Native Plants – Identifying

Q: I would like to purchase a book about identifying native plants of Georgia which includes pictures of them. Any suggestions?

A: Start with these excellent downloadable references:

Native Plants of North Georgia – A Photo Guide.

Native Plants for Georgia – Wildflowers

Native Plants for Georgia – Trees, Shrubs and Vines

Native Plants for Georgia – Ferns

There are also several good books to use. I recently received Wildflowers of Georgia by Hugh and Carol Nourse. It has gorgeous pictures. My library also contains “Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast by Leonard Foote and Samuel Jones plus Trees of Georgia and Adjacent States by Claud Brown and Katherine Kirkman. Though it isn’t designed for identification purposes, you’ll enjoy “Gardening with Native Plants of the South” by Sally Wasowski.

You can see many native plants on display at the Perimeter College Native Plant Botanical Garden.  It’s well worth your time to visit there!

The Georgia Native Plant Society offers regular plant rescues in which knowledgeable guides identify native plants that can be rescued from construction sites.

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One of the best ways to identify native plants in all their forms is to join a native plant rescue sponsored by the Georgia Native Plant Society. The rescue guideperson will be happy to identify anything you find during your trek.