Native Plants
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Wednesday - April 06, 2011
From: Augusta, GA
Region: Southeast
Topic: Plant Identification
Title: Plant identification
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
I'm trying to figure out the name of a plant/shrub purchased a couple years ago. It was a shrub (about medium sized) with yellow blooms that smelled like lemon. I don't think it was lemon balm or lemon verbena; most definitely not the golden chain tree. HELP!ANSWER:
All three of the plants you named are not native to North America:
- Melissa officinalis (Lemon balm) is native to the Mediterranean region.
- Aloysia citrodora (lemon verbena) is native to South America.
- Laburnum anagyroides (golden chain or common laburnum) and Laburnum alpinum (golden chain or Alpine laburnum) are native to Europe.
And, I suspect the one you purchased a couple of years ago is also a non-native. What we are all about here at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is the study, conservation, and promotion of the use of plants native to North America, so I'm afraid we can't really help. However, we do have a suggestion for help in identifying your plant. Please visit our Plant Identification page to find contact information for several plant forums where you can submit your question and, if you have one, a photograph to help with the identification.
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