XVI International Botanical Congess

A visual polyclave computer key is being developed by BONAP for the North American flora north of Mexico. The system will serve as a computerized identification key, using a series of whole-plant illustrations (as many as 60 per screen) in concert with morphology. The identification process will provide random-access character state selection, quickly reducing the possibilities that remain after each choice. At any point in the selection process, the user may display a group of species images (representing those not yet eliminated) and make a tentative identification by matching an unknown plant with one of the images. The selected image can be enlarged and a full morphological description made available. In most cases, with only a few initial choices, along with a selection from a display of images, an unequivocal identification can be made.