“BEING A METHOD PROPOSED FOR THE READY FINDING…TO WHAT SORT ANY PLANT BELONGETH”

As any ONPS member will attest, it doesn t take many field trips into the prairies and forests of Oklahoma to encounter an unknown plant and have to ask, “What is it?” The easiest way to identify it is disarmingly simple; ask someone who knows! This approach works well when an expert is near at hand, ready to name plants. A second approach is to compare the unknown plant with photographs or illustrations in field guides specific for Oklahoma. Unfortunately, the major drawbacks in using such guides are that they typically illustrate only showy-flowered species and may not include all species present in the area. The ideal way to identify an unknown plant is to use a taxonomic key – an artificial analytical device for identification which offers a progressive series of choices between pairs of alternative features (Lawrence 1951). Taxonomists have been writing and using them for centuries as they have inventoried the world's flora (Voss 1952). Go anywhere in the world and if a taxonomic key is available, unknown plants can be identified.