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Has this or something similar ever happened to you? You open your door to greet the day, and find that someone has left a lovely plant on your doorstep. There is a small note attached reading “I’m moving and wanted this to go to a good home, your garden shows that you care about plants, so enjoy!” How nice! Now, what is it? Plant identification can be as fun as doing puzzles, or as frustrating as the homework from your college calculus class. Please let me explain.
Not every gardener has a Master's degree in Botany or Horticulture. Many of us learn by doing, reading, trail and error. But when it comes to trying to identify a plant, even the most knowledgeable can feel like a total novice. If you don't live near good nurseries or garden centers, if the closest extension office is several hundred miles away, (or in my case - thousands), then live and in-person, touchy, feely identification isn't possible, and your only recourse is to turn to books and the Internet. It's not as if there were only a few names to choose from, nor are there only a few sources to find those names. If you Google "plant identification, it comes up with 352,000 entries! Who has time to wander through all that?! So we each have our favorites, and if you are reading this, chances are that one of your favorites, if not number one on your list is Dave's Garden. If the Plant Files can't help you, then the wonderful, friendly people in the forums will do their darndest to help you come up with an answer. But why is it so hard in the first place?
Well, first of all you have to decide what type of plant it is...grass, forb, tree, shrub, vine? And just what the heck is a forb? Aha! A vascular plant that isn't woody...gotcha. Now, are there flowers or no flowers? Uh, I've had it a week...no flowers now, but maybe... Okay, well, are there 2 seed leaves or just one? Uh...it's about a foot tall; I think its beyond the seed leaf stage. Right. Well, then let us turn to other identifiers...is it a succulent, an epiphyte, a bulb?
In botany you can get a little light-headed wandering through the Latin names in the family trees. Start at the top with Families, then follow down the tree as follows: subfamilies, tribes, subtribes, genus, species, variety, form, and cultivar. Ah, come on, I just want to know what it is, so I can find out where to put it and how to care for it!
This is where pictures can prove invaluable. Many times, what can be very hard to describe in botanical terms, can be seen quite clearly in a picture. Growth pattern, leaf placement and markings, leaf shape and distance from the stem, can all be seen without knowing a petiole from a peduncle. Many plants can be identified in this way with only a few hours of invested time. But what do you do if you can't find a picture that looks like your plant? Well, similarities in form or structure can lead you in the direction of family, tribe or species...something as simple as the color of the sap can send you looking through Euphorbias for example. Once you think you have the family identified, it then just becomes a matter of sifting through all the pictures you can find of that family, and sometimes that alone will lead you to the right identification. Ah yes, sometimes. I personally have well over 25 gardening books; many dedicated to one type of plant or region. I have 32 sites listed in my "plants" folder on my computer, including a vocational education site on horticulture basics that I am working with. And still, there are plants I am asked about, or receive from friends that I cannot identify.
Now some of you reading this will understand my frustration in a flash... you too have been in this situation. Others may think, "What's the big deal? It's just a plant." Or "Come now, it can't be that hard to identify a plant." A friend of mine, and fellow Dger, rjuddharrison is one of our "go to" guys in the Tropical Gardening Forum. He is always willing to help anyone with answers from the mundane to quite complex, and his garden is famous among the Texas tropical gardens. Yet even he was on an identification quest regarding a tree that he grew from an unknown seed. Now granted, he had some starting points such as the appearance of the seed, and the location it was found, but still after 177 posts, the tree is closer to a name, but not positively identified. In another post, the incomparable AlohaHoya, nursery owner, and botanical guru of the Big Island of Hawaii, posted a picture of a bloom she did not immediately recognize. That one we nailed in just a few posts. She had helped the rest of us so many times, that we all would have done anything necessary to get her an answer, just as a way of saying, "thanks for all your help".
And that brings me back to the wonderful, friendly, helpful folks on Dave's Garden. When books fail you, when the Internet just doesn't have what you are looking for, but keeps pointing you to the DG Plant Files, you have been given the best tool available for any gardening question. Whether you post in one of the Beginner's Forums, or in a specific plant or regional forum, the combined knowledge of the member's of this site are at your disposal. Initially the botanical expertise of ecrane3, Farmerdill, WeeNel, or any of a dozen other helpful folks will attempt to solve your dilemma, and this is usually right first try. But occasionally even they will need a little help, and they know where to go to get the answers. Bottom line is that by posting a picture and a question on Dave's Garden, you will almost always find out what you have, where to place it in your garden, and how to care for it. Then you can pay it forward, and help turn the frustration of the next calculus student into a solved sudoku puzzle. And so it grows...
Except for the picture of my books, all of these pictures are of plants identified by members of Dave's Garden. Thanks!
About Shari Scott
For most of my 53 years I have been an avid traveler, and luckily I married one as well. We are now living (for the 2nd time) on the tiny island of Kwajalein in the middle of the Pacific. I have gardened in places as varied as the Rocky Mountains and the desert of Saudi Arabia, and many points in between. My passions include, but are not limited to: Family, friends, music, good conversation, and the wonders to be found in the oceans of our planet.
Posted by PamelaAnn (from Tenino, WA) on June 18, 2008 at 4:19 PM:
Hi: About 2 years ago I ordered some dried foliage and flowers from a woman in Virginia (I live in WA. state). I've used almost everything up and need replacements, however, she is now out of business. I especially like a leaf she had sent me and I "thought" she said it was mugwort, however, I've been trying to look that up on the internet and nothing looks quite like "my" leaf! I would love to find out what it is and how I can get more!! Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Pam
...
Posted by Islandshari (from Kwajalein
(Marshall Islands)) on June 19, 2008 at 9:11 PM:
Hi Pam!, sorry it has taken so long to get back to you. I can not identify that unfortunately, but if you post on the Plant Identification forum, or in Beginner flowers/plants you will have lots of people see your question. Posting here won't get you much attention, because this is an article from the past, not a forum. Here is a link:
Posted by lena9221 (from Westland, MI) on June 12, 2008 at 9:17 AM:
Anyone know what this is? It's very pretty.
Is it an annual, or a perennial and how to care for it?
Thanks
Lena
...
Posted by Islandshari (from Kwajalein
(Marshall Islands)) on June 13, 2008 at 2:29 AM:
Hi Lena, you're right that is very pretty. I'm sorry, but I don't know what it is. You will have better luck identifying it if you post your question in the Plant Identification forum rather than here. This is an article from the past, and not many people will re-read it. In the forums many more helpful folks will see your post and come to your assistance.
Yokwe,
Shari
...
Posted by deidre2382 (from Minneapolis, MN) on July 9, 2008 at 1:17 PM:
Hi Lena
I know this flower to be a perrenial and it is called columbine. It does self seed.
DD
...
Subject: Tree identification
Posted by luv2watchitgro (from Crestview, FL) on June 3, 2008 at 3:22 PM:
Can someone help identify this tree? It has small leaves and the branches have thorns all over them. I live in Northwest Florida.
...
Posted by Islandshari (from Kwajalein
(Marshall Islands)) on June 3, 2008 at 7:27 PM:
Hi Luv! You have d-mail!
...
Subject: Night Blooming Flowe
Posted by dad4525 (from Las Vegas, NV) on June 2, 2008 at 12:29 PM:
Does any one know what this is?Only blooms for one night and then dies.
...
Posted by Islandshari (from Kwajalein
(Marshall Islands)) on June 2, 2008 at 6:35 PM:
Hi Dad4525! You will have much better luck posting your picture and question on the Plant Identification Forum, or one of the Beginner Gardening Forums...not suggesting that you are a beginner, but there are a lot of folks who check those forums for people looking for help. Not many folks will see this here, because it is an article not a forum...
Here are some links:
[HYPERLINK@davesgarden.com]
[HYPERLINK@davesgarden.com]
Good luck!
Yokwe,
Shari
...
Subject: Identify a red wildflower?
Posted by Jetlagged40 (from Raleigh, NC) on June 1, 2008 at 4:37 PM:
Can anyone id the flower in the photo? Yes, there is a lot of poison ivy around the flowers. This is in NC mountains, probably zone 6, taken this morning on Tester Mountain.
...
Posted by Islandshari (from Kwajalein
(Marshall Islands)) on June 1, 2008 at 6:30 PM:
Jetlagged40, you will have much better luck posting your picture and question on the Plant Identification Forum, or one of the Beginner Gardening Forums...not suggesting that you are a beginner, but there are a lot of folks who check those forums for people looking for help. Not many folks will see this here, because it is an article not a forum...
Posted by istpoir (from Somerville, MA) on May 25, 2008 at 12:13 PM:
Not being schooled in botanical classification, I need help in identifying a flowering plant which has volunteered in my sunny front garden. I've attached an image of the plant, showing both the flowers and the leaves. Before I uproot it, I'd like to know what it is. Any help would be appreciated!
...
Posted by Islandshari (from Kwajalein
(Marshall Islands)) on May 25, 2008 at 4:03 PM:
First of all let me say Welcome to DG istpoir! This is a fantastic site, but then if you read the article, you already know that's how I feel.
Can't quite see the flowers - which remind me of Lantana - but the rest of the plant does not look right for that. Is there a white sap inside the branches? This looks like it might be a Euphorbia wallichii- a spurge. But I am really NOT an expert. What you should do is post this or another picture in the Plant Identification forum, or in one of the beginner gardening forums. This is not to say that you are a beginner gardener - there are just a lot of people to watch those forums to help answer questions. By posting your question here as a response to my article, you are not going to get a lot of people to see it. Here are a couple of links:
[HYPERLINK@davesgarden.com]
[HYPERLINK@davesgarden.com]
Good luck!
Yokwe,
Shari
...
Subject: Plant Identification
Posted by Noturf (from Marquesas Islands
(Polynesia (French))) on February 11, 2008 at 12:11 PM:
As a collector of trees, bushes, climbers, ground covers, wild plants I have gone through the frustration of not knowing the botanical name of 10/15 percent of my collection. The common name does not interest me since I can not research any valuable information with those. What I do is to collect what I like, better if not common place or over used. To give a few examples:Barleria Repens,Proiphys Amboinensis, Pereskia Bleo and Dissotis Rotundifolia. These were some of a group whicn names I wanted to know for my inventory.
However, often I find what I am looking for in book stores. By accident.... Many good books of tropical plants present species that are not well known or used. The pleasure of finding the name of something one has had for years without any idea of the name is intense.
On the other hand, I have learned that knowing the name of anything is only valuable if you are going to do something with the information. Other wise it makes no difference regarding the pleasure of growing an unknown plant in the pot or the garden.
Finally, it is impossible to know the name of everything unless you only get plants from nurseries that correctly indentify what they sell.
...
Posted by Islandshari (from Kwajalein
(Marshall Islands)) on February 11, 2008 at 7:09 PM:
How right you are Noturf. Some things may stay unidentified and your only guide to their care is common sense and careful observation. Sometimes even when you find out what something is, your euphoria at finding the name can be replaced with confusion when what you learn about care is the opposite of what you have been doing...but then that is why everyone's experiences from different micro-climates are so valuable. And why I always end up back at DG Plant Files and communities.
...
Subject: Great article
Posted by doccat5 (from Fredericksburg, VA) on February 6, 2008 at 7:20 AM:
Wonderful article, shari. It's wonderful to have all the added help of all the knowledgable folks here on DG to help with this problem. Although, I must say, I want to cultivate a few more of those folks who leave unidentified plants on one's doorstep. :)
Good job, thanks for sharing the information. :)
...
Posted by McGlory (from Southeast, NE) on February 6, 2008 at 10:11 AM:
Thanks for helpful info, Shari. I have gotten lazy and go straight to the forums. "Hello, it's green. What is it?" Shouldn't take advantage of you smart people like that.
Thank you for helping out so next time I can have a head-start and not look like such a dummy! Good job!
...
Posted by LouC (from Desoto, TX) on February 6, 2008 at 10:35 AM:
Two articles today pointed right at me. hahaha. I'm the one that has a red flower, a white flower, a blue flower...
With your encouragement, I vow to be better in the future.
C
...
Posted by carrielamont (from Milton, MA) on February 6, 2008 at 1:43 PM:
Well (she said, with a rueful grin) yep, those folks over at plant ID have helped out more than once, on stuff I had no clue (at the time) where to start with, like, well. . . like TREES. So, thank you Shari, and thank you DG.
x, Carrie
...
Posted by Dea (from Frederick, MD) on February 6, 2008 at 3:31 PM:
Always been amazed every time I post something to be ID'd - and BAM - the answers are there so fast :)
...
Posted by Islandshari (from Kwajalein
(Marshall Islands)) on February 6, 2008 at 6:03 PM:
Hopefully a newbie or two will see this article and realize just how great DG is! And as for the notorious "red flower, blue flower, white flower" or "tree"...those of us really "in the know" call these lovelies "Noids" (sounds so clever, but means No I.D.) I actually had a call knock on my door and ask where she could get a noid like mine - she just loved it! Laughed like a loon when I told her what noid was.
Happy hunting everyone!
...
Posted by rjuddharrison (from Houston, TX) on February 7, 2008 at 12:24 AM:
Thanks Shari!
Those reasons are just why we should post foliage pictures in the PF. Alot of times there are only pictures of blooms because ...well they're the stars of the flowering plants, but for i.d. purposes we need to add pictures of the whole plant, foliage, even seeds.
Yokwe
Rj
...
Posted by carrielamont (from Milton, MA) on February 7, 2008 at 11:13 AM:
I'll add my "yes, please" to that. If I'm trying to decide what to order, plant, trade, etc, I rely very heavily on PlantFiles. Even catalogs and seed catalogs don't always tell you what the whole plant looks like. If I'm going to have it with me for all stages of its life, not just the moment of glory, then I want to know what every stage looks like. . . please?
leaf shape and distance from the stem, can all be seen without knowing a petiole from a peduncle. Many plants can be identified in this way with only a few hours of invested time. But what do you do if you can't find a picture that looks like your plant? Well, similarities in form or structure can lead you in the direction of family, tribe or species...something as simple as the color of the sap can send you looking through Euphorbias for example. Once you think you have the family identified, it then just becomes a matter of sifting through all the pictures you can find of that family, and sometimes that alone will lead you to the right identification. Ah yes, sometimes. I personally have well over 25 gardening books; 
many dedicated to one type of plant or region. I have 32 sites listed in my "plants" folder on my computer, including a vocational education site on horticulture basics that I am working with. And still, there are plants I am asked about, or receive from friends that I cannot identify. 
Initially the botanical expertise of ecrane3, Farmerdill, WeeNel, or any of a dozen other helpful folks will attempt to solve your dilemma, and this is usually right first try. But occasionally even they will need a little help, and they know where to go to get the answers. Bottom line is that by posting a picture and a question on Dave's Garden, you will almost always find out what you have, where to place it in your garden, and how to care for it. Then you can pay it forward, and help turn the frustration of the next calculus student into a solved sudoku puzzle. And so it grows... 
