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American Tuliptree (Liriodendron tulipifera)

A large deciduous tree native to eastern North America, with distinctive four-lobed leaves and tulip-like blossoms.

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Robin's Plantain (Erigeron pulchellus)

A perennial favoring slightly dry sites of low soil fertility in open woodlands.

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Money Plant (Lunaria annua)

An annual, widely planted in gardens, that has become invasive at some localities across North America.

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East Central Texas Plains

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Texas Blackland Prairies

A heavily-populated and intensively-farmed region in East-Central Texas, once covered mostly in tallgrass prairie.

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Cook Inlet

Lowlands in Alaska around a body of water opening to the Pacific, and the region in which Anchorage is located.

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Narrow-leaved Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica) vs. Northern Spring Beauty (Claytonia caroliniana)

These two native spring ephemerals are visually similar and easily confused where their ranges overlap. They are easily told apart by leaf shape, and there are some other subtle differences which are less reliable for identification. C. virginica ranges much farther south and west, and ranges farther into sunnier and more upland habitats, whereas C. caroliniana ranges farther north, to higher elevations in the Southern Appalachians, and prefers shadier habitats.

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Prairie Fleabane (Erigeron strigosus) vs. Annual Fleabane (Erigeron annuus)

These closely-related species are visually similar and can occur together in the same habitats, tend to bloom around the same time, and their flowers are nearly indistinguishable. E. annuus favors moister, more disturbed habitats with richer soil, and tolerates more shade, whereas E. strigosus ranges farther west and south, prefers drier, sunnier, slightly less disturbed habitats, and is more tolerant of alkaline soil.

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Atlantic White Cedar (Chamaecyparis thyoides) vs. Northern White-Cedar (Thuja occidentalis)

These two species only overlap in the wild in a small part of New England, but both are widely planted in landscaping. Both have scale-like foliage and seed cones releasing wind-dispersed seeds. They can be told apart by their foliage arrangement, density, and color, seed cones, and shape. Some trees can be distinguished by bark. Both prefer moist conditions, but Atlantic white cedar is more restricted to wetlands. The two species have no overlap in soil pH, with Atlantic white cedar limited to sites with acidic soils (pH <5.5), whereas Northern White Cedar is most likely on more calcium-rich soils (pH > 5.5.)

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