What is this weird-looking flowering plant? [more inside]
posted by giraffe on Oct 13, 2009 - 7 answers

Found this mutant-cherry fruit on a tree near Laurelhurst Park in Portland, Oregon today. Can you identify it? Can we eat it?
posted by halogen on Sep 30, 2009 - 13 answers

Recommend an excellent, comprehensive book on the history of antibiotics? [more inside]
posted by inoculatedcities on Aug 21, 2009 - 6 answers

Can anyone identify this plant? [more inside]
posted by applemeat on Aug 12, 2009 - 6 answers

Any recommendations for books giving a general history of any of the natural sciences, with a particular attention to how the great biologists, botanists, and zoologists, etc. approached problems of classification and conceptualization of their phenomena (e.g. like how Linnaeus came up with his taxonomy)? Not looking for great technical detail so much as how these scientists thought and responded to each others' thoughts.
posted by shivohum on Jul 12, 2009 - 17 answers

My parents recently noticed a few strange plants sprouting up in the middle of their lawn. This one has grown from nothing to around a foot high in three weeks. Can anyone ID it? They're in the Boston area, if knowing the region helps.
posted by dfan on Jun 16, 2009 - 7 answers

What kind of cactus is this, and how do I care for it?
posted by zembla3 on Mar 16, 2009 - 5 answers

FlowerFilter: Can you identify this flower? [more inside]
posted by anifinder on Mar 15, 2009 - 8 answers

I was at the Bogor Daily Photo blog earlier today and saw a picture of a 'Strange Tree' that one of the site's contributors, Alaya, posted with the words " found the tree with strange fruit on the road near botanical garden. anyone know what kind of tree is it? ". I waited the whole day but no answer was forthcoming . I thought it looks like a fruit-bearing parasitic plant that i might have seen somewhere before.The photo piqued my curiosity so I thought I will ask the Mefites. I am sure Alaya will be ever so thankful too. :)
posted by kryptos on Dec 28, 2008 - 8 answers

Anybody know what kind of houseplant this is? (I inherited it when I bought my house). Thx!
posted by Misciel on Oct 28, 2008 - 14 answers

I want to do something (maybe embroidery, maybe a tattoo, maybe plant a garden) with plants that symbolize my three children. My youngest is named Rosemary, so that's quite easy, but I am having a harder time coming up with plants that would symbolize the names Evan and Nathaniel. I've googled and had no luck. I'm looking for something that contains the names, or something recognizably similar to them in the common or botanical name, or maybe a plant that is somehow associated with those names, or... anything you can think of. And the plants probably shouldn't look odd with a Rosemary plant next to it.
posted by Shoeburyness on Aug 1, 2008 - 9 answers

Flower Identification filter: What is this plant? [more inside]
posted by MaudB on Jul 16, 2008 - 7 answers

Can you identify this type of thistle? [more inside]
posted by flug on Jul 1, 2008 - 5 answers

What's this plant...? Thought as first it was a dandelion, now I'm sure it isn't. [more inside]
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Jun 21, 2008 - 11 answers

Is this a mushroom? [more inside]
posted by progosk on Jan 19, 2008 - 5 answers

Can anyone botanical experts identify this Brazilian flower? (From Maranhao, Brazil) [more inside]
posted by iamck on Nov 28, 2007 - 7 answers

Identify this strange plant found in the middle east. [more inside]
posted by Brian James on Nov 23, 2007 - 3 answers

I am looking for gardening experiments [more inside]
posted by pracowity on Oct 21, 2007 - 9 answers

Pronounce 'Sapindales'. [more inside]
posted by gimonca on Jul 14, 2007 - 7 answers

Did I kill a hundred-year-old grapevine? Can I fix it? [more inside]
posted by maggieb on Apr 4, 2007 - 4 answers

BotanicalFilter: What kind of plant is this? Posted a photo of an unknown (because I'm ignorant of such things) plant found in Southern Spain to Flickr. Now other Flickr-ites and botanists are arguing over the correct identification: Carob or Tamarind seem favourite. Do Mefites know better? Photo and comments so far at http://www.flickr.com/photos/andresv/290458848/. Comments on this forum or flickr welcome. Thanks.
posted by limeyboy on Nov 9, 2006 - 5 answers

PlantFilter: What is "pinching off" and how do I do it? [more inside]
posted by backseatpilot on Oct 30, 2006 - 13 answers

Being in the midst of my first bout of urishiol-induced contact dermatitis, I'm using some of my downtime to read up on the culprit: Poison Ivy. Along the way, however, I've come across some confusing information... [more inside]
posted by The Confessor on Jul 10, 2006 - 7 answers

Arboreal filter: What are the trees in Buenos Aires with the bulbous trunks that have big thorns on them starting about 6 feet up the trunk. They have big pink flowers almost like a lilly and we saw some large green seed pods which 'exploded' into big tufts of 'cotton wool' [more inside]
posted by itsjustanalias on Jun 8, 2006 - 6 answers

I'm trying to track down a flower I encountered once a few years ago, but I don't know what it's called. [more inside]
posted by brina on May 7, 2006 - 8 answers

Help me identify this succulent. [more inside]
posted by ozomatli on Apr 8, 2006 - 15 answers

What do you call this thorny plant I found growing outside the Smithsonian Castle in DC? My Google-fu fails me.
posted by brownpau on Sep 24, 2005 - 7 answers

I have a hazelnut tree. Each year at this time, the tips of the branches extrude 2-3 inch long caterpillar-like growths which drop off. What are these called, and what is their function? This is undoubtedly a simple question which many can answer, but nevertheless hard to google.
posted by Neiltupper on Feb 5, 2005 - 3 answers

I've decided that I need a new hobby and am thinking that growing bonsai trees might be it. [Guess what waits inside...] [more inside]
posted by shotsy on Oct 17, 2004 - 8 answers

'Moon trees' were trees grown from seeds that orbited the moon onboard Apollo 14. Two trees were given to each US state to honor the bicentennial festivities in 1976 but no list of locations was kept. Now a NASA scientist is trying to track them down. I'd like to find one in Rhode Island but he's missing quite a few. Anyone know of one not on his list?
posted by jwells on Jul 7, 2004 - 11 answers

You're probably familiar with the online wizard where you answer various questions about a typeface, and it will identify the typeface for you. My question is this: Is there anything similar for plants, specifically flowers? [more inside]
posted by oissubke on May 19, 2004 - 5 answers