8 mm long.

16. Plum, American

Scientific Name: Prunus americana

Family: Rosaceae

Native: Western U.S.

Type: Deciduous

This thicket-forming shrub grows to 5 m tall with alternate, simple, and elliptical leaves that are hairy.

The flower has white petals that become pink with age and is about 20 to 25 mm in diameter.

The fruit is an ellipsoid red, orange, or yellowish drupe.

17. Poinciana, Dwarf

Scientific Name: Caesalpinia pulcherrima

Family: Fabaceae

Native: Tropical America

Type: Evergreen

This shrub or small tree grows from 3 to 5 m tall with bipinnate leaves.

The flowers are distinct, colored yellow with red stamens. The fruit is a flat oblong legume. The branches often have scattered prickles on them.

18. Poison Plant, Arrow

Scientific Name: Sebastiana bilocularis

Family: Euphorbiaceae

Native: Arizona to north-west Mexico

Type: Evergreen

This shrub has many stems and grows from 2 to 6 m tall with alternate, simple leaves that are bright green or reddish.

The flowers are small and greenish-yellow without petals, borne in spikes 2 to 6 cm long.

The fruit is a plump heart-shaped capsule.

19. Pomegranate

Scientific Name: Punica granatum

Family: Punicaceae

Native: Asia

Type: Deciduous

This shrub is upright, rounded, or small, growing from 2 to 8 m tall.

The leaves are opposite and lustrous green while the flower is bisexual and radial with a reddish calyx.

The fruit is round, red, yellow, or white with a leathery texture.

20. Popcorn Tree

Scientific Name: Sapium sebiferum

Family: Euphorbiaceae

Native: East Asia

Type: Deciduous

This shrub or tree grows from 6 to 17 m tall and exudes a milky sap when twigs and leaves are broken. The leaves are alternate and ovate.

The flowers are yellowish, borne in spike-like clusters from April to June. The fruit is a capsule with 3 lobes.

21. Poplar, Balsam

Scientific Name: Populus balsamifera

Family: Salicaceae

Native: Throughout Canada and U.S.

Type: Deciduous

This 18 to 40m tall tree has a slender trunk and alternate, simple leaves that are large, ovate, and bluntly toothed.

The flowers are catkins during the spring with strongly scented buds and the fruit is an egg-shaped capsule with two valves.

22. Porlieria, Texas

Scientific Name: Guaiacum angustifolium

Family: Zygophyllaceae

Native: Southern Texas, Northern Mexico

Type: Evergreen

This small-leaved shrub is extremely gnarled and grows to 7m tall.

The leaves are opposite, compound, and bear leaflets in pairs of 4 to 8. The flower is scented and borne solitarily or in clusters.

The petals are blue to violet and the flowers bloom in March through September. The fruit is a leathery capsule.

23. Potatotree

Scientific Name: Solanum erianthum

Family: Solanaceae

Native: Peninsular Florida and Southeast Texas

Type: Evergreen

This shrub or small tree grows to about 5m tall with alternate, simple, and thick leaves. The upper surface is grayish-green.

The twig is densely hairy and gray with star-shaped hairs.

The flowers are white and have 5 petals and sepals with yellow anthers. The fruit is a round yellow berry.

24. Powderpuff-tree

Scientific Name: Albizia julibriss

Family: Fabaceae

Native: Asia

Type: Deciduous

This tree grows to about 15 m tall with a short, singular trunk.

The leaf is bipinnate with 3o to 60 leaflets per segment. The flower is small, tubular, and produced numerously in showy heads.

They are pink and white. The fruit is a flattened legume.

25. Prickly Moses

Scientific Name: Acacia verticillata

Family: Fabaceae

Native: Southeast Australia

Type: Evergreen

This shrub or small tree grows to 5 m tall and has prickly leaves.

The leaves appear simple and are borne in whorls of 4 to 7. The flowers are yellow to cream colored, produced in axillary spikes.

The fruit is a linear legume.

26. Pricklypear, Blind

Scientific Name: Opuntia rufida

Family: Cactaceae

Native: Big Bend, Texas; North Mexico

Type: Evergreen

This shrub or small tree is blue-green or gray-green, growing from 0.5 to 1.5 m tall.

It has a round pad with minute hairs. The areole is wool white to tan without spines.

The flowers are pale yellow petaloids and the fruit is fleshy and red.

27. Privet, Chinese

Scientific Name: Ligustrum lucidum

Family: Oleaceae

Native: Eastern Asia

Type: Evergreen

This large shrub or small tree grows to 6 m tall with many  trunks.

The leaves are opposite, simple, and leathery with a dark green upper surface.

The flowers are small and greenish-white, borne in panicles. The fruit is a blue-black drupe.

28. Pain-in-the-back

Scientific Name: Trema lamarckiana

Family: Cannabaceae

Native: Asia

Type: Evergreen

This shrub to 3 m tall or tree to 6 m tall has alternate, simple leaves that are distinctly 2-ranked. Their upper surface is dull, dark green.

The flower is white or pink, produced in dense clusters around leaf-axils. The fruit is an egg-shaped drupe.

29. Palm, African Date

Scientific Name: Phoenix reclinata

Family: Arecaceae

Native: Africa, Madagascar

Type: Evergreen

This thicket-forming small tree or shrub grows from 9 to 15 m tall.

The leaf is pinnate and 3 to 4.5 m long. The petiole has stiff and sharp spines.

The flower is cream-colored and has 3 petals and sepals. The fruit is rounded and drupe-like.

30. Paradisetree

Scientific Name: Simarouba glauca

Family: Simaroubaceae

Native: Florida, Florida Keys

Type: Evergreen

This small tree grows from 10 to 15 m tall with alternate, pinnately compound leaves that have 10 to 20 leaflets.

The upper surface is dark green and the lower surface paler.

The flower is unisexual, small, and cream or yellow. The fruit is an oval drupe.

31. Pawpaw, Common

Scientific Name: Asimina triloba

Family: Annonaceae

Native: East Nebraska to East New York

Type: Deciduous

This tree grows to about 14m tall with a single straight trunk and an open crown with slender branches that spread out.

The leaf is large, simple, thin, and flexible.

The flower is 6-petaled and a dull red color. The fruit is an aggregate of berries that are oblong and green-yellow.

32. Peepul Tree

Scientific Name: Ficus religiosa

Family: Moraceae

Native: Asia

Type: Deciduous or Evergreen

This tree is potentially 30 m tall. The leaf is ovate and has a narrow tip. The surface of the leaf is yellowish-green or light green and hairless.

The fruit is hairless, rounded, and dark purple in color.

33. Peltophorum (Genus)

Family: Fabaceae

Native: South America

Type: Deciduous

This genus consists of about 8 species.

The leaves are alternate and bipinnate with even number of leaf segments and the flower is a yellow, bisexual structure with 5 petals that have frilly margins.

The fruit is a flat, winged legume.

34. Pencil Tree

Scientific Name: Euphorbia tirucalli

Family: Euphorbiaceae

Native: Africa

Type: Evergreen

This succulent shrub or small tree grows to 9m tall with many branches resembling pencils. The leaves may be absent or simple and spoon-shaped.

The flower is small and yellowish, borne year-round in ball-like heads. The fruit is a 3-parted capsule.

35. Pepperbush, Mountain

Scientific Name: Clethra acuminata

Family: Clethraceae

Native: Pennsylvania

Type: Deciduous

This shrub or small tree grows to about 6 m tall with a single short trunk.

The leaf is alternate, simple, and crowded near the tip of the twig. The flower is bisexual, white, and borne in hairy racemes.

The fruit is an ovoid 3-parted capsule.

36. Peregrina

Scientific Name: Jatropha integerrima

Family: Euphorbiaceae

Native: Cuba

Type: Deciduous

This shrub with several trunks grows from 4 to 5 m tall and is related to the Barbados Nut.

The leaf is alternate and simple with sharp-pointed lobes at the base of the blade.

This species has been naturalized in the U.S. due to ornamental planting.

37. Pisonia

Scientific Name: Pisonia rotundata

Family: Nyctaginaceae

Native: Lower Florida Keys

Type: Deciduous

This tree is 4 to 5m tall and has a low-branching dense crown.

The leaves are simple, leathery, and stiff with a lustrous upper surface and paler lower surface.

The flower is greenish-white, tubular, or urn-shaped. The fruit is a nutlet that matures in summer and ripens quickly.

38. Poonga-oil Tree

Scientific Name: Pongamia pinnata

Family: Fabaceae

Native: Southeast Asia

Type: Deciduous

This tree grows to about 10 m tall and has erect, ascending branches.

The leaf is alternate and pinnate with 5 to 7 leaflets. The flower is white, pink, or lavender.

The fruit is a yellow to brown legume that is flat, semicircular in shape, and dangling.

39. Possumhaw

Scientific Name: Viburnum nudum

Family: Adoxaceae

Native: Eastern U.S.

Type: Deciduous

This shrub or small tree grows to 6 m tall with erect or ascending branches.

The leaf is opposite, simple, and elliptic. The upper surface is dark green and lustrous.

The flower is white and borne in flat-topped cymes. The fruit is an ellipsoid drupe.

40. Princesstree

Scientific Name: Paulownia tomentosa

Family: Paulowniaceae

Native: Europe

Type: Deciduous

This tree is also known as princesstree and grows from 18 to 20m tall with a 60cm diameter. It has a single, erect trunk with a round, spreading crown.

The flower is bisexual and fragrant. It may be lavender, pinkish purple, or purple on the outside. The fruit is sticky, hard, and egg-shaped.

41. Princewood, Caribbean

Scientific Name: Exostema caribaeum

Family: Rubiaceae

Native: Southern Florida

Type: Evergreen

This shrub or small tree grows from 6 to 8 m tall with a spreading crown.

The leaves are opposite and appear whorled. The upper surface is a lustrous dark-green.

The flower is bisexual, white or pinkish colored. The fruit is an ovoid dark-brown capsule.

42. Pruche du Canada

Scientific Name: Tsuga canadensis

Family: Pinaceae

Native: Eastern U.S.

Type: Evergreen

This tree grows to 30 m tall with a diameter of 150 cm. It has a conical crown that becomes cylindrical as the tree ages. The leaf is a needle 8 to 15 mm long.

Pollen cones are produced numerously, and they are yellow in color.

43. Punktree

Scientific Name: Melaleuca quinquenervia

Family: Myrtaceae

Native: Australia

Type: Evergreen

This tree is 15 to 30m tall with a single trunk and stiffish leagues that are oval-shaped and have a grayish-green upper surface.

The flowers are small, 5-petaled, white, and circular with several stamens.

They blossom year-round. The fruit is a round or square capsule.

44. Pines (Genus)

Scientific Name: Pinus

Family: Pinaceae

Native: Occur worldwide

Type: Evergreen

This genus is the most economically and commercially important tree genus. They have needle-shaped leaves and typically rounded or irregular crowns.

The barks are scaly and the twig is slender to stout. The seed cones are few with several scales.

45. Pistachios (Genus)

Scientific Name: Pistacia

Family: Anacardiaceae

Native: Mediterranean region

Type: Deciduous or Semievergreen

This genus consists of about 11 species with alternate, pinnately compound leaves that have a flattened rachis and are winged along the 2 sides.

The flower is unisexual and borne in dense open-branched clusters. The fruit is a fleshy spherical drupe.

46. Pricklyashes (Genus)

Scientific Name: Zanthoxylum

Family: Rutaceae

Native: Warm regions worldwide

Type: Deciduous or Evergreen

This genus consists of 200 species occurring in the warm regions of the world.

The leaves are alternate and compound. The flowers are tiny and borne in branched clusters. The fruit is a spherical follicle that resembles a bladder.

Various species in this genus are commercially valuable.

Bottom Line

Hopefully, this guide has helped you effectively identify trees, starting with the letter P.

Your suggestions for more species and genera are most welcome.

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