Idiot's / Picture Guide to plants?

[SoCal_to_Hawaii]

My husband and I are hand clearing part of our lot. I am trying to identify the plants and trees to determine if they are native/non-native, a problem or not a problem, other general info, etc. My issue is I don't know the names, I just know what they look like and where they are growing (low elevation). I keep trying to find some 'picture' guide to plants I find but have been unsuccessful. Does anyone know of a website that just has a 'does it look like this?' gallery?

(We do know some -- Albizia=BAD, Glory bush=BAD)

[shave_ice]

You can start at this site:

http://wildlifeofhawaii.com/flowers/cate...an-plants/

You can view plants by color, so its pretty useful for a lot of the plants around here.

[SoCal_to_Hawaii]

shave ice - Thank you. I was able to locate a couple of the trees I had questions on.

[bananahead]

you can also post pictures with short description here and they will be identified... unless its grasses, or some ferns they are tougher... the flowering plants are usually easy

this 'Forest & Kim Starr' list is the most complete list on internet, but you need to know the family or name first... otherwise it can be a long search through pics...
http://www.starrenvironmental.com/images/

most sources are very incomplete, as far as identifying through pictures first... the only book that has nearly all the 'wild' alien/native plants growing in Hawaii is a 2 vol set about 2,000 pages w/o pictures ... Manual of the Flowering Plants of Hawaii by Wagner etc. usually call the 'big white books' theyre at the libraries.

aloha

******************************************************************
save our indigenous and endemic Hawaiian Plants... learn about them, grow them, and plant them on your property, ....instead of all that invasive non-native garbage I see in most yards... aloha

[SoCal_to_Hawaii]

"but you need to know the family or name first... otherwise it can be a long search through pics" ... Yep, that's my problem. I think I have figured out most of what is growing, but if anyone comes across a web site that has a pictures first, then click to get the name and details format I'd love to see it.

[Lee M-S]

Not exactly what you're looking for, but "Handbook of Hawaiian Weeds" by E. L. Haselwood, G. G. Motter is a great resource now available for free download as a PDF. http://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bit...sequence=1

clicking on link downloads the pdf onto your computer, does not open a new page.

You can also borrow a paper copy from the library, or pay $50+ for your very own copy.

The book features line drawings of the plants, sorted by type (grasses, composites, etc.) A section at the back explains the botanical terms they use so you can describe and search for a plant.

I've used it to identify a few weeds around here, notably Kosters Curse, possibly the best weed name ever. Sadly, it doesn't tell us who Koster was, or if he was cursed with this plant or he cursed us with it.

MELASTOMATACEAE (MELASTOMA FAMILY)
Clidemia hirta (L.) D. Don
Synonym: Melastoma hirta L.
CLiDEMIA, KOSTERS CURSE
Description:
A branching shrub, 3 to 6 feet high, densely hairy throughout.
Leaves papery, hairy on both sides, 4 inches long, broadovate,
mere or less indented at the base, with five to seven
veins spreading from the base. Flowers white, 1/2 inch
across, clustered in the upper leaf axi I s, 5- to 6-parted.
Fruit a fleshy berry, small, black, hairy, edible (15, 16).
Propagation:
By seed.
Habitat:
Adapted to moist conditions. Found in the forest reserve
above Wahiawa, Oahu. A potential weed in waste places,
pastures, and rangel and s.
Hi story:
Native to tropical America. First noted on Oahu in 1952.
Notes:
Declared noxious in Regulations 2 and NW 10. Of no
forage value. Grows fast and quickly takes over an area.

Lee's note: now found all over Hawaiian Acres, probably in your area, too!

[SoCal_to_Hawaii]

Thank you Lee M-S. I've downloaded the pdf.

[EightFingers]

What is that weed that REALLY STINKS? Almost looks like a begonia, very light green with thick hairy leaves.