Keys to Nature

We would like to hear from you! For any of these examples: What features do you like? What features don't you like? Other comments? You can e-mail Patrick Leacock at the Field Museum:

Guides and keys at selected web sites

Visit Rapid Color Guides for the Chicago Region for guides to amphibians, dragonflies, and sedges. For other guides see this page: Chicago Region Biological Guides

Electronic Field Guide Project at University of Massachusetts Boston. Polytomous keys. Select a key from the home page or this page; or try out Key to dragonflies and damselflies, Costa Rica or Invasive plants of Nantucket.

Discover Life. Synoptic keys. Explore the site, or try out one of the IDnature guides, such as Frullania Liverworts of the World by Matt Von Konrat (Field Museum) or Tree Identification Guide and Checklist for McDonald Woods by Nyree Zerega (Chicago Botanic Garden).

Tools for Plant Identification, Utah State University. Synoptic Keys using Java. Also has directed choice dichotomous keys.

Pteridophytes of Wisconsin: Ferns and Fern Allies -- Multi-page dichotomous key, some steps have images.

Missouri Plants -- a picture key similar to the style of the Audubon field guides.

Sample prototypes at vPlants

Key to Vascular Plants, Step 1: Growth Form. -- an image-based top level entry point for plant identification. [demo only, not functional]

Guide to Fungi of the Chicago Region. -- a traditional top level entry point for fungus identification.

Guide to Pored Mushrooms, the Boletes. -- a traditional dichotomous key to bolete mushrooms.

Guide to Agarics with Gills Free. -- a traditional taxonomic overview for a group of mushrooms. Same style used again for a family Guide to Agaricaceae.

Key to Mushroom Genera with Free Gills. -- a multipage polytomous key for the same group of mushrooms.

Synoptic Key to Amanita. -- a synoptic key for a genus of mushrooms [demo, not functional].