Can Plant ID Be Easy?

Certainly not for botanists trying to advance the frontiers of our knowledge.

And not so much for casual observers or enthusiasts trying to match a particular flower to a book with hundreds of tiny pictures – one per species.

But it can be easy if you have a custom, short list that focuses on just the plants around you, shows lots of pictures, and has ID tips for each plant. 

For instance, on this site, the ID Guide “Bull Point Wildflowers” shows an illustrated, annotated plant list of the 18 most likely flowers you’ll see on that trail.  You run your finger down the short list, and when you find one that might be your match, you click the plant name to see more information about that plant, including a slideshow of a dozen or so full-size photos illustrating various plant parts and life stages.

The Beauty of Short Lists

The main focus of this site is to develop a short illustrated, annotated list of the plants you’re likely to be looking at.  You can get to a short list two ways:

·        Go to “Plant Search” from the Home Page and enter what you can observe (flower color, etc.).  You’ll get a result that shows only plants that meet all your criteria.  If you enter everything you know, you’ll often get a nice short list.

·        Go to “Local Plant ID Lists” from the Home Page and pick out the park checklist that matches where you are.  Enter what you know about your plant to find only plants in this location that match your criteria.

Easy enough?

Return to About