Questions tagged [identification]

Use this tag for questions that ask "what is this thing?" Pictures, geographic location, and descriptive titles are important. Ask only one identification request per question. When you get an answer, consider adding a further tag (for the flower, tree, beetle etc. that has been identified) so your question is cataloged correctly. If the question is about determining the cause of a plant problem (e.g. disease), the diagnosis tag is more appropriate.

When asking an identification question:

  • Make a good title:

    • Include the type of thing (weed, bug, plant, etc.) that you want to identify.
    • Include distinctive features. ("Red fuzzy vines".)
    • Include where it was found -- both where in the world, and where in a "micro" sense ("eating the lower leaves of my plant", "under a rock", "fungus growing on my tree trunk", etc).

    • Ask only one plant identification request per question. If you'd like more than one plant identified, feel free to ask additional questions.

  • Include at least one photo.

  • Repeat the descriptive features in your question.
  • Include how it relates to gardening.

When you get a satisfactory answer, consider adding a further tag so that your question is cataloged with other similar questions. If an answer makes the question relevant to another category (e.g. a vine later identified as Morning Glory), then it should be tagged as such.

3188 questions
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How do I identify and eradicate the pest that is destroying the plants in my flowerbox?

We transplanted an assortment of pretty flowers for our windowsill some weeks ago (albeit rather crudely) and they were growing bright and healthy. Over the last week, however they've been plagued! I live in Scotland and suspect the pest is the…
waj
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What is this large leafed plant?

I like the way it looks and might want to get one but I need to know what it is. The location is Minnesota.
Mike Wills
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What are these viny plants? Are they poisonous?

These plants are located alongside a fence in my backyard. What are they? My biggest concern is that they might be poison ivy. However, the plant in the first picture closely resembles a vine that is growing in our front yard and has several…
Shimon Rura
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Hexagonal bush?

I have seen the pictured bush today when hiking around Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. From a distance, hexagonal patterns are visible: Adjacent branches grow in an almost perfect 45° angle relative to each other. What plant is this, or what is a…
feklee
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Is this plant some kind of Poppy?

I'll start by saying I'm by no means a gardener and I usually kill anything that's green and lives in a pot, however I'd like to say this one is doing well, judging by its height. It no doubt needs to be repotted very soon, I can see blotches…
Jasarien
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Please help me ID this apple or apple-like bush/tree in my yard - Small green apple with no stem and thorns

I have lived in this house for many years. I have always had a bush behind the shed that I couldn't identify. I always knew it was green most of the year and that it had thorns but that was about it. Well a couple of days ago I was looking at it…
Bruce Thompson
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What's this bifurcating succulent found in a greenhouse in the Gobi Desert?

I was invited to a lunch yesterday in the countryside. It turned out to be lunch in a greenhouse full of cacti and succulents. There were some I didn't recognise, and the only tags they had on them were prices. This one is about 8 cm (3 in) left to…
Graham Chiu
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What is this familiar-looking exotic-shaped gentle-yellow flower?

This is the only flower of this kind in my yard. I hope it is not a weed, since it looks non-invasive to me. It is looking familiar to me, but I can't figure the species. I've never seen it in the yard before. From where did he come, and what is he…
VividD
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What is this weedy grass and how can I control it?

I have a grassy weed with flowering seedheads at the top. What is it and how do I get rid of it in my yard?
Kellenjb
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What kind of lawn grass doesn't spread and is exceptionally shade tolerant?

This grass is a very good lawn grass, showed mowed and unmowed, and I would like to buy seeds for it. Of course, I can't do that unless I know what it is. It does not spread, it doesn't turn brown during winter or during droughts, and it is…
J. Musser
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What is this white growth on my cactus?

I have several cacti growing in my yard and one (t. pachanoi, if it matters) has developed a white layer across the top of the plant. It is very fine and looks almost sandy, like perhaps a mould or fungus. It does brush off fairly easily…
Mark McDonald
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How can I identify the "type" of a rose if I don't already know what it is?

In the gardening and rose books I have they talk about different types of roses - hybrid, damask, china, tea, etc. They give a brief history of each rose type and a couple of pictures, but generally little or no description. Is it in fact possible…
standgale
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What is this tiny strawberry-like fruit found in a Southern Illinois lawn?

I live in southern Illinois, and earlier today I noticed this small red fruit in my yard. It looks kind of like a strawberry, but it's the size of a small raspberry (about 1/4 inches in diameter). Does anyone have any idea what it is?
The Flash
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Is this beetle on my apricot tree a pest?

My apricot tree is infested with black and white beetles on the branches. They are 2-3 cm / 1 inch long. I can't find an identification on the web. There is no visible damage to the tree. Is this beetle a pest? Should I be removing them? My location…
Jonathan
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What is this weed and how can I eliminate it?

I live in Nova Scotia, and I have been fighting with this weed for at least 7 years. It is in my flower garden. I have gone so far as to try to follow each of the white roots though the soil and remove them and still it comes back. It seems the…
user4662
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