We’re in the process of fixing missing tags and cleaning up this page! I hope to be done by the end of September.
TAG KEY
For an alphabetized list by plant family (one of the 8 major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy) see our Index of Plants.
(ENVIRONMENTAL STATUS) Native to Ontario, Naturalized in Ontario, Invasive Species in Ontario (“aggressive” plants that rank as moderately to highly invasive here). We’re also including the tags At-Risk and Endangered – currently being added. These apply to Ontario, Canada in particular and will often not apply to other regions. The term invasive isn’t a jab at plants, but a jab at human activity that harms the environment. Alien plants we bring in that are destructive here are just everyday wonderful plants where they came from. I hope to have these tags sorted by October.
(DURATION) Annual, Biennial, Perennial
(ENVIRONMENT) Borders of Paths, Bogs, Damp or Wet Places, Damp roadsides, Damp ditches, Damp shore banks, Damp coniferous woods, Shaded mossy banks, Shaded roadsides, Damp mixed woods, Damp woods, Deciduous woods, Disturbed habitats, Dry Open Roadsides, Damp gravel pits, Damp meadows, Driveways, Dry fields, Dry barren ground, Dry or Damp Roadside Ditches, Clearings and Old Fields, Cleared areas, Clearings, Clearings in woods, Edges of meadows, Edges of banks, Edge of deciduous woods, Fencerows, Fertile slopes, Grassy hillsides, Grassy banks, High dry sandy areas, Lake edges, Low damp areas, Low wet meadows, Stream edges, Mature woods, Marshes, Mixed woods, Mixed Woods on Hummus Over Granite or Sand, Moist woods, Moist mixed woods, Mixed woods, Meadows, Moist deciduous woods, Mossy banks, Open sandy areas, Open hillsides, Open dry hillsides, Old Fields, Open Banks, Open Hillsides, Partly shaded hillsides, Pure stands, Riverbanks, Roadsides, Rock knolls, Near base of trees, Old bush roads, Old lawns, Roadside banks, Rocky ridges, Rocky shores, Rocky slopes, Rocky outcrops, Sand flats, Sandy disturbed sites, Sandy roadsides, Sandy grassy banks, open flat sites, trailside, Shallow water, Sandy banks, Sandy Waste Ground, Shores of lakes, Stream banks, Lakeshores, Lakes, Ponds, Quiet waters of rivers, Shrubby areas, Sandy open areas, Swamp edges, Swampy mixed woods, Fields, Tall stands, Wet ditches, Woods, Wet sandy shores, Mud flats, Wet swampy sites – as stated in Haliburton Flora: An Annotated List of the Vascular Plants of the County of Haliburton, Ontario (and my own consistent sightings!) – I dropped the ball over time on this, so I’ll be adding and combining similar tags this September.
(ENVIRONMENT: SOIL TYPE) Aquatic or Semi-aquatic, Clay soil /heavy soil, Deep soil, Disturbed Soil, Dry sandy soil, Dry Soil, Loamy soil /medium soil, Moderate Sandy, Moist soil, Moist hummus, Muck or Hummus, Rich hummus, Sandy soil /light soil, Silty soil, Thin soil, Well drained soil, Wet Soil, etc., as stated in Haliburton Flora: An Annotated List of the Vascular Plants of the County of Haliburton, Ontario and other sources. Not every plant has their soil preferences listed.
(FLOWER COLOUR TAGS) Red, Pink, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple, White and timing will be added in a future edit; ex. Blooms early spring!
For herbal medicine related tags, see Medicinal tags: Support of body systems and herbal energetics. Medicinal parts is also a tag, though currently it applies to about every plant covered! Ditto Edible parts.
Coming soon (EDIBILITY – SEASONS) Early Spring, Mid-Late Spring, Early Summer, Mid-Late Summer, Autumn, Winter, Multiple Seasons – these tags are yet to be added. We are also working on a calendar for Ontario/NE North America.
(CRAFTING) Dye – I will likely add Fiber, Woodworking and other crafting tags in the future. Dye has been tagged from the start.
(OTHER) Insect repellent
(GENDER TAGS) YIN or YANG; I am not too keen on this genderisation of plants, but it’s part of some herbal modalities. I compromised by choosing the Chinese terms over male or female.
(PLANET TAGS) Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn
(ELEMENT TAGS) Earth, Air, Fire, Water
(POWER TAGS) Calling Spirits, Courage, Divination, Exorcism, Fidelity, Healing, Health, Love, Money, Protection, Success, Wishes For fun – magical intentions as listed in Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs and similar sources.
(POPULAR WILDLIFE) Attracts Birds, Attracts Bees and Butterflies, and more specifically food or shelter for: Alder flycatchers, American crows, American goldfinches, American martens, American robins, American tree sparrows, Barred owls, Beavers, Bees, Black bears, Black-capped chickadees, Blue jays, Brown creepers, Brown thrashers, Butterflies, Canada goose, Chipmunks, Chipping sparrows, Common grackles, Common yellowthroat warblers, Connecticut warblers, Cotton-tailed rabbits, Coyotes, Crossbills, Dark-eyed juncos, Deer mice, Downy woodpeckers, Ducks, Eastern bluebirds, Eastern chipmunks (to be combined with chipmunks later), Eastern cottontails (to be combined with cotton-tailed rabbits and rabbits later as I clean up dups), Eastern flying squirrels, Eastern kingbirds, Eastern phoebes, Elk, European starlings, Evening grosbeaks, Field sparrows, Fishers, Gamebirds, Geese, Gray catbirds, Great crested flycatchers, Grosbeaks, Grouse, Hairy woodpeckers, Hermit thrushes, Horned larks, Indigo buntings, Jays, Kinglets, Least chipmunks, Mallards, Meadow jumping mice, Mice, Mockingbirds and mimics, Moose, Moths, Mourning cloak butterflies, Mourning doves, Muskrats, Nashville warblers, Northern cardinals, Northern flickers, Northern orioles, Nuthatches, Opossum, Ospreys, Painted turtles, Pileated woodpeckers, Pine grosbeaks, Pine siskins, Pine warblers, Porcupines, Purple finches, Raccoons, Red foxes, Red squirrels, Red-bellied woodpeckers, Red-breasted nuthatches, Red-eyed vireos, Redpolls, Rock voles, Rose-breasted grosbeaks, Ruby-throated hummingbirds, Ruffed grouse, Rufous-sided towhees, Rusty blackbirds, Scarlet tanager, Snapping turtles, Snowshoe hares, Song sparrows, Songbirds, Squirrels, Swainson’s thrushes, Tent caterpillars, Thrushes, Veery, Vireos, Warblers, White-breasted nuthatches, White-footed mice, White-tailed deer, White-throated sparrows, White-winged crossbills, Wild turkey, Wood ducks, Wood thrushes, Wood turtles, Woodcocks, Woodpeckers, Yellow-bellied flycatchers and Yellow-bellied sapsuckers. I may bold the at-risk or endangered wildlife in this list. Be sure to check out our How ___ Use Wild Plants and Wood Folk Diaries if wildlife is what you’re here for.
(GARDENING: SUN REQUIREMENTS or preference)* Full sun, Partial shade, Shade, Deciduous Shade (Spring Sun) *Sun requirements tagging limited to native plants
(GARDENING) Nitrogen fixer, Compost, Soil enhancer
I am thinking of adding groundcover, tree, shrub, vine, fern, etc., so these are browsable. Fall color perhaps? We’ll see. Ripe berry color perhaps, but then while I’m at that I should probably add all stages of berry color.
If there’s a specific way you’d like to be able to sort out plants here, feel free to share tag ideas. I will be continuously updating every entry on this site as long as I live, so I’m wide open to additions.