How do you with NO idea what it is begin to find out what you are looking at? I mean [if I can describe it], say you come on a new plant , what steps do you take to ID it? Look it up so to speak? What do the books break them down into? Do you look at the leaves, flowers, stems etc? What first is listed in the chain to ID them? IS there a process to it, science does have a system but what/where is the instructions to folloew, is there sort of a "FLOW" chart?

I have picked plants before and brought them home.Then thumbed thu books until I got an match.I was take'n a book to the woods but just to much to deal with.

thats about the way I have been doing it too or posting a pic and asking but man is it SLOW going thru a book looking for a pic of something you can only guess what it is....lol..how are they organized. The books I have just have a few of the roots and flowers etc not all and some here not in it...oh well look for the high$$$ ones ..I guess...

50 views and only one post...well at least I know you guys out there , been slow on here last week or so.

If you can find the plant in flower, then that will be the easiest way to identify it. Some field guides are organized by flower color, others by plant structure or plant family. Flower color is easiest for beginners. I recommend getting a couple of field guides to start. The Peterson Field Guide series is very good. Newcomb's Wildflower Guide is also excellent, and because it's organized by the structure of the plants, it will help you learn patterns. For example if a plant has paired leaves, square stems, and aromatic leaves, it's probably a member of the mint family.

If you find a plant that does not yet have flowers, make a note of it and return later in the year to see if it's in flower later. That's especially important if you are interested in learning edible wild plants. Many are only edible when not in bloom.

Start by trying to identify plants in a nearby wild area, or even the weeds in your garden if you let them go to flower. Look for a park or nature center in your area that offers wildflower hikes. The following web site has a calendar of botanic field trips that may not be too far from you: http://sites.google.com/site/botanicfieldtrips/home
Don't be afraid to tell the hike leader that you're a beginner. They will be more likely to take pity on you and use common names as well as scientific names.

the best way is to find someone who's been experinced to show ya a particular plant.

of course thats not always possible.

the next best thing is to get yourself a top of the line reference book on plants that has color photos......line drawings of plants suck!

to start off trying to figure out a particular plant start with the leaves....are they broad, oval, serated????

once you find the leaf type........go to the stem,,,,,is it round, square, hexagon shaped?

are there flowers? height? it's just gonna take time to learn these from a book.

your gonna have to do your homework.


it's really no diffrent than trapping............if you meet up with an experinced trapper....they can take years off your learning curve as opposed to trying to learn it from a book.