Good resources for misc. plant IDs?

[onebagnomad]

Does anyone have any good resources (websites, books, etc.) for identifying plants in general? I've got field guides on trees, edibles, medicinal plants, but can't find any good source to identify weedlike plants/shrubs that don't have any edible or medicinal qualities.

 

[k_estela]

They are still in the Petersens field guides and considered inedible. Remember, dandelion is considered a weed as if it is a bad plant when it is incredibly useful an healthy. Always cross reference your findings.

 

[paleojoe]

It will be hard to find medicinal, ethnobotanical qualities in Plant I.D. Field Guides in general.

What you're looking for are herbal medicinal books, remedial herb books, or local ethnobotanical books. These will cover what Kevin said are usually labelled 'weeds,' which is just a socially constructed concept.... Most wild weeds/shrubs that are found everywhere do have useful qualities. That's why dandelion is everywhere, the indigenous peoples brought them with them!

Even Bermuda Grass, used in India for millenia, increases the number of red blood cells in our body. It contains protein, fiber, calcium and phosphorus, potassium etc. It is an excellent detoxifier. It helps in maintaining the alkalinity of blood. Bermuda grass is used to cure diseases. What do we do with it? How do we use it? It is purely societal.

The potency of the average 'weed' is amazing simply because we haven't cultivated, hybridized and GMO'd it into oblivion, like other plants. You can't say a tree/shrub/weed has no qualities or uses.
Even the common Dahlia, considered and ornamental now, was once a food crop. The flower petals are edible salad greens and the tubers, in the Yacon family, were utilized by the peoples of North and South America before it was considered attractive and turned into a nursery plant and consequently hybridized.

An excellent book on Medicinal Plants and Weeds is by Penelope Ody, 'Complete Medicinal Herbal', a must have with color pics and all.... I mostly utilize material on the plants and materials of local native peoples... But again, cross-reference always!

Make sure the author knows what they are saying. If they use terms like: '...This plant is said to..." this means the author has never tried it and really has no idea...

In learning the use of a plant, chose one and learn it completely.
At the end of a year, know five inside and out.
You will find that plants like Dandelion and Plantain are so potent and multi-useful that knowing between 5-10 plants will get you far, and cover most all of the bases.
Being an Encyclopedia and knowing 500 is often more confusing before it gets easier! Trust me I'm a botanist!

 

[onebagnomad]

I think people are misunderstanding my post. I've already got reference books for edible and medicinal plants. I'm looking to ID plants that are not medicinal or edible. This is just to satisfy my own curiousity, not a search for useful plants (not to say that some of them do not have uses).

 

[paleojoe]

Just trying to shake the notion of a 'useless plant'....
You will get much further that way in identifying and knowing them. An inedible berry to you can be edible to a bird.

Plants are identified by leaf shape, growth characteristics, color, root, inflorescence, fruit, and qualities... I can't think of a single book I own that covers 'run of the mill, useless weeds and shrubs you see around.'

Sounds like you got plenty of books and they're still not in there. No need to spill names of titles...

This is when you look at the area you found it in and collect a sample of the leaf and flower/berry if it has one. If it is a wetland plant, research the books you have on local riparian/wetland plants. If it looks like it might be a mint or in the mustard family, look up local native Lamiaceae and Brassicas first. Then invasive/exotics. If not there, online there are plenty of resources. The more local you are with your material, the more you will find. I never use my Audobon because it covers like a couple hundred grasses for all of the U.S., when California alone has more grass varieties than all of the U.S in its entirety...

I don't know what else to say. It is less the reference and classification material at hand and more the ability to reference and classify with the material at hand.

 

[paleojoe]

Here's an Online Plant Database for Florida

and it looks pretty good!:thumbup:

http://www.floridayards.org/fyplants/index.php

 

[KuRUpTD]

Try this site ... hopefully it's of help you.

http://www.mountainnature.com/plants/LearnToID.htm