Improving Botany Knowledge

[Joel.W]

Hi, I was wondering what techniques people used to improve their knowledge and identification skills with botany. I have always been more of an animal person and feel like my plant I.D is somewhat lacking but i find it very daunting when it comes to improving this, and I really don't know how to go about it. I have tried taking the wildliflower key out with me on walks to identify species but found this was a bit haphazard and not really targeted. I know this is going to take a long time to build up with any confidence but I am really interested to know how others tackled this as I am sure I am not the only one who has wanted to improve their botany and found the whole thing very daunting. Cheers, Joel.

[King Edward]

Keep in mind that there aren't actually all that many really common species, so it gets easier as you start to recognise them and you see the same ones again and again. Most species also belong to just a few common families, so again you can quickly learn to recognise these and start at the appropriate family key in the book.

Is this - The Wildflower Key - the book you have, because that should be perfect for what you want? You also need a hand lens.

Even if you think you know what a plant is, or if you can ID it by flicking through the pictures, it is worth taking the time to key plants out to gain familiarity both with the book and the plants, since you need to look more closely at the small details.

One method that I wouldn't recommend - except for really hard cases when you get stuck - is posting photos online for people to ID for you, since you don't learn much that way.

It's also useful to pick parts of plants/flowers to study and ID. You don't need to uproot great clumps or anything, but where possible try to get the relevant parts such as flowers, fruit, upper & lower/basal leaves (the latter esspecially, since they can often be important and quite different to those higher up the stems.

[earthdragon64]

One of the best ways is to go out walking with someone more experienced, especially if you have a wildflower key with you. My botany skills improved a lot when I joined a local botany group and went on field trips.

Your local library should have details of any local groups, and I think that the Natural History Museum website has lists of all sorts of local wildlife organisations. The JNCC website and FSC might also be useful for courses.

There are also national groups that run field trips and sometimes training courses, the BSBI, Plantlife and The Wild Flower Society all have websites.

Hope this is of some help.

Regards, Audrey.

[Paul mabbott]

When you get stuck, remind yourself that Botany is easier than Zoology because the specimen can't walk/fly off!
Some beginners tend to get frustrated by not being able to get down to species level quickly. Be happy that you get it to Family or generic level: once you get there the key will tell you what points to look for ..... easy (). I hope that the key you have is systematic so that you can quite rapidly get to Families - this is perhaps what you should aim for, get to the situation where you can almost instantly say, Taht's one of the crucifers, the Caryophylaceae, the Boraginaceae &c .... and in many cases you don't have much further to go! (perhaps further with the Rosaceae and Crucifera than others ..... .

Good luck!

[Johnny81]

I have learnt to identify many plants in little under 2 years, I had to being a countryside management student. WAB certainly helped! But getting out there in the spring/summer etc with a camera, a book and taking (some) samples really helped me. I found a Collins easier to use to learn the families (Paul Sterrys' wildflower book is great IMO) then start cross referencing with something more advanced like the wildflower key.

I joined my local flora group and learnt even more. I also picked up a lot from volunteering with country parks/groups etc, asking questions on species ID all the time.

For me learning the families is the KEY, certainly helps knowing where to flick to in a book.

[pleb]

A tip which might help you is not to concentrate all your energy on the flowers but try to notice the leaves and anything unusual or noticeable about them.

phil

[Dorts]

Joel, everyones experience is different, I found there is no easy way, no shortcuts, but as has been said, joining a group or finding someone with a greater knowledge will certainly help.
Try as much as possible to make the indentification yourself, I found it is much easier to remember species that way rather than simply being told. But there will be times when you have ask. (This is where WAB can hopefully help.)

The one piece of advice I would give is to get a good book, a good hand lens, and 'look-closely'. Nearly always the key to a plant ID is in the detail.

I wish you all the best with your botanical pursuits, it's a wonderfull area in which to have an interest.
Dorts.

[pleb]

I agree with all that Dort says. Be patient and try not to get frustrated when it all seems too difficult.

Also I suggest leaving till later the grasses and sedges, the yellow crucifers, the white umbellifers and the yellow composites. We all find these difficult to begin with.

Learn at your own pace and I hope you find the pleasure and satisfaction that many of us have found from learning more about wild flowers.

phil

[pleb]

My personal experience was that in the Spring, the learning experience is relatively easy as you will notice each new plant as it comes into flower but later in the season one gets overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of flowering plants.

But it always happened that the following year it all got slightly easier and each year your knowledge will increase.

phil

[willowjay]

And don't forget the habitat!

One disadvantage of using a key to identify an unknown plant is that it concentrates on the structure of flowers, leaves etc, and only later gives you information about where the plant might be found.

Good luck - it's a rewarding subject for study