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Euonymus alatus

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Our ace botanists are here to help you identify wild New England plants and to answer questions about their ecology and conservation. When posting a question, please provide the location, habitat (e.g. river, mountain, woodland), and photographs of the plant.

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Recently answered questions

Question

I'm looking for help identifying these plants. They grow at the side edge of the cliff on Mt Kineo, Piscataquis County, ME. They're little rosettes sharing space with Cerastium strictum. The leaves are somewhat stiff. No flowers. The first photo was taken August 12, the second in late September.

Answer

Dear Kimberley, good morning. They look like the rosettes of species of Draba (whitelow-mustard). The only species of Draba that I have seen on Mount Kineo is Draba glabella (the only location in ME for this species). Best wishes. (Tuesday, 19 November 2024)
Question

I wanna know when I can harvest the leaves from a RamGoat dashalong plant??

Answer

Dear Panda_444, good afternoon. Turnera ulmifolia (ramgoat dahsalong) isn't a species that grows in New England, so I am unable to offer you advice from direct experience with this plant. The leaves are used for a variety of medicinal effects, and aerial portions of many medicinal plants would be gathered when the plants are in flower and the leaves are fully expanded but not yet beginning to degrade in the Fall season. But, again, I can't offer you direct experience with this plant, so I would encourage you to ask someone from your area to assist. Best wishes. (Monday, 18 November 2024)
Question

Hi there, The native status of plants on this site goes down to county-level. If I want to plant something that is listed as native in an adjacent county, but as not native (county is left blank) in my own, is that OK? I would think that, since both counties sit within the same eco-region (Northeastern Coastal), it would be OK to do this. I would greatly appreciate any insight! Thanks

Answer

Dear djapierre, good afternoon. When conducting plans for ecologically ethical plantings, we try to do our best to plant species that are native to our local landscape. The scale that we use depends on our goals. County-level information is available and very useful. Using species from adjacent counties for planting is, again, dependent on your goals. It is a finer scale than most use and would not be intentionally planting things that are new to region. As you noted, many ecoregions consist of multiple counties in a given state. Staying within an ecoregion is typically considered a loadable goal for planting. Let me know if you have other ideas you wish to discuss. (Thursday, 14 November 2024)