I’d like to use a dichotomous key to identify an asteracae. [IMG_4670_SE_DetailForKeyTerms_093021] In the attached image I see 2 characteristics that might be seen as keys to the plant’s identification. My botanical vocabulary is not broad enough to include the terms a taxonomist might use to des…

Hi @baumgrenze , welcome to the forum! I’ve moved your post to Nature Talk since it isn’t directly about iNaturalist (but clearly nature). I can’t answer your question myself but hope someone else can.

The botanical term is actually scales for this instance. I’d advise you toward a table of different types of hairs and leaf surface types (Section 9 & 21 [they’re right next to eachother, this page is numbered strangely]) https://www2.palomar.edu/users/warmstrong/termlf2.htm The leaf texture having…

I can’t really help, but can make a suggestion. If you use Google Scholar to search for a revision of the genus/family in your region, sometimes the papers will contain a key along with descriptions. No guarantees, though! I work mostly with insects (Noctuidae), so don’t know how botany papers are s…

for what it’s worth, i know what this plant is, and just for grins, i tried to key it out using the key in Shinners and Mahler’s Illustrated Flora of North Central Texas . i hit a roadblock when i got to pappus form, since i don’t think i can make it out in the photo here. making an educated guess on…

squamate - covered in scales (squama) rugose - wrinkled, particularly by being covered in with a network of lines (usually veins) and having convex surfaces between those lines. [sometimes just an all-purpose “wrinkled”] This is a good glossary with illustrative images and a useful search page: h…

I would not call these leaves ruggose, ruggose is more extreme than this. Something like this would be a good example

Thank you, Carrie Seltzer for finding the proper home for this post. Thank you kevinfaccenda and pisum for offering to share the identity you arrived at. Is here the appropriate place to say, yes and thank you? Life is short (shorter each day or so it seems from my perspective.) I see that Kevin a…

You can post the photo on iNat if it was one you took and tag me. But it’s Eclipta prostrata.

Key Characteristic Term For a Forb Peduncle Covered With Scales

Nature Talk

Topic		Replies	Views
Aster Dichotomous Key (Northeast US) Nature Talk question	8	1439	September 26, 2022
Asters - Common Blue Wood vs. Large-Leaved Nature Talk question	4	1170	September 19, 2022
Help me identify (non-experts welcome) General	65	8749	April 5, 2023
Good source for botanical term definitions, preferably with photo examples? Nature Talk question	12	1163	October 13, 2020
Potentially misunderstanding a dichotomous key Nature Talk	2	89	June 18, 2026

Key Characteristic Term For a Forb Peduncle Covered With Scales

Related topics