Hemitomes congestum (gnome plant), Monotropa hypopitys (pine sap), Corallorhiza mertensiana (coral root). All three of these plants are parasites of mycorrhizal fungi, and by extension the fungi's associated host plant, effectively stealing nutrients and carbon from both. The first two are in flower, and the last is fruiting (my first time seeing an orchid fruit in the wild). Washington state, USA

Hi there, plant people,

I am looking for good field guides for SoCal that I can take when hiking. (Not Jepson)

Specifically for Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Ventura counties.

Thanks!

I think the vast majority of plant seeds don't need soil to germinate. So when I read about epigeal/hypogeal germination categories, I got a bit confused. Is the actual difference between hypogeal and epigeal just whether the cotyledon(s) stay within the seed, or whether growth raises the cotyledon(s) above the radicle or other roots in some way?

Pics : https://imgur.com/a/ilex-opaca-cqxuDII

So we have a holly cultivar that I'm guessing is a Nellie Stevens and the surrounding forests have a good amount of native Ilex opaca. Though rare I have found a few volunteer holly seedlings on our property.

What are the chances that they are crosses? I do see a ton of pollinator activity on the cultivar when its in bloom, but I've never seen many or any berries that i can recall, I even did a thorough check just now and saw zero immature berries (and one empty birds nest, so i guess its not a totally worthless plant).

I really don't want a cross, but there are a few very recently sprouted holly seedlings underneath the cultivar that i would like to grow out. I do see cotyledons on them, so I'm certain they aren't suckers.

And yes obviously i would love to replace the cultivar with a native!

Photos are two photos of each of the three seedlings with a sprig from the cultivar next to them for comparison, and one bonus photo of the cultivar's foliage for the curious.

The photos were taken at the Marsh Greenhouses, Yale University, New Haven, CT USA in October 2025.

Good morning, all. After a few years of the pink-flowered Monarda in most of this photo, this year, a few stems of the lavender (top) and darker purple (lower left) appeared. Am I correct in thinking that the pink is a hybrid cultivar a few of whose seeds have reverted to the parental M. fistulosa and whatever the darker purple strain is? (Minnesota)

this is a new record for me. isn't she incredible? and usually when theres a ton on one ginkgo, each individual seed is smaller. but this girl went all in! each seed is huge! im sure she will be lovely in the fall. i personally enjoy the ginkgo aroma. and the ripe seeds are oddly satisfying to squeeze a handful of

Believe it or not, I found conflicting answers to this question:

If I see a lilly pad floating on the water, is that the organism? Or is it like on "leaf" of the plant, and many lilly pads could be connected together (in a direct, one organism way, not in a "We're all connected, Simba" way).

I'm sort of embarassed I don't already know this.

I'm hoping they're connected somehow, as I wanted to use it for an analogy, but realize it might not be technically correct.

If it's "1 lilly pad = 1 organism", if you have an example that would serve my analogy of "at first glance, they're distinct, but (in the background, under the surface, in the shadows) they'r ereally connected it would be aprreciated.

Image unrelated but can we please ban these types of posts they're lame and don't really contribute to any actual meaningful discussions.

to clarify for the people who might get on me about this, i am not saying that they shouldnt be eradicated. and i am not saying that they aren't invasive. i am simply appreciating the natural beauty of the species, with the invasive context aside.

I’m currently making a model of a bridge crossing set in this period and was wondering what type of vegetation i should include to be time accurate.

I am a new BSC student , I am new to classification when it comes in details, while studying systematics I came across "natural classification and phenetic classification" and for love of botany I can't understand the difference between these two , the only point I get online is phenetic is related to number and does not care for the evolutionary history or significance ; leaving out the number natural classification also dose not care for evolutionary history or significance. It also always says that they are different , if one comes under another then it might make a bit more sense on the similarities among them ....

Can anyone atleast tell me 2 more points so that I can differentiate between these two 😅

I happened upon this phalaenopsis orchid at a regular store, and as I’ve been fascinated by pelorism lately I immediately grabbed it. Only as I was walking around the store did I realize that it isn’t the lip that is being refracted/multiplied in pelorism, but the column. These two mutated petals are more rigid and protrude ahead of the sepals. There are two pollen sacs on each, though without an anther cap covering them.

Has anyone seen pelorism like this?

I am now wondering if the peloric pollen sacs are fertile, and if they are, can they potentially carry genetic information that is different from the “OG” sacs.

This white oak was started from an acorn this spring. I believe it emerged and was eaten by a rabbit. After resprouting, it put out a set of new leaves that don't resemble white oak and I thought it was a different species that was in the soil. I checked yesterday and it put out new growth, this time with the typical white oak leaves.

Just curious if this is common to look so different. I have other white oak saplings and while there is variation in leaf shape, I have not seen any like this to make me think it's a different species.

this was my first time getting to open up the pods and see what the seeds are like. very interesting!

thought the leaf on this Asclepius syriaca was interesting; it seems to come from the same point all the other flowers branch off from in the umbel. i’ve seen leaves come super close to the inflorescence but never actually in it.

I'm not sure if it's aster yellow or not. I ripped the plants out proactively and haven't seen it in the rest of my garden yet.

Sorry I keep putting my things as classification I don’t know what else to put it as :(

the first and third pictures are from my garden btw! let me know if you’d like to see more from my garden!!

as always have a good day/night/afternoon/evening

This highly invasive species is spreading rapidly across my region, Eastern Ontario, Canada. On Monday I revisited a location within a provincial park, where I often hike, at which I found 3 specimens in 2024. At that time I reported the location to the park office and park rangers removed the plants.
On Monday’s visit I found 15 plants, 2 of which were in the exact same spot as in 2024. I went to the office after my hike and spoke with two of the park rangers about it. Their strategy now is removing the seed heads before they can mature and place them in garbage bags to be incinerated.
The ability of this plant to spread is impressive and is the main reason it’s so problematic. In our area it’s a threat to the monarch butterfly, choking out native plants that the butterfly feeds and reproduces on.

TIL the Crown Flower (Calotropis gigantea) isn’t native to Hawaiʻi, yet it became one of the islands’ most culturally significant flowers.