SHSG Plant Walk July 2021: Identifying Look-Alikes

Can you tell the difference between these four wild & wonderful plants with heart-shaped leaves?  

Have you ever been *sorta* sure what an herb is but had a hard time differentiating between members of the same family?

We get it. All mints look alike. Not just that, but poison hemlock and wild carrot appear very much the same even to a well-trained eye, and that's definitely not a mistake we'd be making twice. Every herbalist at every level of training and experience has a hard time with look-alikes. But there is hope.  

Come walk with us on Sunday July 11th as we focus on skills to distinguish between similar looking plants in the wild. We will cover basic botanical concepts of plant structure, traits common within certain plant families & take an up-close look at examples on the trail for practice. And because it's Syracuse Herbal Study Group, we will of course cover medicinal uses for the plants we see along the way.   

This will be a bit of a "hybrid" walk - we will spent a little time up front discussing botany, tips & tricks (bring a notebook!) and then we will get started with the walk to put those concepts to work. All aspects of this walk are accessible to all levels of skill & knowledge.  

While not a prerequisite, our online class from May 2020, Basic Botany for Plant ID, reviews more in depth many of the fundamentals that we will be introducing on our walk for those interested in further sharpening their look-alike ID skills. More information on that class is available at the link below. If you are interested in obtaining a $10 copy, please send an email to syracusehsg@gmail.com and we will send you the Zoom link and all associated handouts.   

To find us for the walk: we will meet at the main parking area for Canal Landing Park. This is just off Limestone Plaza, near the junction with NY 5 in the village of Fayetteville, just east of Towne Centre Shopping Plaza.  

As always, plant walks are free :)  See you there!  

https://www.earthstrongcenter.com/event-info/shsg-may-2020-basic-botany-for-plant-id