Welcome to the E-Flora BC Identification Help Tool
 

This Identification Help Tool for vascular plants is a work-in-progress. It is being developed to help you identify vascular plants in BC (native or naturalized) by calling up a set of potential matching species.  The tool searches content displayed in the E-Flora BC atlas pages, including the content of the Illustrated Flora of British Columbia (IFBC), so the search is based on terminology used in the atlas pages.

Use the identification sections outlined below singly or in combination. You may choose one or more categories in each identification section.  At this stage of development, choosing fewer characters in a search may work best.  If some combinations of characters don't provide reasonable returns, then try different combinations.

The search is based on searching for multiple terms or characteristics, but also works well if you search for a single characteristic.  Searching for a single characteistic or term can provide useful returns. So, for example, search for a single landscape characteristic or for a single morphological feature. You can search by habitat type or substrate type and more. For example, select 'limestone' (or type limestone in the search box) and call up species that are described in our atlas pages as occurring on limestone.

Note that searching by flower colour does not work well at this point. Searches will call up all reference to a colour contained in our atlas pages.  For example, a search for 'red' will call up species with red flowers as well as red-listed species and species with red bracts and red stems. We are working to develop a flower colour database to improve on this. In the meantime, you may wish to exclude colour in your search.

Note also that search capability in the ID Tool is limited by Google, which provides the search engine that drives this tool. Google limits the number of results pages to 10, and sometimes produces inconsistent results

For definitions of terminology, please refer to the botanical glossary.

Identification Tool
1) Use the search box below to find possible matches to your plant.

This feature allows you to search for plants by any descriptive term that is present in our atlas pages. This can include searching by habitat type (e.g., old growth), soil type (e.g. calcareous), geographical region (e.g., coastal), BEC zone (e.g. CCF), or plant morphology (e.g. thorns). Enter single terms or multiple terms separated by a space.

     


2) Use landscape characteristics to call up possible matches to your plant

Search by a single category or a combination of categories. Select one feature per category. Click on the Show Matches button for results.


  (leave blank)
  Forest
  Subalpine/alpine
  Rocky outcrops or balds
  Sagebrush-steppe or grassland
  Freshwater wetland (incl. ditches)
  Saltwater or saline habitats
  Beaches and sand dunes
  Disturbed areas

  (leave blank)
  Gravel
  Humus
  Limestone
  Peat
  Rock outcrop
  Sand
  Scree
  Talus

  (leave blank)
  Dry
  Mesic
  Moist
  Wet
  Seepage

3) Use plant features to call up possible matches to your plant

This section is under development as we test how well each feature or category works. Search using a single category or a combination of categories. Select one feature per category.. Click on the Show Matches button for results. Features that are frequently used in the Illustrated Flora of BC are being tested in this section.


  (leave blank)
  No petals
  Three petals
  Four petals
  Five petals
  Six petals
  Multiple petals
  Bell-shaped
  Pea-like
  Spurred
  Tubular

  (leave blank)
  Green
  Blue
  Purple
  Red
  Pink
  White
  Yellow
  Orange

  (leave blank)
  Catkin
  Cyme
  Panicle
  Raceme
  Spike
  Spadix
  Umbel

  (leave blank)
  Spring
  Early spring
  Late spring
  Summer

  (leave blank)
  Needle
  Simple (but not needles)
  Compound

  (leave blank)
  Alternate (on the stem)
  Opposite (on the stem)
  Whorled (around the stem)
  All basal (at base of plant)

  (leave blank)
  Achenes
  Berries
  Capsules
  Cones
  Follicles
  Pomes
  Pods

  (leave blank)
  Glabrous (not hairy)
  Hairy
  Thorns, prickles or spines

  (leave blank)
  Bulbs, corms or tubers
  Fibrous
  Taproot
  Rhizomes, runners or stolons

  (leave blank)
  Annual
  Biennial
  Perennial

  (leave blank)
  Herb
  Shrub (deciduous)
  Shrub (evergreen)
  Tree (deciduous)
  Tree (evergreen)
  Vine

(leave blank)
  Aquatic plants
  Exudes milky juice
  Flowers scented
  Plants sticky
  Parasite or Saprophyte
  Square stems
  Tendrils present
  

This is a work-in-progress. Feedback on the ID tool will help us work towards improvement.
Please send us a comment

The Identification Help Tool is powered by Google Custom Search.