Interactive Key to the Grasses of Columbia Basin

Interactive Key to the Grasses of the Columbia Basin

INTRODUCTION

Illustrated Key - Grass identification for everyone

Learn about grass morphology while identifying grasses based on 21 easily observable characteristics.
Illustrations for many characteristics can be consulted on the page.

Extended Key

Interactive key with a broad range of searchable characteristics.

Checklist of Grasses of the Columbia Basin

Species names with links to descriptions of grasses

Why grass identification is important
Grasses are found in every ecosystem in B.C., from grasslands to forests to the alpine, playing a key role in many communities. There are more than 200 native species in BC, and more than 100 introduced species. This diversity is often overlooked because people think grasses all look the same or are too hard to identify.

A new way to identify grasses
The Interactive Key to the Grasses of the Columbia Basin aims to help field ecologists, technicians, restorationists, foresters and amateur botanists identify and understand grasses.

Flexible - Approachable - Fun
- You can enter your observations in any combination, in any order, search the database, compare grass descriptions and illustrations, or look up a known species.
- Wherever possible, we have used non-technical terms. All terms are defined in the glossary.
- You can search within a genus.
- You can retrieve a grasses which can be expected in a particular habitat type.
- Results of a database search can be presented in a number of ways:
  - List of scientific and common names
  - Side-by-side illustrations
  - Side-by-side descriptions
  - Searchable refined query
Getting started: a new kind of key requires new strategies
Standard dichotomous keys give you two choices at each step in a predetermined order. Interactive keys allow you to enter as little or as much information as you want in any order.
As with dichotomous keys, there is a learning curve associated with interactive keys. You'll get better with practice!
- Start by going through the illustrated help!
  It is important to measure and observe. Don't guess and don't make assumptions.
  If you enter a combination of characters that don't exist in the database, you may get the wrong answer or no answer at all.
  You should always confirm your identification with a standard flora.
- Explore and play!
  - See what results you get by entering a single character, searching, going back to the entry screen and adding another character.
  - Work through the examples provided by actually entering the data supplied.
  - Start with a grass which has large, easily observable features
    OR
  - Start with a grass that you already know, entering characters one by one, searching each time you add a new character
    OR
  - Start with two grasses which are clearly different and compare them.
  - Do you want to know the difference between common and wild oats? Go to the extended key, from the 'Genus' drop-down box, select Avena then click on the search button. Click the 'describe' button to see a table with all the characteristics from our database. At the top of the new page, click on the link to show only differences.

What grasses are in the database?
Our aim is to eventually include all grass taxa (species, subspecies and varieties) known to occur in British Columbia.
Inspired by Grasses of the Columbia Basin of British Columbia (Stewart and Hebda, 2000), our test data set includes 183 taxa known to occur in the Columbia Basin.

Send your suggestions and feedback to Richard Hebda, so we can improve this site.

Prepared By
Valerie Huff
August 2003


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