How to Identify Green Household Plants
You will need to invest some time and energy to identify green household plants if you have no idea what type of plant they are. Get ready to use some detective work and explore the many options that are available to use for identification. If one method does not work and you cannot identify your household plant, simply try another. Luckily there are many resources available to help you. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Analyze your plant. Take note of the shape, size and color of the leaves because those are the main factors you will use when comparing it to other plants. Thickness and characteristics of the stem or stalk can help you identify as well.
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Use the Internet to find pictures of green household plants that look like yours. T & M University has a website exclusively for this purpose. You will need to compare lots of photos to your plant. Gflora.com is another website to try with hundreds of pictures. Keep in mind this process can be tricky. Your plant may be slightly different than others.
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Go to a bookstore or the library to find books about household plants. Books often have many more pictures to help compare your plant with many more details about caring for your plant. Some books will tell you the history of plants and details about its natural habitat as well.
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Take a picture of the household plant in question. You can upload it to websites like UBCbotanicalgarden.org or Gardenweb.com. Both have message boards available where you can post your photo to see if anyone can help you identify your household plant.
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Visit a nursery, greenhouse or garden center to compare it to other plants to see if you can find a match. Also ask for help from the staff as a specialist may be on hand to assist you with your quest.
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Tips & Warnings
Young, immature house plants do not look exactly like a mature plant. Wait until your household plant is grown and established before trying to identify it.
When comparing photographs, remember your plant may be a sub species of one variety. For example, your plant may resemble a spider plant but the white stripping on the leaf is different than the one you are comparing it to. That does not mean it isn't a spider plant; it may be a sub species.
