CLASSIFICATION AND IDENTIFICATION
How this page is organized
A rough key - use this section to tentatively identify the plant's family by its leaves, stems and flowers.
Families - use this section to verify the plant's family. If successful, there are then a limited number of possible species for the plant you are trying to identify and they are listed. Look them up in the wildflowers section of this website or another website or in a guide such as Peterson's Wildflowers.
Families with only one or two species - there is no need to learn the characteristics of these families so they have been placed in this separate section. These families have only one or two species in our area so is best to just learn these species on sight.
A ROUGH KEY
By flowers, leaves, stems
Flowers
Four petals
Mustard
Evening primrose
Six petals
Lily
Numerous flowers in a head
Composite
Notched petals
Pink
Characteristic flowers
Snapdragon (figwort)
Mint
Milkweed
Violet
Pea (clover)
Orchid
Bushy centers
Buttercup
Rose
St Johns wort
Umbrels of flowers
Carrot
Leaves
Opposite-leaved
Mint
Pink
St John's wort
Dogbane
Nettle
Dogwood
Pinnate leaves
Pea
Dissected leaves
Carrot (parsley, umbellifera)
Buttercup
Leaves with parallel curved veins
Dogwood
Lily
Basal leaves mainly/only
Lily
Pyrola
Plantain
Clover leaves
Pea
Wood-sorrel
Stems
Square stems
Mint
A few snapdragons
Low/reclining
Heath
Bedstraw
Climbing
Pea
Cashew
FAMILIES WITH EXAMPLES
Not every plant in each family will show all the characteristics described
Families with several species in our area
Bedstraw - very common
Small, spindly with whorled leaves
Examples: Bedstraws
Buttercup - common
Usually 5 petals, bushy centers, leaves often finely cut
Examples: Tall buttercup, wood anemone, red baneberry, white baneberry, kidneyleaf buttercup, tall meadowrue, round-leaved hepatica
Carrot (parsley, umbellifera) - common
Finely cut leaves, multi-flowers in umbrels
Examples: Queen Anne's lace
Composite - very common
Multi-flowers
Examples: dandelion, coltsfoot, Canada thistle, hawkweeds, goldenrods (tall, Canada, blue-stemmed, rough-stemmed, grass-leaved), wormwood, beggar-ticks, chicory, daisy fleabane, Philadelphia fleabane, asters (flat-topped white, heart-leaved, large-leaved, New England, panicled, purple-stemmed, rush, whorled), mugwort, orange hawkweed, smoothish hawkweed,, sow thistle, yellow hawkweed, ox-eye daisy), hairy lettuce, pearly everlasting, pineapple weed, ragweed, yarrow, spotted Joe-pyeweed, rattlesnake root, burdock
Evening primrose - fairly common
Few species; 4 petals, cross-shaped style?
Examples: common evening primrose, enchanter's nightshade, willow-herb, swamp candle
Heath - very common
Low creeping plants or bushes, woody, flowers often bell-like and fruit a berry
Examples: blueberry, pipsissewa, wintergreen
Knotweed - very common
Inconspicuous flowers, jointed stems
Examples: false climbing buckwheat, lady's thumb, water smartweed, curled dock, broad dock, knotweed
Lily - common
Leaves often thick, basal, parallel-veined and petals in threes.
Examples: bluebead lily, Canada mayflower, trilliums, dogtooth violet
Mint - very common
Stems square, flowers characterstic skullcap or snapdragon appearance, leaves opposite and toothed
Examples: wild mint, water horehound, bugle, bugleweed, ground ivy, heal-all, mad dog skullcap, marsh skullcap
Morning glory - less common
Showy, five petals in trumpet shape
Examples: bindweeds
Mustard - very common
Four petals, pod formation
Examples: dame's rocket, garlic mustard, wormseed mustard, Pennsylvania bittercress and many other mustards
Nettle - somewhat common
Opposite toothed leaves, flowers in axils, stinging hairs
Examples: stinging nettle, false stinging nettle, wood nettle
Pea - very common
Characteristic flower with keel and banner, leaves pinnately divided or clover-like, often climbing
Everlasting pea, white and red clover, white and yellow sweet clover, black medick, hop clover, least hop clover, hog peanut, tufted vetch, pointed-leaved tick trefoil
Pink - fairly common
Petals with notch, opposite leaves
Examples: chickweed, bladder campion, mouse-eared chickweed, lesser stitchwort
Poppy - uncommon
Examples: celandine, pale corydalis
Primrose - somewhat common
Petals fused, stamens are opposite the petals, leaves may be wrinkled
Examples: Fringed loosestrife, whorled loosestrife, moneywort
Rose - very common
A big family. Sometimes thorns. Fairly bushy centers, five petals, alternate often toothed leaves.
Examples: rough-fruited cinquefoil, silvery cinquefoil, rough cinquefoil, agrimony, bramble (raspberry, blackberry), purple-flowering raspberry, white avens, yellow avens), strawberry, wood strawberry
Snapdragon - Figwort - very common
Characteristic snapdragon flowers, leaves often lance-shaped
Examples: Turtlehead, fringed loosestrife and whorled loosestrife and mullein, none of which have characteristic flower; butter and eggs?, birdsfoot trefoil?, figwort, thyme-leaved speedwell, square-stemmed monkey flower, starflower
Violet - very common
Characteristic flower with a lip, leaves often heart-shaped, often purple
Example: violets
Families with only one or two species in our area
There is no need to learn family characteristics for this group. One can just learn the plants themselves.
Bellflower - somewhat common
Example: Bellflower
Bluebell - uncommon
Example: cardinal flower
Cashew - somewhat common
Example: poison ivy
Dogbane - less common
Opposite even toothless leaves, bell-like small flowers ?
Examples: spreading dogbane, periwinkle
Dogwood - somewhat common
Characteristic parallel curved vein leaves, woody
Examples: bunchberry
Forget-me-not - fairly common
Example: forget-me-not
Ginseng
Example: Sarsaparilla
Iris
Example: Blue flag
Loosestrife
4 petals?
Examples: purple loosestrife, tufted loosestrife
Mallow
?
Examples: Musk mallow
Milkweed - common
Opposite big leaves, characteristic multi-flower like claws
Examples: milkweed, swamp milkweed
Orchid - somewhat common
Examples: Helleborine, yellow lady's slipper, purple-fringed orchis
Plantain - common
Examples: common plantain, pale plantain
Purslane - somewhat common
Pyrola - uncommon
Basal roundish leaves and single flower with droop ?
Example: shinleaf
St Johns wort - common
Examples: St Johns wort, marsh St Johns wort
Saxifrage - uncommon
Example: foamflower
Tomato - fairly common
Can be vines...
Examples: Bittersweet nightshade
Touch-me-not - somewhat common
Example: Jewelweed
Waterleaf - uncommon
Examples: Virginia waterleaf
?
Wintergreen - uncommon
Example: Indian pipe
Wood-sorrel - somewhat common
Example: yellow wood-sorrel
- Agrimony
- Bedstraw
- Beggar-ticks
- Bellflower
- Bittersweet nightshade
- Black medick
- Blackberry
- Bladder campion
- Blue flag
- Bluebead lily
- Blue-stemmed goldenrod
- Broad dock
- Bugle
- Bugleweed
- Bunchberry
- Burdock
- Burr-reed
- Canada goldenrod
- Canada mayflower
- Canada thistle
- Cardinal flower
- Celandine
- Chicory
- Coltsfoot
- Common plantain
- Curled dock
- Daisy fleabane
- Dame's rocket
- Enchanter's nightshade
- Evening primrose
- Everlasting pea
- False nettle
- Figwort
- Flat-topped white aster
- Foamflower
- Forget-me-not
- Fragrant water-lily
- Fringed loosestrife
- Garlic mustard
- Grass-leaved goldenrod
- Ground ivy
- Hairy lettuce
- Heal-all
- Heart-leaved aster
- Helleborine
- Hog-peanut
- Hop clover
- Horsetail
- Indian pipe
- Jewelweed
- Kidneyleaf buttercup
- Knotweed
- Lady's thumb
- Large-leaved aster
- Lesser stitchwort
- Mad dog skullcap
- Marsh St Johnswort
- Marsh skullcap
- Milkweed
- Moneywort
- Mouse-eared chickweed
- Mugwort
- Mullein
- Musk mallow
- New England aster
- Orange hawkweed
- Ox-eye daisy
- Pale corydalis
- Pale plantain
- Panicled aster
- Partridgeberry
- Pearly everlasting
- Pennsylvania bittercress
- Periwinkle
- Philadelphia fleabane
- Pickerel weed
- Pineapple weed
- Pipsissewa
- Pointed-leaved tick trefoil
- Poison ivy
- Purple fringed orchis
- Purple loosestrife
- Purple-flowering raspberry
- Purple-stemmed aster
- Purslane
- Queen Anne's lace (wild carrot)
- Ragweed
- Raspberry
- Rattlesnake-root
- Red clover
- Rough cinquefoil
- Rough-fruited cinquefoil
- Rough-stemmed goldenrod
- Round-leaved hepatica
- Rush aster
- St Johnswort
- Sarsaparilla
- Shinleaf
- Silvery cinquefoil
- Smoothish hawkweed
- Sow thistle
- Spotted Joe-pyeweed
- Spreading dogbane
- Square-stemmed monkey flower
- Starflower
- Stinging nettle
- Swamp candle
- Swamp milkweed
- Sweet white clover
- Tall goldenrod
- Tall meadowrue
- Thyme-leaved speedwell
- Tufted loosestrife
- Tufted vetch
- Turtlehead
- Violet
- Virginia creeper
- Virginia waterleaf
- White avens
- White baneberry
- White clover
- White sweet clover
- Whorled loosestrife
- Whorled wood aster
- Wild mint
- Willow-herb
- Wintergreen (Checkerberry)
- Wood nettle
- Wood strawberry
- Wormwood
- Wormseed mustard
- Yarrow
- Yellow avens
- Yellow wood-sorrel
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