any of several unrelated but similarly leaved plants. Cyperus alternifolius (family Cyperaceae), also called umbrella palm and umbrella sedge, is widely cultivated in water gardens and as a potted plant. It grows up to 1 m (3 feet) high. Native to Madagascar, Réunion, and Mauritius, it is widely naturalized in the tropics and subtropics.

Eriogonum alenii, native to the western United States, is a white woolly member of the buckwheat family (Polygonaceae). It grows to 50 cm (20 inches). Another umbrella plant, in the family Saxifragaceae, is Peltiphyllum peltatum; its leaves are about 25 cm (10 inches) across, with 10–15 lobes. It grows well in wet places, reaching about 2 m (6 feet) in height.