Full Key: Which group best describes your plant?
Please go through the groups in order.
Woody plants
Trees, shrubs, sub-shrubs, and lianas
Key characteristics
The outer tissues of the stems are thickened; most have bark and winter buds during the dormant season
Exceptions
Some very short shrubs can be mistaken for herbaceous plants
Video about this group
Woody plantsAquatic plants
Plants with their leaves and/or stems submerged or floating in water
Key characteristics
Specialized submersed or floating leaves and tissues to withstand flooding
Exceptions
Some land plants can be flooded temporarily but cannot live long in water. Also, sometimes aquatic plants are stranded out of water or may be amphibious
Video about this group
Aquatic plantsGrass-like plants
Grasses, sedges, and other plants with long, narrow leaves
Key characteristics
Leaves consisting of a narrow blade and a tubular sheath around the stem; small, inconspicuous flowers without obvious sepals and petals
Exceptions
Some non-grasses have very narrow leaves but produce showy flowers
Video about this group
Grass-like plantsOrchids and related plants
Lilies, orchids, irises, aroids, and other monocots
Key characteristics
Seedlings have a single embryo leaf (cotyledon); plants have flower parts in multiples of 3 and parallel-veined leaves
Exceptions
Grasses are also monocots but are grouped under Grass-like Plants
Orchids, related plantsFerns
Ferns, horsetails, quillworts, lycopods, and relatives
Key characteristics
Plants that reproduce by spores; the spores often grouped in specialized structures like sori, sporangia, and/or spore cones
Exceptions
Some seed plants have frilly, highly dissected leaves that resemble ferns
Video about this group
FernsAll other flowering non-woody plants
Asters and all other flowering plants
Key characteristics
Flowering plants without parallel-veined leaves, and flower parts usually in multiples of 4 or 5
Exceptions
This is a large group with species that vary widely in characteristics; some narrow-leaved species have only one leaf blade vein, so floral characteristics are important
Other flowering non-woody plants