Identifying Plants

Dominant Species

Contents

Learning Objectives

  1. be aware of references that are useful for identifying dominant species;

Narrative

The dominant species of a particular vegetation type are the plants that are most prevalent in the layer (herbs, shrubs or trees) of greatest cover. It is useful to be able to identify these species so you can know the vegetations type. References such as the California Manual of Vegetation can then be used to find out more information about the vegetation type, such as the typical associated species or the geographical distribution.

Because these species are relatively common, the less scholarly references such as Peterson's Field Guides or more local guides, such as the Pacific Coast "Finder" Series are quite acceptable. The scientific name may not be correct, but this will also be true of the more scholarly references because of the rapid turnover in scientific names at present.

Identifying a plant using these sorts of guides can be quite easy. Many people use the "leaf" method - leaf through the book until you find an illustration that looks right! A more systematic approach is to identify the family of the plant before resorting to "leafing". This is an excellent way to start learning about dichotomous keys and plant anatomy.

If the plant you want to identify is common, you can get a name much more quickly with a less scholarly reference.

Exercises

  1. Look at the introductory sections of a field guide, such as Peterson's. Discuss the material you find there, including the glossary of terms, diagrams of plant anatomy and family keys.
  2. Practice identifying some common plants using field guides.
  3. Once you have identified a dominant species, look up its vegetation series in the California Manual of Vegetation.

References

 
The content of the page was last modified 2008-05-08