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.
Everyone can read the answers, but only logged-in users can ask questions. Log in to ask a question.
All Questions and Answers
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)
-
- Question
- Our school campus in Indo-nepal boarder has these variety of tiny flowers. Please mention their scientific and common names. The plants grow near maize fields..
- Answer
- Dear sekhar_sir, good afternoon. Unfortunately, I am not an expert in the flora of Indo-Nepal. I can only recognize higher ranks (and not species). The first image, the plant with white ray flowers, looks like a species of Galinsoga (quickweed), a member of the composite family. The second image, the species with yellow ray flowers, is also a member of the composite family and is grouped in the tribe Lactuceae (with genera such as Hieracium, Taraxacum, and the like). The last one, with white or pink flowers with yellow centers looks like a woody member of the vervain family, but I cannot tell you for certain and what genus it belongs to. I apologize, but this is the best I can do from half way around the world. Best wishes. (Thursday, 27 March 2025)
-
- Question
- 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.
- Answer
- 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)
-
- Question
- 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.
- Answer
- 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)
-
- Question
- 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.
- Answer
- 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)
-
- Question
- 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!
- Answer
- 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)
-
- Question
- 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.
- Answer
- 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)
-
- Question
- What is the name of this plant
- Answer
- 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)
