Learning Plant Identification

Have you ever wondered what plants are growing around your house? Have you been hiking out in the woods and wanted to know the name of the plants you were seeing? I hope this guide will help you learn how to identify plants you have been seeing. However, it is geared towards identifying natural species, not garden and ornamental plants. It will work for non-native plants as well as native plants.

There are many resources one can use to identify plants. These include field guides, keys, photographs, and illustrations. Yet, plant identification is best learned by working in the field with other botanists. Attending a workshop or seminar on plant identification is an excellent way for the amateur botanist or plant enthusiast to learn the skills that will help in future plant identification endeavors. Hands on field practice outside is essential.

In this guide, I will teach you how to use different resources to identify a plant. You will also learn plant terminology, which covers many of the words needed to find out what particular plant you have. A large drawback to many of the guides to plant terminology is the lack of photographs of actual plants and plant parts. I have included as many of these as I could find to help illustrate specific plant parts and give you a better idea of what to look for when you're in nature trying to determine an unknown plant. Hopefully, you will share your new skills with others and come to better appreciate and notice the plant life all around you.