I have a plant collecting project to do and I need some help getting started?

Question

I have 2 lists of plants and I need to find one from each list, as well as one native and one alien species not on the lists.

Plants I need to find are:
white pine
red pine
eastern hemlock
white ash
red maple
sugar maple
sassafras
white oak
grey birch
black cherry

and the second list is:
norway maple
oriental bittersweet
multiflora rose
european buckthorn
japanese kontweed
purple loosestrife
phragmites
garlic mustard
water chestnut
crown vetch

And I have collected these two plants, more or less randomly but I don't konw what they are

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y237/donkey1234/DSCN5526.jpg?t=1189803538
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y237/donkey1234/DSCN5524.jpg?t=1189803540
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y237/donkey1234/DSCN5525.jpg?t=1189803540

and I do not know how to go about identifying them, or how to find any of the plants I need. Or any plants that weren't on the lists. I live in massachusetts if it makes a difference.

Answer 1

Do you have a good field guide to trees and plants of Northeast/Atlantic region? I would start with that; then a walk in your local park. City landscapers have followed trends and the trees planted in your parks in the 1950s and 60s would include many of the "foreign" species; your local nursery will be selling some of the "foreign" trees as well, hopefully right next to the native species. The folks at the local nursery/landscape company will be happy to talk to you about the pros and cons of each kind of tree for your area. If you dedicate Saturday morning to this project, you may be more than halfway done before lunchtime.

Answer 2

So did you teacher give you any advice about identification? Hard to believe you weren't given some instructions.

Get some field guides from your local library for trees, shrubs and flowers (most on your list are trees and shrubs). Look up the plants on your list so you know what they look like. Then go to local parks, conservation areas and natural areas and find them.

Or type all the names into Google to see what they look like, but field guides are better because you can take them with you into the wild areas.

Answer 3

type each name on your search . You will find pictures.
To find these plants, take a walk in the park in your area. The first list are trees. The others are plants you may have at as weeds before.