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American sea-rocket

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Sightings Locator

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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

Hello! I'm a passionate nature enthusiast from southwestern Connecticut. I'm trying to set up a native pollinator garden in my backyard this year, and while researching which plants to include, I started to wonder if I could help threatened species by growing them on my property, and possibly find local land restoration initiatives to participate in. I'm currently in college and looking for a career path as well, as someone with documented disabilities. Where can I find the information I seek?

Answer

Dear bumble_boline, good morning. I appreciate your consideration of pollinators and I think it is admirable you would like to create a garden. The planting of species of conservation concern has considerations that need to be taken into account. For example, sourcing these plants to promote native genotypes is imperative. And, it is possible for planted rare species to migrate off site and create new populations that can create philosophical issues surrounding conservation efforts. None of this is to curb your enthusiasm, but to try and elucidate issues that arise with the cultivation of rare species. Feel free to continue the conversation--my email address is ahaines@nativeplanttrust.org. Best wishes. (Thursday, 10 April 2025)
Question

two unusual species that are ‘wild’ and in association that perhaps need mentioning. Sweet Bay Magnolia (probably). 2-3 plants. Evergreen-ish. Fragrant when bruised. Appropriate leaf and stem morphology?. Bald Cypress. 1 plant Knees. Needles.Deciduous. 'Wild?’:on Concord (MA) conservation land on the S. side of a protected swamp. The land seemsto be managed for less common NE species—It was William Brewster’s bird-watching camp- so early 20th century protection- or introduction?

Answer

Dear durantenge, good afternoon. Both of these species are planted in that area (certainly for the bald cypress). While sweet-bay is native to MA, it is not found in that particular area (to my knowledge) outside of intentional plantings. Thanks for sharing. Best wishes. (Thursday, 3 April 2025)
Question

Hi so I’ve been walking around my backyard using the plantnet app trying to identify some plants, and this one came up as wall lettuce. I just wanted to confirm this because I looked it up and saw that it’s not commonly spotted, so that would be cool!

Answer

Dear okmarchy, good morning. Wall-lettuce (Cicerbita muralis) has a different leaf blade outline than this. I think this is a case of the plant app getting tricked. That written, I don't have enough to go on to tell you who this plant is. If it produces any flowers/fruits, please send me another image so I can assist you. Best wishes. (Thursday, 3 April 2025)