What Is This Plant?

Can you identify this spring-blooming plant in Missouri USDA zone 5b?

What Is This Plant?

It is one of the questions I get asked the most but not an easy question to answer. Especially when people try to just describe the plant, without a photo or a plant sample.

"So it has this funny curlycue on the side" and "my mother remembers this plant when she was little" are not good clues. If someone is not able to provide a photo, I ask them to tell me what plant they can identify that is similar to the one they don't know. Even then, there is no guarantee I will be able to identify it but I stand a better chance of getting close, or keeping them away from a particularly healthy batch of poison ivy.

One of the more controversial identifications is weeds versus herbs. Actually some weeds ARE herbs but not everyone appreciates that badge. It seems easier to mis-identify bluebells for Virginia bluebells, similar in name but different species.

I will be glad to help you if I can but for both of our sakes, if you would like a plant identified try to provide a photo or sample. If you didn't take one, go to a search engine and type in the color of flower or leaf shape, then surf through images until you find one similar. Who knows, you may even identify the plant yourself!

Have you identified the plant in photo? 

It's a prairie or climbing rose rosa setigera, one of Missouri's native spring-blooming roses.

Charlotte