List of Black Plants

From city balconies to shaded woodland borders, gardeners are increasingly using deep foliage and dark blooms to add contrast and drama to outdoor and indoor plantings. Dark-leaved varieties work well in small containers or large beds, pairing with lighter foliage for a striking effect.

There are 40 black plants, ranging from Arabian Night Dahlia to Zwartkop Aeonium. Data is organized by Scientific name, Height (cm), and Native region for each entry — you’ll find below.

How do I choose black plants that will thrive in my garden?

Look at the Scientific name and Native region columns to match plants to your climate and soil; Height (cm) helps plan spacing and layering. Prefer sun- or shade-tolerant varieties depending on your site, and test one or two in containers before committing to large beds.

Are black plants really black and do they need special light?

Most are very dark purple or maroon rather than pure black; exposure, soil, and nutrition affect color intensity. Some dark-leaved species deepen in full sun, while others retain richer tones in part shade—check the Native region and light needs to decide.

Black Plants

Images and Descriptions

Black Mondo Grass

With its strappy, truly black, grass-like foliage, this slow-spreading perennial offers stunning contrast. It’s perfect for modern garden borders, rock gardens, or containers where its unique color can stand out.

Queen of Night Tulip

Famous for its deep, velvety maroon flowers that appear almost black in the shade. This single late tulip blooms in late spring, providing a dramatic, sophisticated touch to garden beds and floral arrangements.

Black Magic Elephant Ear

This tropical plant features enormous, heart-shaped, dusty black leaves that create a bold statement. It loves heat and water, making it perfect for waterside planting or as a dramatic container specimen in warm climates.

Black Hollyhock

Produces tall spires of single, cup-shaped flowers in a glossy, deep chocolate-maroon that looks black. This classic cottage garden biennial adds striking vertical interest and attracts pollinators like bees and butterflies.

Black Velvet Petunia

The world’s first all-black petunia, its blooms are a non-fading, rich black with a velvety texture. This popular annual is perfect for creating striking modern contrasts in containers, hanging baskets, and garden borders.

Black Baccara Rose

Renowned for its velvety, dark burgundy-red blooms that are the closest to black found in roses. The flowers have a subtle fragrance and are a favorite of florists for their dramatic, long-lasting beauty.

Zwartkop Aeonium

This striking succulent forms large rosettes of glossy, deep black-purple leaves atop woody stems. A true showstopper in rock gardens or containers, its color deepens with more sun exposure, and it produces yellow flowers.

Black Lace Elderberry

A large shrub with finely dissected, deep purple-black foliage resembling a Japanese maple. It produces beautiful pink, lemon-scented flowers in early summer, followed by edible black berries, offering year-round interest.

Obsidian Coral Bells

Forms a neat mound of smooth, rounded leaves in a deep, glossy black-purple that holds its color all season. A shade-loving perennial, it’s perfect for adding rich, dark tones to borders and containers.

Black Bat Flower

An exotic and mysterious plant with large, bat-shaped black flowers and long, trailing “whiskers.” It’s a tropical novelty that requires high humidity and shade, often grown as a unique and challenging houseplant.

Black Pearl Pepper

An ornamental pepper with deep purple-black foliage that adds drama to any garden. It produces small, shiny black fruits that ripen to a fiery red, making it beautiful from leaf to fruit in containers and beds.

Blackie Sweet Potato Vine

A vigorous trailing vine with deeply lobed, maple-like leaves in a rich, dark purple-black. It’s a fast-growing annual that spills beautifully from hanging baskets, window boxes, and containers, creating a dramatic cascade.

Black Scallop Bugleweed

A tough groundcover with large, scalloped leaves of a glossy, near-black color. In spring, it sends up short spikes of deep blue flowers. It forms a dense, weed-suppressing mat in shady or moist areas.

Diabolo Ninebark

A large, hardy shrub with stunning deep purple-red foliage that can appear black in certain light. Clusters of white-pink flowers provide a beautiful contrast in summer. It’s tough, adaptable, and provides great seasonal interest.

Black Knight Iris

This bearded iris boasts spectacular, velvety flowers of the deepest purple-black. Blooming in late spring, its dramatic, ruffled petals make it a standout in any sunny perennial border or cutting garden.

Black Star Calla Lily

An elegant plant with dramatic, trumpet-shaped flowers in a deep, glossy black-maroon. The dark blooms contrast beautifully with its green, arrow-shaped leaves. It’s excellent for containers and as a sophisticated cut flower.

Black Barlow Columbine

Features unique, fully double, spurless flowers that resemble small dahlias in a deep, velvety purple-black. This charming perennial adds a touch of gothic elegance to cottage gardens and woodland settings in late spring.

Black King Pansy

A classic cool-weather flower with velvety, pure black blooms, often with a tiny yellow eye. Perfect for adding a dramatic touch to containers, window boxes, and borders in spring and fall.

Persian Lily

A majestic bulb that produces a tall stalk with up to 30 bell-shaped, dusky purple-black flowers. This unique and elegant plant provides a dramatic vertical accent to sunny, well-drained gardens in mid-spring.

Chocolate Cosmos

Produces velvety, deep maroon-brown flowers that look nearly black and have a distinct chocolate scent. This tender perennial is a favorite for its unique color and fragrance, attracting gardeners and pollinators alike.

Wine and Roses Weigela

A beautiful deciduous shrub prized for its dark, burgundy-purple foliage that provides season-long color. In spring, it’s covered in contrasting rosy-pink, trumpet-shaped flowers that attract hummingbirds.

Black Parrot Tulip

Features large, flamboyant blooms with deeply fringed and ruffled petals in a shade of deep purple-black. This exotic-looking tulip makes a theatrical statement in the late spring garden and in bouquets.

Black Prince Snapdragon

This snapdragon boasts deep, crimson-black flowers and dark bronze-green foliage. It provides a striking vertical accent and a touch of gothic romance to annual beds, containers, and cutting gardens.

Midnight Ruffles Hellebore

Features large, double, ruffled flowers in a slatey, deep purple-black. One of the first perennials to bloom in late winter, it brings dramatic, moody color to the shade garden when little else is flowering.

Royal Purple Smoke Bush

A large shrub with deep, maroon-purple leaves that appear nearly black. In summer, it’s covered in large, airy, smoke-like plumes of pinkish flowers, creating a stunning visual effect in the landscape.

Blackbeard Penstemon

Features striking, dark eggplant-purple foliage that holds its color even in heat and humidity. In early summer, it sends up spikes of lilac-purple, tubular flowers that attract hummingbirds.

Hillside Black Beauty Bugbane

A commanding perennial for the shade garden, it features deeply-cut, dark bronze-purple foliage that verges on black. In late fall, fragrant, creamy-white, bottlebrush flowers rise above the dark leaves.

Before the Storm Iris

Widely considered one of the blackest flowers available, this tall bearded iris has lightly ruffled, deep black petals with a subtle sweet fragrance. It’s a dramatic and award-winning addition to any sunny border.

Black Taffeta Heuchera

Features very glossy, ruffled leaves in a deep purple-black. The shiny, crinkled texture adds another layer of interest, making it a standout foliage plant for shade gardens and containers where texture matters.

Black Prince Echeveria

This popular succulent forms tight rosettes of fleshy, triangular leaves that darken to a deep brownish-black with sun exposure. In fall, it sends up stalks of contrasting bright red-orange flowers.

Dark Dimension Hyacinth

Considered one of the darkest spring bulbs, this hyacinth produces dense spikes of deep, cobalt-purple flowers that are nearly black. It provides intense color and a powerful, sweet fragrance to spring gardens.

Arabian Night Dahlia

A decorative dahlia that produces an abundance of medium-sized, fully double flowers in a rich, deep crimson-black. It’s a classic choice for adding velvety texture and dramatic color to summer borders and bouquets.

Black Jack Gladiolus

Produces tall, elegant spires of large, ruffled flowers in a deep, velvety, black-red hue. A stunning addition to the back of the border for vertical interest and an exceptional, dramatic cut flower.

Black Knight Canna

A tropical plant with large, deep burgundy-black leaves that create a bold, architectural statement. In summer, it produces stunning, lipstick-red flowers, offering a dramatic contrast of color. Loves sun and moisture.

Black Medusa Lily

A bizarre aroid with a huge, velvety, deep purple-black spathe (flower) that can reach 50 cm long. It’s infamous for its foul smell of rotting meat, designed to attract pollinating flies. A true curiosity.

Black Mondo Lilyturf

A grass-like perennial with foliage that emerges green and matures to a deep purple-black. It’s tougher and faster-growing than Black Mondo Grass, making it a great choice for dark groundcover or edging.

Black Adder Hyssop

A long-blooming perennial with smoky lilac flower buds that open to violet-blue flowers on near-black spikes. The dark calyxes give the impression of a black flower long after the blooms fade.

Chocoholic Snakeroot

A shade-loving perennial with finely-cut, deep purple-bronze foliage that is almost black. In late summer, it produces tall, fragrant, bottlebrush-like spikes of pale pinkish-white flowers, offering beautiful contrast.

Black Gamecock Iris

A Louisiana iris that thrives in wet conditions, it produces large, velvety, deep purple flowers that are one of the darkest irises available. Ideal for pond margins, bogs, or rain gardens.

Night Embers Sedum

A succulent perennial with sturdy, near-black stems and dark, smoky purple-black leaves. In late summer, it’s topped with large clusters of mauve-pink flowers that provide a beautiful contrast and attract bees.

Other Colored Plants