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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- Grows like a weed! Started out as a mat with tiny leaves, turns into stalks 10" high or more. Feels sticky to the touch, like it grips the hand —not like it's covered with sap.
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- Dear Madeleine89, good morning. You have photographed Galium aparine (scratch bedstraw). The "sticky" aspect you refer to is created by many, very small prickles that grip onto your hands or clothes. Best wishes. (Tuesday, 19 May 2026)
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- I found several trees growing along the east side of the South Street Cemetary in Portsmouth NH. I beleive they are Acer nigrum. They have gright red samaras that make them stand out in the woods amoung other trees. I've not seen these trees before so I am looking for conformation that is what they are. (I have been having problerms uploading photos so I am hoping I can get you an image to look at) David
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- David, feel free to send me an email directly (ahaines@nativeplanttrust.org) and we can try to figure out you mystery Acer (maple). (Friday, 15 May 2026)
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- East edge of South Street Cemetary, Portsmouth NH
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- Dear David, good morning. You have photographed a member of the genus Acer, but at this point I can't tell you with certainty which maple you have. I see there are fruits in the background. Can you get me an image of the fruits and a more expanded leaf? Feel free to email them to ahaines@nativeplanttrust.org and I will try to assist you. (Friday, 15 May 2026)
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- Picture this says this is veronica anagallis-aquatica, ehich makes sense it is growing in a shallow pool. Do uou agree? If you do, should I keep it?
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- Dear Carolyn, there is no image associated with your question. Without one, I won't be able to assist. If you are having a difficult time uploading an image, feel free to send one to ahaines@nativeplanttrust.org and I will try to assist. Best wishes. (Friday, 15 May 2026)
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- Hi, This grass grows all over the stream bed of the outlet of a beaver pond in Jacksonville, Vermont. Thank you for any id help. Rachel
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- Dear Rachel, good morning. Grasses are a difficult group, and identification relies on flowering and fruiting structures. If you could provide an image of the flowering stems and a close-up of the flowers, I should be able to help you. But, with only the leaves, I would need the physical specimen to make any hypotheses about who this is. So, I hope you can get another image or two this summer and send them along. Best wishes. (Friday, 15 May 2026)
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- Hi Botanists (Arthur?)! I'm trying to get a better sense of the difference between V. corymbosum and fuscatum. I'm seeing conflicting information regarding the presence of leaf hairs (nerves only versus throughout) and the color of hairs (FNA mentions brown-gray to brown hairs but most plants I've seen and confirmed with floral/fruit characteristics display white to gray hairs). Does hair color change with drying? What characteristics are most helpful when flowers/fruits are not present? Thanks
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- Dear Dan, good morning. There has been some recent taxonomic work that suggests some of the characters that were used by Uttal (1987) are more regional and do not work throughout the range of Vaccinium fuscatum (and certainly not in New England). I relied heavily on that work and it simply doesn't fit (perfectly) for northeastern material. A new paper has come out (2025) that recognizes only two species: a diploid (V. fuscatum) and a tetraploid (V. corymbosum). While I have reservations about how they treat the diploid portion of this complex, that research explains some of the reasons why we are seeing different character states in the northeast. While the authors try to make the claim that pubescence (amounnt, color) are virtually meaningless in discriminating species, there are trends that suggest your plant is most likely V. fuscatum. If you want to email me (ahaines@nativeplanttrust.org) I'll send you an updated identificaiton key that will assist with your work. I hope you are well. (Friday, 13 March 2026)
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- Help identifying this plant in our yard. Shady location, NW Connecticut.
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- Dear Don, good morning. Please forgive the long delay in responding, but it has taken a long time to determine which species you photographed. The plant is likely Campanula poscharskyana (Serbian Bellflower). This species has not been documented as "wild" in New England before. If you feel this plant is naturalized (i.e., growing outside of cultivation), I would appreciate communicating with you by email about this and possibly including it in the flora. I can be reached at ahaines@nativeplanttrust.org, thank you in advance for your help. (Monday, 24 November 2025)
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- Is this tree located in Benson, VT green ash (F. pennsylvanica)?
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- Dear mmchugh, good morning. The plant certainly looks like Fraxinus pensylvanica. The pubescence of the branchlets and leaves are good identifying characters, as are the lateral leaf scars that are not strongly concave on the distal (i.e., upper) margin. Fraxinus nigra would often have another pair of leaflets (or more) and would show sessile (i.e., unstalked) leaflets. Best wishes. (Tuesday, 28 October 2025)
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- I posted a question earlier about a plant that I thought could be Roseroot. Looking carefully at the plant and the flowers (photos were posted earlier), I think I was wrong and that the plant might be Narrow leafed bush clover, Lespedeza angustifolia. Close look at the fresh flowers, they seem to be cream colored and there are purple spots. And the fuzzy leaves seem to be in three leaflets when they are pulled away from the stalk. And it’s a local plant, not an unusual one. Carol Knox
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- Dear Carol, good morning again. You are in the correct genus, but Lespeza angustifolia has very narrow leaflets and typically occurs on coastal plain pond shores (i.e., in a specialized habitat). The plants are more likely Lespedeza capitata or a hybrid with that species. Best wishes. (Tuesday, 28 October 2025)
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- A friend, (Cathy Williamson), found & photographed this plant in West Falmouth, MA. Her phone id was 'Goldenroot'. Because she hadn't seen this plant before, she asked me to id it for her. I thought perhaps Rhodiola rosea L. using my guides and the NE Flora. Cathy collected a flowering stalk, which I photographed and pressed. Attached are Cathy's photos of the collection site and my photographs of the collected stalk. Normal range for Rhodiola is not MA, so maybe I'm wrong. Thanks, Carol Knox
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- Dear Carol, good morning to you. This is a species of Lespedeza (bush-clover). I'm not able to give you a confident identification with the images supplied, in part due to the extensive hybridization that occurs in this genus. The corolla color suggests and leaflet dimensions suggest this is allied to Lespedeza capitata. It may be that species or a hybrid with it. I would not be able to tell you more without a specimen. Best wishes. (Tuesday, 28 October 2025)
