Step 1: Use your mouse to left-click on the desired state or province on the State-level Query Map. Once you have selected a state or province, it will be displayed in red font above the upper-left portion of the map and the names appearing within the Family, Genera, and Species columns will reflect the plants known to occur there.
Step 2: Clicking on a character state in the “Family Identification Key” will open a list of possible characters for you to select. In this example, “Perennial” has been selected. After selecting the character state by left-clicking on it, left-click ‘Run query’ to query that character state, thereby eliminating any incompatible character states. The selected character state is visible in the ‘Selected Characters’ box at the bottom of the query panel. In this example, ‘Perennial’ has been selected from within ‘Duration’.
Step 3: Continue to open character states and select characters in order to further refine your query results. Each character you are able to add to your query will help eliminate extraneous taxa. There is no need to guess; select only those characters for which you are reasonably certain. In this example, ‘Leaves or leaflets lobed or divided’ from within ‘Leaf Margin’ has been added to the query.
Step 4: Continue to open character states and select characters in order to further refine your query results. Each character you are able to add to your query will help eliminate extraneous taxa. There is no need to guess; select only those characters for which you are reasonably certain. In this example, ‘Leaves deciduous’ from within ‘Leaf Duration’ has been added to the query.
Step 5: Left-click on every category and subcategory from within the Biological Attribute Query box to select within the characters and character states that best reflect the condition of your unknown plant. Once you select a particular character or characteristic, it will appear within the ‘Selected Characters’ box. Make sure to click on “Run query” button after the selection(s) is made.
Step 6: Continue to open character states and select characters in order to further refine your query results. Each character you are able to add to your query will help eliminate extraneous taxa. There is no need to guess; select only those characters for which you are reasonably certain. In this example, ‘Vegetative odor of stem or leaf often pungent’ from within ‘Leaf’ has been added to the “Selected Characters”.
Step 7: Continue to open character states and select characters in order to further refine your query results. Each character you are able to add to your query will help eliminate extraneous taxa. There is no need to guess; select only those characters for which you are reasonably certain. In this example, ‘Chewing gum plant’ from within ‘Human use plants’ has been added to the query.
Step 8: Repeat your Family Key and Biological Attributes queries until you have reduced the list of potential taxa as much as you are able. You can then use the individual species photo galleries or the Query Photo Gallery to confirm the identity of your unknown plant.