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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What is this white grub I found in my soil in southern England?

I found a white grub about an inch long, in my soil. At first I thought it looked like a wide, white prawn. It's not the long thin one with the brown head that I've seen online. I'm having trouble identifying it, or working out how to go about…
Singletoned
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Little white stones appearing in the soil of my plants

Why does there appear little white stones in the soil of my plants? I had this before in other plants, and now I see it appearing together with my basil. They have a size of max 1 cm and are very porous and crunchy. We got an attack of little flies…
Sironsse
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What is this grass that supports all weather types, doesn't invade and prevents bad plants from sprouting?

It apparently doesn't grow longer than on the photos, can support all types of weather, doesn't invade other parts of the garden and it seems to prevent "bad" plants from setting up there (bramble, etc.). Does anyone know what is the name of this…
user287
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Cucumber disease/ pest identification

Can anyone tell me what is happening with this cucumber plant?
Machak
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What is this plant that resembles tomato and has small dark fruit?

I got lazy and let weeds takeover a bed near the porch that has some azaleas and perennials. When I went to pull some of the weeds, I noticed this ~3ft high plant that looks like a tomato plant. It is starting to fruit and has very small dark,…
Sean
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What are these small white balls that appeared on the soil in my greenhouse?

As a pre-emptive starting note, there are a lot of questions with similar titles but none I could find with pictures looking the same to what I have here. Around a week ago, I applied lawn clippings to the surface of the soil in my greenhouse as a…
F Chopin
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What type of squash is growing out of my compost pile?

I didn't turn my compost pile this spring, and had an unexpected surprise that's been growing for the last few weeks. Can anyone identify what it is? I'm almost 100% sure it's some type of squash, but I don't know enough to tell what variety it is.…
Doresoom
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What is this (allegedly) mosquito-repellent trailing plant with dark green heart-shaped leaves?

I was given a plant a while back that I was told repels mosquitoes: The little I know about it: it has dark green heart shaped leaves that grow up to about 3½" wide by 4½" long (9cm by 11cm). the stems, ribs on the leaves and the underside of the…
Niall C.
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What is this tree with green spherical fruit?

I have searched everywhere and cannot seem to identify the type of tree this is.
Micah
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What kind of plant is this growing in my friend's shower, and how can I grow one?

I came upon this plant growing in a friend's shower the other day (don't ask me why I had my camera in her shower!): I thought it added a unique and interesting touch to the shower. What kind of plant is this? And what do I need to take into…
Flimzy
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What is this bluish-grey bug on my lettuce, and how do I treat it?

I have a planter with several lettuce plants and other plants growing on my balcony. Recently, all of "normal" leafy lettuces were rapidly overcome by a bug. A sawtooth, more mizuna-like lettuce was spared, as were sage, parsley, onions, and…
Jonathan
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What is this 3cm green caterpillar from northern California?

We have a number of these caterpillars in the yard. They are about 3 cm long. This is on the peninsula south of San Francisco, CA, USA. I initially thought of geometer moths but it seems to have the full complement of prolegs.
Ross Millikan
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What is this purple-leafed (potted) plant?

What is this plant that I was given, please? If anyone could provide a particularly good guide to caring for it, that would also be great, but I'm expecting to just Google its name once I know what it is :)
Brondahl
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Advice for overwhelmed beginner

I'm the new owner of a well established garden. Unfortunately I don't really know what I'm doing... Already I seem to have lots of problems (e.g. well established Rhododendron now near death), which I hope to post questions about individually. But…
UpTheCreek
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What is this mushroom?

This thing just popped up appeared near my bush roses. It looks like, well... Credit card size shown for reference -- so it's probably 10cm long tall and 1.5 cm wide at the shaft base. Geography = Eastern US
C8H10N4O2
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