"0tterbot" wrote in message
...
bonjour,

at our new property we'll be moving to soonish, there are a number of
plants
that i don't know, & don't know how to find out what they are either! i've
looked at various online resources, but they tend to be either geographic,
OR, based around plant family, or based around recommendations for "plants
for a boggy spot", "plants for a dry, windswept area", you know, that sort
of thing. the books i have are similar & haven't been any help with the
(literally) couple of things i want to identify.

assuming one hasn't the first idea of plant family, native or exotic, or
any
of the usual distinctions, how does one go about finding out what
soemthing
is, when you know _nothing_ except what it looks like? does anyone know of
any good online photographic resources (say, helpfully divided into
categories like "tree", "shrub" etc? g

or, is my best bet going to be investing in copies of "what tree is that?"
&
all of those?

i'm a bit despondent because i suspect that what i need just doesn't exist
:-)

tia for any help.
kylie


Post pics as others have said .... and also note a few things if they are
not clear in the pics
.... are the leaves alternately or oppositely placed along the stem?.
Are the leaves single leaves or pinnate (disected leaves) - you can check by
tking note if there is a leaf bud above the attachment to the stem.
Note the overall leaf shape.
Note the bark type .
Note the form (tree, shrub etc).
and the real thing will be the flowers ... note how many sepals, petals and
their attachment above or below the ovary (fruit).
Note if they are in clusters, single, amd whether they are at the ends of
the branches or not.
Number of stamens (pollen carrying bits).
If the stigma (girly bit - not carrying pollen) is disected.
if there is fruit, slice horizontally and count the number of chambers.

This info should help anyone with an appropriate key to find out for you.
....
I've got a good rainforest sp key which I've used for years, and *may* be
able to help even if its not an Aust native (given that I'm a botanist who's
taught taxonomy at uni ... going back a few years though so I'm very rusty).


Failing all this, you could try taking a shoot (with flowers if possible) to
the local Landcare gp, Greening Australia gp, garden club, garden centre,
DPI service etc.
Amanda