How To Identify Plants At The SRP

• If you can't find anyone to ask, then look at my list of plants blooming now at the SRP, and the list of all plants on your trail, if one exists. Then look at plant pictures just for those plants blooming now that are on that trail.

• If you don't find a match, maybe the plant has just begun blooming and hasn't made it to my bloom list yet. Also, the SRP is a big place; maybe I haven't seen it yet. Maybe I haven't updated the list for a while.

  In this case, go to the list of the most common species, and look for all plants that can bloom in the month you saw the blooms. Again, then only consider ones on that trail.

• This is the real secret of plant identification: using a plant list. You can then narrow your plant down from 4,000 species in Southern California to fewer than 100, and perhaps just 10 or so, on that trail blooming at that time.

• If you can key the plant to a family, the id will be much, much easier. Use the family key in the Peterson Field Guide to Pacific States Wildflowers, which is made for beginners. This can often narrow the choices down to 10 or fewer easily.

http://tchester.org/srp/plants/how_to_id/30.html Comments and feedback: Tom Chester Last update: 16 October 2003.

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