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RESOURCES

Native and Invasive Plant Resources
(Resources highlighted in orange are top recommendations)
Plant ID
Easy-to-Use Tools

iNaturalist, a joint initiative of the California Academy of Sciences and the National Geographic Society. Online experts can help you with the ID through the application.

PictureThis Mobile App. Download the app onto your cell phone, snap a photo of a plant, and let the app suggest species names.

Ask Extension from University of Maryland Extension (UME) Home & Garden Information Center. You can submit text and photos.

Maryland Native Plant Society on Facebook. Post a plant photo and ask for help with identifying the species.

Plant Nativity
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Flora of the Southeastern United States. Weakley, A.S. and the Southeastern Flora Team. 2023. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Herbarium, NC Botanical Garden, University of NC at Chapel Hill. Use this to determine if a plant is native or invasive, which is especially useful if you are shopping for garden plants. Versions include the Search webpage for a simple species lookup. The different colors in a state indicate ecoregion. A square on the map indicates a species is native in that state and ecoregion. A triangle means exotic and spreading in the wild. A diamond indicates the nativity is uncertain. Also, a filled-in symbol means the species is common, a dot inside means uncommon, and an empty symbol means rare.

FloraQuest: Northern Tier (Mobile App) This is the companion app to Flora of the Southeastern United States. 

Digital Atlas of the Maryland Flora. (Mobile Friendly) Maryland Plant Atlas Work Group. 2021. This is an excellent, up-to-date, scientific database, but you need exact spelling. If no nativity indicator appears after “Synonyms”, the species is native where indicated on the map. If “Non-native” appears, it is not native and is spreading in the wild. If “Nativity uncertain” appears, the scientific evidence is unclear. If “Non-native invasive” appears, the species is invasive; however, not all invasives are noted as invasive. The Maryland Biodiversity Project uses the same list of plant species as this source.

Maryland Biodiversity Project. This is a citizen science project “started in June 2012 by Bill Hubick and Jim Brighton.” You might find this website easier to use than the Digital Atlas of the Maryland Flora. Both websites contain the same plant species and nativity indicators, which appear after the species name. This website includes thousands of plant species with multiple photos. 

Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora. (Mobile-Friendly) Virginia Botanical Associates. 2015. Blacksburg, VA. This is an excellent, up-to-date, scientific database, but you need exact spelling. In the counties on the map, red dots indicate the species is native. Blue dots mean introduced (i.e., non-native), spreading in the wild, and possibly invasive. Gray dots mean nativity is uncertain or not specified (i.e., nativity unknown). Focus on the dots nearest the MD and VA border.

The Biota of North America Program (BONAP). Kartesz, J.T. 2014. Chapel Hill, N.C. This resource has maps of species distribution by county, but accuracy is limited by basing distribution on verified sightings. Although invasiveness is not noted, any non-native species spreading in the wild might be invasive.

  • Light blue or royal blue indicates the species is non-native and reported in the wild. 

  • Only light green (not rare) or yellow (rare) indicates native and present in the wild.

  • Teal indicates the species is adventive in that location (i.e., non-native in a location, but native elsewhere in the U.S. and present/escaped into the wild in that location). 

  • Pink indicates the species “whether native or foreign“ is considered noxious per legislation. 

  • Kelly green indicates that the plant species is native somewhere in North America, but not necessarily native in the state. 

BONAP’s Taxonomic Data Center (TDC). TDC is especially useful because nativity can vary based on subspecies or variety, and this webpage reports data down to that level; however, TDC can only be used on computer or tablet. 
BONAP’s North American Plant Atlas (NAPA), (US County-Level Species Maps: List by Genus). NAPA does not distinguish among subspecies or varieties. (Mobile-Friendly)

Mid-Atlantic Invaders Tool (MAIT). Fulton, J.P., C.T. Bargeron and J.M. Swearingen. 2021. This website is a comprehensive compilation of excellent sources from MD and other Mid-Atlantic Jurisdictions including DE, PA, NJ, VA, WV, and DC. It includes many photos. 

The Maryland Invasive Species Council (MISC). Invasive Species of Concern in Maryland. This website includes non-regulatory lists of species invasive in Maryland. By design, just an important subset of the invasives are included. MISC’s terrestrial and aquatic plant species total about 300 versus the more than 600 listed by MAIT. 

The Flora of Delaware Online Database. McAvoy, W.A. 2023. Delaware Division of Fish & Wildlife, Species Conservation & Research Program, Smyrna, Delaware. This is an excellent database, but not as useful as some other resources because Maryland has more plant diversity than the small area covered by Delaware, which is mostly in the Coastal Plain and has only a small strip within the Piedmont. “Invasive” or “Invasive Watchlist” is noted. 

Native Plants
Growing Conditions & Faunal Associations

Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora. Virginia Botanical Associates. 2015. Blacksburg, VA. This is an excellent, up-to-date, scientific database, but you need exact spelling. Most species present in Virginia are also in Maryland, but not the other way around. A big benefit of this website is that there is a lot of information about growing conditions and habitat under the “Habitat” heading.  (Mobile-Friendly)

Flora of the Southeastern United States. Weakley, A.S. and the Southeastern Flora Team. 2023. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Herbarium, NC Botanical Garden, University of NC at Chapel Hill. This resource includes brief information on habitat and growing conditions, but the Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora goes into more detail.

Illinois Wildflowers. Hilty, J. This excellent resource includes not just wildflowers, but also trees, shrubs vines, grasses, and other plants.
The individual plant species webpages include “Cultivation” conditions and “Faunal Associates” such as pollinators and birds.

National Audubon Association. Bring more birds to your home with native plants. This webpage, although not comprehensive, lists bird groups (e.g., vireos, thrushes, nuthatches) that use specific plant species. 

North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox. NC State Extension. This includes not only growing conditions and wildlife value, but also an extensive description of the plant’s appearance. 

Missouri Botanical Garden. This website includes comprehensive information on many plant species, both native and non-native. Growing conditions are not always on target for Maryland. 

Native Plants for Wildlife Habitat and Conservation Landscaping, Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Slattery, B.E., K. Reshetiloff, and S.M. Zwicker. 2003. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Chesapeake Bay Field Office, Annapolis, MD. 82pp. This resource consists of an online published booklet and corresponding database. Excellent first step to finding plants suitable for various conditions, but has limitations. Besides errors, it includes species not sold by plant vendors, contains about 1/5 of the plant species that have been reported in Maryland, and only shows Level II ecoregions. 

Determine Your Ecoregion 
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Bplant.org. Alex Zorach. Enter your address to get your ecoregion, which is defined by environmental conditions, such as climate, geology, and soil characteristics. Nativity is often determined by ecoregion in your state or within 50 miles of its borders. 

LandScope America. NatureServe and National Geographic Society. 2023. From the Map webpage, click on the down-arrow next to “Theme” on the left of the page toward the top and select “Ecosystems”, then enter your address in the search box in the ocean on the right that says, “Find Address or Place.” 

Level III Ecoregions of the Continental United States. National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 2013. This map shows how Maryland’s ecoregions fit with all of the ecoregions of the continental U.S. 

Plant ID​
Selected Photos of Invasives

Plant Invaders of Mid-Atlantic Natural Areas, Field Guide. Swearingen, J.M. and J.P. Fulton. 2022. Passiflora Press, MD. 120pp. Although this book includes only 92 invasives, it contains photos and easy-to-use ID information. 

Mistaken Identity? Invasive Plants and their Native Look-alikes, an Identification Guide for the Mid-Atlantic. Sarver, M., A. Treher, L. Wilson, R. Naczi, and F. Kuehn. 2008. Delaware Department of Agriculture. 68pp. This book is useful for distinguishing a number of invasive plant species from natives that look somewhat similar. 

Common Invasive Plants Easy ID Cards. Werner, C. and K. Wixted. 2016. Maryland Department of Natural Resources. This source offers a simple format with photos. 

Plant ID​
Getting Started with Keying

Go Botany. Native Plant Trust. This website offers keys and photos. The tips are very useful for telling apart similar species (e.g., thistles).

Plant ID​
Advanced ID Using Keys

Flora of the Southeastern United States. Weakley, A.S. and the Southeastern Flora Team. 2023. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Herbarium, NC Botanical Garden, University of NC at Chapel Hill. Look up a species, then click on “Show in key(s)” (just below “Synonymy”) to bring up a useful key.

FloraQuest: Northern Tier Mobile App (companion app to Flora of the Southeastern United States). This app offers a couple of methods to ID species, including a key. 

Flora of Virginia. Weakley, A.S., J.C. Ludwig, and J.F. Townsend. 2012. Bland Crowder, ed. Foundation of the Flora of Virginia Project Inc., Richmond. Fort Worth: Botanical Research Institute of Texas Press. 1554pp. This is the go-to resource for Maryland botanists to ID species. *symbol to left of species names indicate non-native, as do descriptions at end of species write-ups. The corresponding Flora Mobile App is available for purchase. 

The Plants of Pennsylvania, An Illustrated Manual. Rhoads, A.F., T. A. Block. 2007. , Second Edition. Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania, University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 1042pp. Nativity is often indicated at the end of species descriptions.

Flora of North America North of Mexico. Flora of North America Editorial Committee, eds. 1993+. 18+ vols. New York and Oxford. This is a good resource for the plants listed, but it is not yet complete. Also, information is not as current as in some other sources (e.g., Flora of the Southeastern United States and Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora)

Native Nurseries & Sales​
Getting Started with Keying

Maryland Native Plant Society (MNPS) (Mobile-Friendly). MNPS lists Native Plant Nurseries, and Plant Sales, often with participation by several nurseries. MNPS also has suggestions on “How to Shop for Native Plants.”

Invasives​
Control Methods

Plant Invaders of Mid-Atlantic Natural Areas, Field Guide. Swearingen, J.M. and J.P. Fulton. 2022. Passiflora Press, MD. 120pp. Use to look up summary information on control methods. 

A Management Guide for Invasive Plants in Southern Forests. Miller, J., S. Manning and S. Enloe. 2013 (slightly revised 2015). General Technical Report SRS-131. United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Asheville, SC. 120pp. This provides useful data on management of many invasive plants

Common Invasive Plants Easy ID Cards. Werner, C. and K. Wixted. 2016. Maryland Department of Natural Resources. This source offers a simple format with photos. 

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Managing Invasive Plants: Concepts, Principles, and Practices. 2009. This website includes a free online course, although the information is somewhat dated. 

Invasives
Reporting Sightings

Early Detection and Distribution Mapping System (EDDMapS). Available options include the website and its mobile app. Sightings of invasives can be reported on the EDDMapS website or mobile app. 

Native Species to Avoid
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Rare, Threatened and Endangered Plants of Maryland. MD Department of Natural Resources. 2021. Planting with rare species does not help save wild populations, instead it can harm local genetics. Consider not gardening with species that are “endangered” (E), “threatened” (T), “highly state rare” (S1), and “state rare” (S2). 

Synonyms of Botanical Names
Reporting Sightings

U.S. National Plant Germplasm System: The GRIN-Global Project (GRIN-Global). United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). This database contains authoritative taxonomic information based on scientific articles. 

Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS). Partnership of U.S., Canadian, and Mexican agencies with data from other organizations; and taxonomic specialists. This contains authoritative taxonomic data on current botanical names (i.e., “accepted”) and synonyms (i.e., “unaccepted”), but requires exact spelling. This source is possibly easiest to use when doing a search with a botanical name and “itis.gov” in the search field. 

Further Reading

Invasive Plants: Guide to Identification and the Impacts and Control of Common North American Species. Kaufman, S. and R. Kaufman. 2013. 2nd Ed. Stackpole Books. 518pp.

Herbaceous Plants of Maryland. Brown, M.L. and R.G. Brown. 1984. 1127. Brown, M.L. and R.G. Brown. 1972. 

Woody Plants of Maryland. 347pp. Port City Press, Inc., Baltimore, MD.

These are less reliable than some other floras, plus use out-of-date scientific names. These out-of-print books might be available at the University of Maryland, College Park’s bookstore at more reasonable prices than offered by internet sellers.

Plant Conservation: Why It Matters, How It Works. Walker, Timothy. 2013. Timber Press, Portland OR, 304pp.

Garden Revolution: How Our Landscapes Can Be a Source of Environmental Change. Weaner, L. and T. Christopher. 2016. Timber Press, Portland Oregon, 300pp.

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