Ask the Botanist
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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All Questions and Answers
Recently Answered Questions
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- My parents recently grew this plant they received, does anyone know what it is called? I ate some of the fruit and liked it but have no idea what it's called. I was also told that this plant is in abundance in Southern China near though I have yet to verify that.
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- Dear Albedrt757, good morning. I don't know the name of this plant that you have posted images of. However, I do know that it is a member of the Solanaceae (nightshade family), and that it is likely a member of the genus Solanum (nightshade), the same genus that eggplant, tomato, and some other well-known nightshades belong to. I hope you are able to learn the full identity of this mystery plant. (Tuesday, 18 March 2025)
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- This is a violet growing in the low, wet corner of my yard. Photos taken on May 14, 2024. I thought I had photos of the capsules later on in the year, but I can't find them sadly. I believe it is Viola affinis and I used the Flora Novae Angliae key (which I just bought :-) ) Some features that match up are: leaves narrow-ovate, uniform teeth along margin, sepals lanceolate, peduncles glabrous, and of course its habitat.
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- Dear ryan3476, good morning. Your violet is a bit of a puzzle. The ciliate sepals and ciliate leaf blade margin (nicely visible in your images) put this in the Viola sororia complex. I can't tell whether or not the spurred petal is pubescent (it is often difficult to see in images that don't specifically try to tease this out). I would have happily called this Viola sororia s.s. except that the leaf blades are more narrow (relative to width) than I typically observe. I don't know what part of New England this violet was photographed from, which would make a difference based on which species are likely to be present that may have contributed (through hybridization) to the features we observe now. You can reach me at ahaines@nativeplanttrust.org if you want to discuss this violet further. Best wishes. (Monday, 10 March 2025)
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- hello. nashville, tn. i received a bromeliaceae plant for valentine's day. today 3/3 she is looking ill. not as vibrant as before. it also has some discoloration spotting that wasn't there when i first got it. i've let water sit in the center cup for 2days and noticed it wasn't draining so i took some water out. it now has white fuzzys mold like. please help save her.
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- Dear chunkymonkey7, often plants that get a white wild on them are being covered by something called "powdery mildew", a fungus that can harm the plant. There are multiple ways to deal with this, including clipping and removing affected parts, or using vinegar (mix two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar with a quart of water and place it in a spray bottle to mist the affected parts). You can also add baking powder (1 tablespoon to a quart of water) and mist that onto the plant. For prevention, keep the plant in an areas with good air flow and don't over water. I hope this helps. (Friday, 7 March 2025)
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- I am hoping for some input on 2 shrubs I encountered on the shores of a salt pond on Martha's Vineyard. They were both about 12' high and very full. Pics 53 and 56 are one shrub, and 54 and 55 are the other. Is this enough information, and is there a standard format I should follow when submitting a request? Thank you very much for any inout you can provide!
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- Dear Wineyarders, the images you have sent are not of high enough resolution for me to help you with confidence. Can you please attach these to an email and send them to ahaines@nativeplanttrust.org? That would allow me to confirm my hypotheses (I do believe I know what at least one of the plants are, but I need to see details of the winter buds more clearly). Best wishes. (Tuesday, 4 March 2025)
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- My name is Anas, and I live in Somalia. I found this tree in 2019, and I only have its seeds. The tree has been cut down, and I don’t know its name, I only have its seeds.
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- Dear Ayaxduliye, good morning. I'm sorry to learn that the tree has been felled. I am not familiar with the flora of Somalia, so even if an image of the tree's seed had uploaded I likely would not have been able to assist you. If you visit https://sweetgum.nybg.org/science/ih/ it can help you find plant museums in your area that will have staff that can assist you (by email and shared digital images). I hope you find the name for your tree. Best wishes. (Tuesday, 4 March 2025)
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- What is the name of this plant
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- Dear sapna123, good morning. You appear to have photographed Fagus grandifolia (American beech) in the winter when the marcescent leaves have senesced and dried but still remaining on the plant. Best wishes. (Monday, 17 February 2025)
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- Good day, Please help me identify this plant that has been growing in my front yard in London for at least 20 years.its now very tall and since I have come back from being away it's looking really good.
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- Dear jordanhinze, there are no images associated with your post. Without them, I won't be able to assist you. If you are having trouble uploading images, feel free to attach them to an email and send them to ahaines@nativeplanttrust.org. I will be happy to try to assist you. (Wednesday, 11 December 2024)
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- 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.
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- 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)
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- I wanna know when I can harvest the leaves from a RamGoat dashalong plant??
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- 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)
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- 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
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- 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)
