Native Plants
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Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
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Wednesday - August 18, 2010
From: Portland, OR
Region: Midwest
Topic: Plant Identification
Title: Plant ID from Chicago
Answered by: Barbara Medford
QUESTION:
When I was hiking in Portland, OR, my friend had me eat a leaf off of a trail-side plant. It tasted very much like sour apple, it was delicious. It has average-sized green leaves and in July it had no visible colorful flowers. The main distinguishing information I have about it is simply its sour apple taste and its Oregon location. I might be able to recognize the leaf in a detailed picture. I would love to know the name of this plant, and to find out if it is purchasable or if it is native elsewhere in North America. Thank you.ANSWER:
We love identifying native plants for folks! Do you have a picture of a plant found growing in the wild somewhere in North America and you would like to know its name? Send us an email following the instructions below. Please do not send pictures of house plants, office plants, garden plants, plants seen on your vacation to Costa Rica or other clearly non-native species. For identification of non-native plants you might consider visiting the UBC Botanical Gardens Forums website.- Tell us where and when you found the plant and describe the site where it occurred.
- If possible, take several high-resolution images including details of leaves, stems, flowers, fruit, and the overall plant.
- Save images in JPEG format. Do not reduce the resolution of your images. High-resolution images are much easier for us to work with.
- Send email with images attached to [email protected]. Please enter Plant ID Request on the subject line of your email.
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