Chances are, you may know all the different plants growing in your garden. But what if you come across a plant that catches your attention in your local park or your neighbor's lawn? Will you be able to tell what it is?
Identifying different kinds of plants, especially those that you can use for food or medicine can be very challenging. Many species and varieties look very similar to each other. Unfortunately, many of those that appear to look like something that is helpful can turn out to be poisonous.
Take the Canadian moonseed (picture on the right) for example. At first, it looks very much like a juicy bunch of wild grapes (picture on the left). However, these fruits are extremely poisonous and can be fatal if you eat them.
Sourcr:MentalFloss
Having a bit of plant identifying know-how will also help you make wiser decisions when it comes to choosing which plants to have in your garden. Knowing which plant species to get for your garden would mean lesser time to maintain it, and you don't have to spend so much money on fertilizers and pesticides.
Here are some helpful plant identifying tips to help you get started.
1.Get a good guidebook.
There are lots of guidebooks that you can buy online or borrow from your local library that contain a collection of different kinds of flowers, trees, and herbs. This is a great tool to have when you're starting out with plant identifying because it not only gives you their names, but also pictures of the different parts of the plant, so you know what it looks like at various stages of its growth.
Here are some suggestions:
- Alpine plants of North America: An Encyclopedia of Mountain Flowers from the Rockies to Alaska
- Bulbs of North America
- Flowering Plant Families of the World
- Mabberley's Plant Book:A Portable Dictionary of Plants, Their Classification and Uses
- Plant Identification Terminology:An IIIustrated Glossary
2.Use a plant identifying app.
While there aren't that many plant identifying apps out there, the ones you can find are beneficial to help you get started identifying different plants in your area. They're also very handy. All you need to do is to take a picture of the unknown plant, and the app will give you all the information about the plant. Some, like Plantifier, would even connect you with a community of plant lovers. Not only will they give you details on what the plant is, but also how to take care of it if it's beneficial or how to get rid of it if it's harmful.
3.Ask a professional.
Another way to get started in learning about the different types of plants in your area is to ask a professional gardener in your area. Aside from helping you learn more about the different kinds of plants that are growing in your area and garden and how to care for them, they will also be able to share their personal resources to help you learn more about plant identifying.
4.Keep a nature journal.
As you learn more about identifying the different plants in and around where you live, it would be a good idea to jot everything down on a journal. That way, you create your
own personal reference that you can always look back at and refer to throughout your learning journey.
Plant identifying is a skill that you don't learn overnight. But with patience and the tips that I shared here, it would be an enjoyable process for you and even for your family.
