Plant identification

Plant identification is like playing a guessing game about what type of plant you see. Just like how you can identify your friends by their faces, you can identify plants by their leaves, stems, flowers, and other features.

You start by looking at the plant and comparing it to pictures or descriptions of other plants. You might notice that it has green leaves or colorful flowers, for example. Then you can look at the shape of the leaves, whether they are pointy or round, big or small. You might also notice whether there are any thorns, prickles or hairs sticking out of the plant. You can also touch the plant and feel whether it's rough or smooth, or whether it's soft or firm.

Once you have some clues about what the plant might be, you can ask grown-ups or other people who know more about plants than you do. They can help you use books, apps or websites that have pictures and descriptions of plants to make a best guess about what type of plant you have found.

Just like how you might get better at guessing games with practice, the more plants you identify, the more you will know what to look for when you play the game of plant identification. It is important to learn about all the different types of plants because some plants can be helpful and some can be dangerous, so you want to be able to know and avoid the dangerous ones.

By learning about plants, you can appreciate the many different types of beauty in the world around you, and understand how important plants are to the health of the planet.