I first created this site back in 1998 to document the wild plants that I encountered. But it has grown into a clearinghouse of information on landscaping, backyard birds, butterfly gardening, plant identification and making paper from plant fiber. After leaving Kansas, I thought of deleting the site. But realize it has a wealth of information that people rely upon.
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Plant Identification Guide
The Plant Guide
Plant of the Day
This guide contains images and growth characteristics of 850 species of plants found in northeast Kansas. There are 4289 images of plants in the guide.
The guide includes both native (indigenous) and introduced (alien) species of plants.
Use the Plant Guide Search to query the plant database using various plant characteristics.
But you may want to use predefined Plant Lists for more common plant groups.
About Plant Guide explains more about the images & growth characteristics.
Plant Lists
Use these shortcut lists to find common groups of plants. See the Plant Lists for more information.
- Trees - Woody with mostly a single main stem (trunk)
- Shrubs - Woody with multiple stems, smaller than a tree
- Vines - Woody or Herbaceous (not woody) plant that sprawls or climbs
- Grasses - Grass and grass-like plants, includes sedges, rushes, and other graminoids
- Perennials - Herbaceous (not woody) plant that lives three or more years
- Biennials - Herbaceous (not woody) plant that lives two years, flowering the second year
- Annuals - Herbaceous (not woody) plant that lives only one year. Most weedy plants are annuals.
Books
Books used in conjuction with this guide will help you learn to identify our many native and introduced plants.
No one guide book will contain every plant that you encounter. I've also included books on prairie reconstruction, restoration, and management for those needing information on those topics.
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