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Identifying plants
In article , Brian
writes "Franz Heymann" wrote in message ... "Just Molly" wrote in message news:e0TEc.38$JG6.13@newsfe4-gui... "Bob Smith" wrote in message ... Hi, I don't really like asking "what's this" all the time, so is there a website or piece of software for me to identify things myself? i swear by my RHS enyclopadia of plants and flowers. It is good if you know a name and you want to see what it looks like. If you've seen the plant but don't know the name. it is hard work identifying it from the Encyclopedia. Franz _________ I agree with Franz. The very best texts for identifying wild plants use a comprehensive key and very few illustrations. Depends a bit on your knowledge level! You have to be a fairly enthusiastic amateur botanist to use Stace, for example. I tend to use Fitter et al, and give up with getting any closer identification than eyebright, dandelion or hawkweed ;-) For garden plants, I use the Roger Phillips and Martin Rix books becuase their photos are close up and therefore better for identification - many of the RHS photos give you an overall picture, but without a close up. But they're a good start. No cultivated flower key seems to exist. It'd be a bit difficult, wouldn't it, with all the new varieties being developed. Addition of a new variety isn't necessarily a matter of adding a new question at the end - it may mess up one of the dichotomies further up the key. Long, long ago, in the days before PCs, I remember helping a colleague with a program that took a key, added in your new species in the middle, and checked all the consequences all the way through the key. It was not a simple process. -- Kay "Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river" |
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