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ID 11 wildflowers for school project, Due really soon, HELP!

DestinySizemore

12 years ago

Im taking advanced biology and am working on a wild flower project. I have collected over 40 wild flowers and pressed them. I have eleven that I can't figure out and I've been looking! This is half of my quarter grade for the class and you cant turn in an incomplete project so I'll get a zero if I can't figure out what these are ASAP. Thank you!!!

collected all these flowers in the Southern Indiana Kentucky area. From August to pretty recently.

Flower 1:

Flower 2:

Flower 3:

Flower 4:

Flower 5:

Flower 6:

Flower 7:

Flower 8:

Flower 9:

Flower 10:

Flower 11:

Here is a link that might be useful: Flowers that need Identified

Comments (10)

fatamorgana2121
12 years ago
Is identification of your collected plants part of your grade? Are you really supposed to have people online tell you what the plants are?

You may wish to find a copy of Newcomb's Wildflower Guide in your local library to help you identify these plants. I use it to figure out blooming plants I don't know.

A suggestion, if you can't get the exact species identified but can narrow it down to a genus - which can happen, you can use the term "sp." in the species spot of the scientific name. For example, if I didn't know which oak I could say "Quercus sp." I'm not sure your teacher would allow that but it is probably better than an incorrect ID.

Good luck with your project!

FataMorgana
Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
12 years ago
8 = pokeweed, Phytolacca, probably P. americana (a native)
9 & 10 = some type of Persicaria I think, looks like the same plant in both pics.

You could also post this to the "name that plant" forum to maximize your potential responses. Are you supposed to indicate if they are native or not? Had you asked for help at the beginning of your project, I would have advised you to take pictures of the flowers, showing the whole plants, before picking them. Much easier to ID that way.
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Chemocurl zn5b/6a Indiana
12 years ago
Im taking advanced biology and am working on a wild flower project. I have collected over 40 wild flowers and pressed them.
I too have to ask, "Are you really supposed to have people online tell you what the plants are?

Flower 1 and 2 appears to be the same thing, so you 'might' not have your required forty. Hint though, I 'think' it is a plant that bothers a lot of folks who have allergies.

I 'think' flower 9 and 10 might be the same thing too.

Do you have The Field Guide to Indiana Wildflowers by Kay Yatskievych? If not, I suggest you getting it. It is a wonderful guide.

Here is a link that might be useful: Field Guide to Indiana Wildflowers
nativeplanter
12 years ago
A good online resource you can use is the plant finder from the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center:
http://www.wildflower.org/plants/index.php
That should help you narrow things down a bit.

It seems like photo 4 has two different species in it. It looks like the one with the thicker leaves may be an herbaceous vine.

Photos 9 and 10 are definitely from the same genus, if not the same species. Many species in this genus look alike. Here's a hint - look in the buckwheat family.

Here is a link that might be useful: Lady Bird Johnson plant finder
Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
12 years ago
The ability to find info is one of the important things you learn in school, and a true skill you will need in your personal and professional life. We don't know the specific instructions for this assignment. Unless the instructions were to "go find the answer from a book without asking people for help," I don't see any reason not to share the info this person has asked for, especially since he/she said this attempt was already made unsuccessfully. There are only pressed, faded flowers and partial stems for reference. Possibly the most valuable lesson that might arise from this assignment would be to plan and prepare more comprehensively for your next research project.

I'm not certain of the info I offered before, or the following, but here's some more things for you to research and compare to your samples and memory.
Maybes:
11 - Phlox
7 - Polygonum or Ipomoea
6 - Echinacea or Rudbeckia
4 - I agree, 2 different plants
3 - Helianthus
kyme
12 years ago
Try this link it maybe just what you need. I can't see your pictures but these wildflowers are found in KY.
MarthaEllen
nativeplanter
12 years ago
I have a few more thoughts...

3 - I agree - does look like a sort of Helianthus.

5 - Could this be something in the poppy family?

6 - leaves are opposite - I'm not aware of opposite Echinacea or Rudbeckia species. Perhaps a Bidens?

7 - I don't think it's a Polygonum. Note absence of ligules or swollen nodes. Ipomoea could be right.
kyme
12 years ago
http://www.kywildflowers.info/ hope it works this time.
Martha Ellen
mytime
12 years ago
As a retired teacher, I have to echo purpleinopp's post as far as knowing how to use different resources (and people are a resource) and finding info. An additional skill that is much needed is knowing how to discern whether or not the info is true, and remembering that just because you read or hear something, it isn't necessarily true. If the OP is an advanced biology student worried about his/her grade, the first thing that student will most likely do after getting info from this site is to confirm it. And therein lies a lot of learning.

If there is a true desire to help learning and not just spoon feed info, it would be useful to provide one reason for each suggestion...that would give the OP a place to start with a confirmation.

#5...I'm sure I'm off base since it hasn't been suggested, but the first thing I thought of looking at #5 was an oenothera...based on the shape of what I think is a flower bud or seed pod, and, again what I think I see, the stigma.

As others have said, it is difficult to discern details when the flowers have been dried and pressed, and in these photos, even colors.
fatamorgana2121
12 years ago
I think if the OP had indicated that they could use online resources (like asking for ID help on forums) or if they had said something like they initially thought #8 was pokeweed, for example, but weren't sure about that, they would have gotten a completely different response here.

FataMorgana

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