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Native Plant Trust: Go Botany Discover thousands of New England plants

Simple Key: Which group best describes your plant?

Please go through the groups in order.

Woody plants

Trees, shrubs, sub-shrubs, and lianas

Key characteristics

The outer tissues of the stems are thickened; most have bark and winter buds during the dormant season

Exceptions

Some very short shrubs can be mistaken for herbaceous plants

Video about this group

Woody plants

Aquatic plants

Plants with their leaves and/or stems submerged or floating in water

Key characteristics

Specialized submersed or floating leaves and tissues to withstand flooding

Exceptions

Some land plants can be flooded temporarily but cannot live long in water. Also, sometimes aquatic plants are stranded out of water or may be amphibious

Video about this group

Aquatic plants

Grass-like plants

Grasses, sedges, and other plants with long, narrow leaves

Key characteristics

Leaves consisting of a narrow blade and a tubular sheath around the stem; small, inconspicuous flowers without obvious sepals and petals

Exceptions

Some non-grasses have very narrow leaves but produce showy flowers

Video about this group

Grass-like plants

Orchids and related plants

Lilies, orchids, irises, aroids, and other monocots

Key characteristics

Seedlings have a single embryo leaf (cotyledon); plants have flower parts in multiples of 3 and parallel-veined leaves

Exceptions

Grasses are also monocots but are grouped under Grass-like Plants

Orchids, related plants

Ferns

Ferns, horsetails, quillworts, lycopods, and relatives

Key characteristics

Plants that reproduce by spores; the spores often grouped in specialized structures like sori, sporangia, and/or spore cones

Exceptions

Some seed plants have frilly, highly dissected leaves that resemble ferns

Video about this group

Ferns

All other flowering non-woody plants

Asters and all other flowering plants

Key characteristics

Flowering plants without parallel-veined leaves, and flower parts usually in multiples of 4 or 5

Exceptions

This is a large group with species that vary widely in characteristics; some narrow-leaved species have only one leaf blade vein, so floral characteristics are important

Other flowering non-woody plants