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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- Question
- I found what I think is Geranium sibiricum about two weeks ago in anthropogenic low growing grass on campus of High Mowing School, Wilton, NH, 03086. Took a picture of it with PlantNet, but it's not showing up in my Google Phots, alas, and I don't seem to be able to send it to you from PlantNet. Sorry.
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- Dear penelope+, good morning. If you are having trouble uploading images here, feel free to attach them to an email and send them to ahaines@nativeplanttrust.org and I will try to assist. (Monday, 9 September 2024)
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- Dear Mr. Botanist, I am clearing out a garden bed, and I found this sapling growing. I'd like to identify it, so I know whether it should stay or it should go. I think it might be a Linden tree, because there is a mature specimen nearby. However it also looks like a White Mulberry tree. Can you identify? Thank you.
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- Stephen, the winter buds look like those of Tilia (linden), which have a certain color and shape (often they have a red hue or a slight reddish infusion of a brown background and are asymmetrical, somewhat bulged on one side). I don't know which species of Tilia this is, but it looks like that genus to me. Best wishes. (Monday, 9 September 2024)
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- Hi, I am a first time user. I just signed up and tried to post my first observation, which is Aureolaria pedicularia. I followed all the prompts, but it would not allow me to upload a photograph, and when I looked for a help page, all my input was erased. Very frustrating first experience.
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- Dear kuzupogo, good morning. We are sorry you didn't have a good experience. Keeping Go Botany functioning requires many different platforms to integrate seamlessly, and these platforms are constantly upgrading and ceasing to communicate with each other. It is a massive and constant undertaking to keep it functioning. I do hope you will continue to be a user and benefit from it. Best wishes. (Monday, 9 September 2024)
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- found this growing in clumps along a back road in SW NH. I figured it’s some type of sedum/stonecrop, but the stalks are much “woodier” than my Autumn Joy Sedum. Can you identify, AND is it a native or a garden escapee (or something dumped)?
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- Dear Shelley, the species of this group with flattened leaf blades and toothed margins are typically placed in genera other than Sedum (e.g., Hylotelephium, Phedimus, Aizopsis). However, none of them are woody--they are all succulent herbaceous plants. Could you please look carefully and be certain that the woody stem is the same plant? If it is, I'm not certain with the images supplied who it would be. Additional images would be needed from different angles for me to assist you. Best wishes. (Monday, 9 September 2024)
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- I/m not sure what this is but think it might be either sessile-fruited arrowhead or Grass-leaved Arrowhead. The purple flower makes me wonder.
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- Dear nhaperkins, good evening. I can't help you without knowing where this plant was photographed. Location is critical information for identification to help us understand what species are in contention for an identification. I have not seen species of Sagittaria with purple petals in our region before, was this photographed somewhere in New England? Thank you. (Wednesday, 4 September 2024)
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- Hi Mr. botanist, I found this low-growing plant in the wetland edge of a woodlands in Reading, MA. Could you identify it for me? One of the photos I've attached is from much earlier in the growing season.
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- Dear Stephan, you have photographed Veratrum viride. This native wetland plant has the exquisite green flowers with a pair of nectaries at the base of each tepal. The prominently veined and pleated leaves are quite diagnostic. Best wishes. (Wednesday, 4 September 2024)
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- Nabalus serpentarius? Crane Wildlife Management area, Falmouth, MA
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- Dear jbacobra, good day. Your plant could be Nabalus serpentarius, but I can't see the details I need to for confirmation. I need a close-up on the involucral bracts to identify hairs. Or, you could post a clear image of a single leaf (the leaf blade outline is sometimes diagnostic). With that information, I might be able to help further. (Wednesday, 4 September 2024)
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- Dear botanist, I found this growth of vines on a thickly vegetated trail bordering the Ipswich River in Reading, MA. It appears ready to take over. Can you identify it for me? Pictures were taken earlier this month. Thanks. --Stephan
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- Dear Stephan, good morning. The images you have posted depict Mikania scandens (climbing hempvine), a native member of the composite family that is related to the genus Eupatorium (thoroughwort). Because they are vines, they will die back to ground level every year and so they tend not to grow in a manner that topples large trees (like Oriental bittersweet and other lianas can do). Best wishes. (Friday, 30 August 2024)
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- Hi I have this plant growing next to my sidewalk. It is the second year in a row I've seen it growing. I've also seen the same plant growing in the neighborhood, in Reading MA. Can you identify it for me? I've yet to see any flowers, but it grows rather leggy, and the green begins to turn red as the plant is stressed (also toward the end of the growing season). These photos were taken on 8/18/2024.
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- Dear Stephan, you have photographed a species of Bidens (beggar-ticks). It is likely Bidens frondosa or Bidens vulgata, but we will need flowers to determine which species it is. I hope knowing the genus is helpful. Best wishes. (Thursday, 29 August 2024)
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- Growing under shrubs & in grass is I think(?) a Violet (Falmouth MA Cape Cod). Flower stalks arise from axils of the toothed leaves, which have an unusual spreading shape. There are spreading rhizomes(? see photo), but also upright stalks with flower buds growing from the axils. White flower (violet like) this spring, but from a small plant and didn't pay attention. Have a whitish flower bud growing on several plants now. Several photos uploaded. Lots of these plants in a small area.
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- Dear Carol, you have photographed Viola arcuata, which is the first record of this plant in New England. This is an Asian species that is becoming naturalized in North America. Thank you for submitting the images, I will get this added to the second edition of the Flora Novae Angliae manual. Best wishes. (Thursday, 29 August 2024)
