Technical Resources

PLANTS Identification Keys

Automated Key Data Available For Use and Testing

Draft interactive keys and plant character data sets for selected groups of U.S. plants are available for use and testing on-line or by downloading the specific PLANTS Identification application.

Unlike a traditional plant identification key that provides you with only two choices at each step (a dichotomous key), these keys let you select multiple characters simultaneously (polyclave key). This makes more character data available in the key and minimizes the number of steps it takes to identify a plant.

These data sets were developed cooperatively by the collaborators cited in the keys and the USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center. The automated plant keys run in SLIKS freeware written in JavaScript and let you identify specific groups of plants known to occur in the U.S. This freeware has limited functionality. The species list in the wetland monocot key is derived from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Wetland Inventory National List of Vascular Plant Species That Occur in Wetlands: 1998 National List. Other keys are based on the species lists in PLANTS. These draft plant character data sets are for testing purposes only.

Data development for the grass and legume keys were partially funded by the USDA NRCS Agricultural Wildlife Conservation Center and the USDA NRCS Louisiana State Office contributed to grass key development.

For more information, click on Instructions, Information, Disclaimers and Policies after the application is loaded.

We welcome your comments to improve this draft data set or the interactive key. Please email the USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center and include the name of the data set (e.g., PLANTS Identification-Wetland Monocots-Cyperaceae) in your subject line.

ON-LINE VERSION: The application runs on-line in a new browser window and does not load any executable files onto your computer.

DOWNLOAD VERSION: The application runs off-line in your browser and does not load any executable files onto your computer. Please note that you will need to unzip/extract the zip file and copy all its files into a new folder to uncompress them. Then just click on the .html file with the name of the data set in your new folder to start the program. With newer versions of Internet Explorer, you can go to Tools, Internet Options, Advanced, Security, and check the box for "Allow active content to run in files on My Computer" then Apply, in order to avoid repeated browser warnings on active content. Wetland Monocots starts with a key to families called WETLAND_MONOCOTS.html, which leads to the individual family keys.

Grasses (Poaceae)
Alabama	On-line	Download (zip archive, 60KB)
Alaska	On-line	Download (zip archive, 53KB)
Arizona	On-line	Download (zip archive, 61KB)
Arkansas	On-line	Download (zip archive, 56KB)
California	On-line	Download (zip archive, 76KB)
Colorado	On-line	Download (zip archive, 53KB)
Connecticut	On-line	Download (zip archive, 53KB)
Delaware	On-line	Download (zip archive, 53KB)
Florida	On-line	Download (zip archive, 62KB)
Georgia	On-line	Download (zip archive, 59KB)
Hawaii	On-line	Download (zip archive, 62KB)
Idaho	On-line	Download (zip archive, 61KB)
Illinois	On-line	Download (zip archive, 65KB)
Indiana	On-line	Download (zip archive, 54KB)
Iowa	On-line	Download (zip archive, 53KB)
Kansas	On-line	Download (zip archive, 63KB)
Kentucky	On-line	Download (zip archive, 55KB)
Louisiana	On-line	Download (zip archive, 72KB)
Maine	On-line	Download (zip archive, 53KB)
Maryland	On-line	Download (zip archive, 58KB)
Massachusetts	On-line	Download (zip archive, 56KB)
Michigan	On-line	Download (zip archive, 54KB)
Minnesota	On-line	Download (zip archive, 52KB)
Mississippi	On-line	Download (zip archive, 58KB)
Missouri	On-line	Download (zip archive, 66KB)
Montana	On-line	Download (zip archive, 62KB)
Nebraska	On-line	Download (zip archive, 60KB)
Nevada	On-line	Download (zip archive, 63KB)
New Hampshire	On-line	Download (zip archive, 52KB)
New Jersey	On-line	Download (zip archive, 57KB)
New Mexico	On-line	Download (zip archive, 61KB)
New York	On-line	Download (zip archive, 58KB)
North Carolina	On-line	Download (zip archive, 58KB)
North Dakota	On-line	Download (zip archive, 58KB)
Ohio	On-line	Download (zip archive, 54KB)
Oklahoma	On-line	Download (zip archive, 57KB)
Oregon	On-line	Download (zip archive, 67KB)
Pennsylvania	On-line	Download (zip archive, 56KB)
Puerto Rico	On-line	Download (zip archive, 62KB)
Rhode Island	On-line	Download (zip archive, 57KB)
South Carolina	On-line	Download (zip archive, 60KB)
South Dakota	On-line	Download (zip archive, 60KB)
Tennessee	On-line	Download (zip archive, 56KB)
Texas	On-line	Download (zip archive, 68KB)
Utah	On-line	Download (zip archive, 65KB)
Vermont	On-line	Download (zip archive, 51KB)
Virgin Islands	On-line	Download (zip archive, 54KB)
Virginia	On-line	Download (zip archive, 58KB)
Washington, D.C.	On-line	Download (zip archive, 57KB)
Washington	On-line	Download (zip archive, 64KB)
West Virginia	On-line	Download (zip archive, 52KB)
Wisconsin	On-line	Download (zip archive, 53KB)
Wyoming	On-line	Download (zip archive, 62KB)

Legumes (Fabaceae)
Alabama	On-line	Download (zip archive, 60KB)
Alaska	On-line	Download (zip archive, 63KB)
Arizona	On-line	Download (zip archive, 64KB)
Arkansas	On-line	Download (zip archive, 58KB)
California	On-line	Download (zip archive, 67KB)
Colorado	On-line	Download (zip archive, 59KB)
Connecticut	On-line	Download (zip archive, 56KB)
Delaware	On-line	Download (zip archive, 56KB)
Florida	On-line	Download (zip archive, 64KB)
Georgia	On-line	Download (zip archive, 60KB)
Hawaii	On-line	Download (zip archive, 57KB)
Idaho	On-line	Download (zip archive, 57KB)
Illinois	On-line	Download (zip archive, 57KB)
Indiana	On-line	Download (zip archive, 56KB)
Iowa	On-line	Download (zip archive, 56KB)
Kansas	On-line	Download (zip archive, 58KB)
Kentucky	On-line	Download (zip archive, 57KB)
Louisiana	On-line	Download (zip archive, 60KB)
Maine	On-line	Download (zip archive, 55KB)
Maryland	On-line	Download (zip archive, 58KB)
Massachusetts	On-line	Download (zip archive, 57KB)
Michigan	On-line	Download (zip archive, 56KB)
Minnesota	On-line	Download (zip archive, 55KB)
Mississippi	On-line	Download (zip archive, 59KB)
Missouri	On-line	Download (zip archive, 58 KB)
Montana	On-line	Download (zip archive, 57KB)
Nebraska	On-line	Download (zip archive, 56KB)
Nevada	On-line	Download (zip archive, 59KB)
New Hampshire	On-line	Download (zip archive, 52KB)
New Jersey	On-line	Download (zip archive, 57KB)
New Mexico	On-line	Download (zip archive, 62KB)
New York	On-line	Download (zip archive, 57KB)
North Carolina	On-line	Download (zip archive, 59KB)
North Dakota	On-line	Download (zip archive, 58KB)
Ohio	On-line	Download (zip archive, 56KB)
Oklahoma	On-line	Download (zip archive, 60KB)
Oregon	On-line	Download (zip archive, 59KB)
Pacific Basin	On-line	Download (zip archive, 63KB)
Pennsylvania	On-line	Download (zip archive, 57KB)
Puerto Rico	On-line	Download (zip archive, 61KB)
Rhode Island	On-line	Download (zip archive, 54KB)
South Carolina	On-line	Download (zip archive, 59KB)
South Dakota	On-line	Download (zip archive, 56KB)
Tennessee	On-line	Download (zip archive, 57KB)
Texas	On-line	Download (zip archive, 66KB)
Utah	On-line	Download (zip archive, 59KB)
Vermont	On-line	Download (zip archive, 54KB)
Virgin Islands	On-line	Download (zip archive, 57KB)
Virginia	On-line	Download (zip archive, 58KB)
Washington, D.C.	On-line	Download (zip archive, 55KB)
Washington	On-line	Download (zip archive, 58KB)
West Virginia	On-line	Download (zip archive, 56KB)
Wisconsin	On-line	Download (zip archive, 56KB)
Wyoming	On-line	Download (zip archive, 57KB)

Gymnosperms
U.S.	On-line	Download (zip archive, 49KB)

Wetland Monocots
U.S.	On-line	Download (zip archive, 381KB)

Ericaceae
U.S.	On-line	Download (zip archive, 40KB)

User Notes:

The versions of SLIKS used for these keys were specifically designed for Microsoft Internet Explorer but also run well in Mozilla Firefox if the IE Tab extension is installed and enabled.
Anti-virus software may hinder opening this application since it runs in JavaScript. You may need to turn off Script Blocking in your anti-virus software prior to running this application or agree to Allow Blocked Content when your browser opens and you are asked whether you want to run this application showing active content.
If you download the application, please recognize that some application links to external sites will not work unless your computer is connected to the Internet.
Remember that you must copy all downloaded files to a new folder in order to guarantee that they are fully unzipped. The key will not run if you simply click on the zip file, or any of the files within it, if you do not first copy the unzipped files to a new folder.