Online keys and image galleries

Links to online plant identification resources developed by the herbarium and associated researchers are provided below. Because accurate plant identification is frequently a basic need in a variety of disciplines and endeavors, we serve a varied clientele, from agency biologists and environmental consultants to academic researchers, from agricultural and horticultural professionals to students and the general public. Consequently, we have developed a variety of resources to help meet the needs of our diverse cliente in training and addressing current and on-going issues. We have traditionally provided these resources for pdf or web delivery, but more recently have begun to develop for mobile platforms, as well. If you are interested to hear about new product releases as they occur, you may wish to sign up for our rss feed by clicking on the icon on the right above.

Featured resources

Rare plants of North Carolina: Federally listed species and their congeners

This resource is designed for environmental professionals and agency biologists. It treats all federally listed plant species (and the single listed lichen) of North Carolina and their congeners. The dichotomous keys provided are heavily illustrated and may be expanded or collapsed to reveal or hide additional content such as images, illustrations, maps, rarity status, and habitat descriptions. The tool is optimized for delivery on most major browsers, whether mobile or desktop. An Android version is available for download by clicking on the Android icon. You may need to change your device's settings to allow installation of "non-market apps". We are aware of fragmentation issues with Android and would appreciate feedback (incl. device and OS version) if installation fails. The app should work for Android version Froyo (2.2.x; API 8) and higher (incl. Gingerbread, Honeycomb, and Ice Cream Sandwich). An iPhone/iPad version is in the works.

Winter twig keys to common, native, fully deciduous trees and phanerophyte shrubs of the North Carolina eastern Piedmont

This resource was designed primarily for use in one of our departmental undergraduate courses, but is made available here for anyone interested in learning how to identify common trees of our area in winter. The tool is optimized for delivery on most major browsers, whether mobile or desktop. An Android version is available for download by clicking on the Android icon. You may need to change your device's settings to allow installation of "non-market apps". We are aware of fragmentation issues with Android and would appreciate feedback (incl. device and OS version) if installation fails. The app should work for Android version Froyo (2.2.x; API 8) and higher (incl. Gingerbread, Honeycomb, and Ice Cream Sandwich). An iPhone/iPad version is in the works. Happy botanizing!

Container nursery weeds of the United States

An efficient control program begins with the correct identification of the weeds present, along with an understanding of their life cycles and modes of reproduction and spread. Treated here are the most common weeds of outdoor container nurseries, as well as a selection of recently introduced species with the potential to spread. This work is based in large part on Weeds of Container Nurseries (Neal & Derr 2005), but builds on that treatment through the addition of multi-access keys, taxa, and images. The content is optimized for mobile use and should be accessible from standard browsers on nearly any device, whether desktop, tablet, or smartphone. We are in the process of redesigning the mobile interface for easier use, so please stay tuned. Android and iPhone/iPad versions are also in the works.

Citrus ID

This tool is designed to support the identification of host material during citrus pest and disease surveys by industry and government agency personnel. Host identification is facilitated through an illustrated matrix-based key. Users may start with any vegetative or reproductive character. A comprehensive image gallery is included and is searchable by morphological feature, offering users and image-based identification option.

Additional resources

Wetland plants of the Carolinas

Common woody wetland plants

Key to wetland vines

Piedmont plants

Guide to Piedmont Spring flora

Raleigh area tree bark identification

Winter twig key to eastern Piedmont trees and shrubs

Coastal Plain plants

Key to the vines of Nags Head Woods (Dare Co.)

Key to the trees and shrubs of Nags Head Woods (Dare Co.)

Trees of maritime forests