Advanced ID Tools

• This key covers all 3,500 species, subspecies, and varieties of native and naturalized plants in New England.
• It works in the same way as our Simple Key Plant Identifier, asking you to choose the broad group your plant is in, then offering you a series of questions based on the characteristics you are able to observe.
• Because there are many types of plants in this key, you may take a little longer to identify your plant, but once you do, you can get lots of information on each taxon.

If you are an experienced botanist, use our Dichotomous Key tool.

• A dichotomous key presents a set of paired choices that describe various plant characteristics.
• You choose the one that best matches the plant you are trying to identify. Then you get another pair of choices.
• As you march down the choices, you gradually narrow down to your plant.
• The questions are technical and specific, but botanical terms are all defined and illustrated.

The key is based on the Flora Novae Angliae (Haines 2011).