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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
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- Question
- Hi! I found this Symphyotrichum in a dry, open clearing in South Hamilton, MA (surrounded by low blueberry bushes and tufts of bluestem). It doesn't clearly resemble any of our species to my eye. I eventually decided that it could be S. pilosum var. pringlei, the variety without long hairs on the stem, but the bracts are unconvincing. They don't look like the bracts of S. pilosum var. pilosum I've keyed out. I'd love to hear your opinion.
- Answer
- Dear chickenparmesan24, good afternoon. This does not look like Symphyotrichum pilosum to me. The copiously bracteate branches and broad, relatively short green tip on the involucral bracts reminds me of Symphyotrichum dumosum (bush American-aster). The bracteal leaves are a bit larger than I normally observe, but I'm not certain which other American-aster this could be with the morphology captured in your images. Best wishes. (Friday, 16 October 2026)
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- Question
- Dear Botanist, I found this plant growing in a high-voltage right-of-way in Burlington MA. The surrounding plants are typical of full-sun, poor soil, and fairly dry. The developing (long and thin) seed pods remind me of Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa), and the plant oozed a white latex when broken. Could you please identify? The pictures were taken on Aug 22, 2026.
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- Dear stephan, good morning. The plant you have photographed is Apocynum androsaemifolium (spreading dogbane). It is a native member of the dogbane family and can be quite common in open, dry soils. Best wishes. (Friday, 16 October 2026)
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- Question
- In Cabot Vermont, I have a fairly large area with many Ladies Tresses plants. The soil is fairly acidic, as 12 years ago it was host to Balsam Fir. I am trying to determine if I also have the less common yellow ladies tresses mixed in with the nodding ladies tresses. Thank you for your help.
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- Dear radirlam, the orchid that you have photographed appears to be Spiranthes ochroleuca (yellow ladies’-tresses). The yellow labellum is a good indicator--not merely the adaxial (i.e., top surface), but rather the yellow color on the abaxial (i.e., lower) surface of the labellum. Best wishes. (Friday, 16 October 2026)
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