How do I teach myself plant ID

[copper_head]

One of my goals this year is to improve my knowledge of edible plants and with spring (allegedly ) around the corner I thought now is a good time to start.
So I'm looking for some advice on the best 'technique', I mean do I just go for a walk with a field guide and try and ID everything? Or is it better to go out with the idea of finding a particular plant? Or should I take samples and ID at home?
And does anyone take notes/sketches to try and remember the key identifying features etc?

Anyway I've picked up a few guides over the years which seem to cover most bases (must get one for coastlines), but I'm curious to know if there's any really good ones I'm missing.

All help appreciated

 

[Harvestman]

Find someone who knows their plants, and go for walks with them. Try to identify things that catch your eye, rather than everything you encounter.

Accept that it will take years for you to get even reasonably proficient (although you can learn a lot very quickly).

Samples do help, as do sketches.

Your books cover everything except grasses, sedges, rushes and ferns (there is a Collins guide that covers those)

Look at the events programme for your local Wildlife Trust and local authority Countryside team. They often have walks and courses on this sort of topic, and the leader will be someone worth getting to know.

Most of call, enjoy yourself.

 

[Muddypaws]

If you come across a new (to you) plant then there are several things to do.

1. Generally people will say bring the book to the plant. If this is not possible then good photos will help, making sure to get details of stem shape, hairs or not, and leaf arrangement (opposite or alternate)

2. A bit naughty, but if there is a lot of the plant around then swiping a bit will help.

3. Use the keys in the book. With time and experience you may get to recognise the main plant families and narrow down the search quickly.

4. If you have a tentative ID then use Google images when you are at home to see photos of the plant and see if it is the same. This may help as some plants have a great deal of variation in colour, stature etc, usually dependant on habitat.

Happy plant hunting! Hope this helps.

 

[copper_head]

Thanks harvestman, the Wildlife Trust really is a top tip. I've been on a few walks with the local mycological society in the past but they're very shy (understandably) of giving you a definitive answer as to whether a particular funghi is edible or not.

 

[copper_head]

If you come across a new (to you) plant then there are several things to do.

1. Generally people will say bring the book to the plant. If this is not possible then good photos will help, making sure to get details of stem shape, hairs or not, and leaf arrangement (opposite or alternate)

2. A bit naughty, but if there is a lot of the plant around then swiping a bit will help.

3. Use the keys in the book. With time and experience you may get to recognise the main plant families and narrow down the search quickly.

4. If you have a tentative ID then use Google images when you are at home to see photos of the plant and see if it is the same. This may help as some plants have a great deal of variation in colour, stature etc, usually dependant on habitat.

Happy plant hunting! Hope this helps.

That really does help, I hadn't considered Google images.

 

[Niels]

The first plants I learned where from this article: http://paulkirtley.co.uk/2011/foraging-early-spring-greens/ Also as said taking samples helps. Identification is hardest. You can always take a picture and ask here

 

[Muddypaws]

I forgot to say that if you have a definite ID of a plant that you see regularly then get to know what it looks like at various stages of its life cycle, so you can identify similar plants at all times of the year.

 

[copper_head]

The first plants I learned where from this article: http://paulkirtley.co.uk/2011/foraging-early-spring-greens/ Also as said taking samples helps. Identification is hardest. You can always take a picture and ask here

Thanks for the link Niels, bookmarked for later reading.

I forgot to say that if you have a definite ID of a plant that you see regularly then get to know what it looks like at various stages of its life cycle, so you can identify similar plants at all times of the year.

Yes I've always found that challenging. Especially as my guides only show plants at maturity for the most part.

 

[British Red]

I went a different way. Get to know an area. I am lucky having lived on farms and estates. But wherever you live walk the same lane, path, bridleway a lot. Get a cheap digital camera and photograph the aspects of (for example) a tree. The bark, leaves buds, shape. Take it home and load the pictures up onto a flickr or similar account. Get your guides out and scratch your head. When you have one "sorted" name it. Then go back along the walk. See if you can remember what it is. If you see something else (say a flower) photograph it, same again. Much easier to get to know what is there than go seeking stuff. After a couple of years, you will find yourself thinking

"nearly time for the ramsoms to be up over there"

or

"that old spindle tree looks poorly"

Of course, if you move from high chalk to wetland, its time to start all over again!

I'm convinced foragers didn't wander aimlessly, they knew what grew where and went with expectation. Same as hunters, they learn the land, where the deer sleep in the day, where the rabbits graze.

 

[Macaroon]

The Wild Flowers of Britain and Northern Europe; Pocket/pack friendly, the best hand - painted illustrations I've ever used and indexed both for common English names as well as scientific ones - ISBN 0 00 219069 9
The best guide I've ever had, I rarely leave home without it.................Got mine for less than a fiver on sh*te bay..............atb mac

 

[Skaukraft]

I have made my self a rule. Every time I'm out, even if it is only a 20 minutes walk with the dog I always pick two plants I see to either identify or read more about if I allready know them. This way I allways learn something new or refresh what I allready know.

 

[copper_head]

Well thanks all for your replies, some really good tips here. So I think my plan is to regularly walk the same areas of woodland (I do that anyway) and try and follow various plants through their life cycle. Take lots of photo's and bother you all with questions as to whether my ID is correct . I also like the idea of keeping a sketch book and recording my findings as I tend to remember things better that way.
Roll on spring!

 

[British Red]

Winter is the time to start with trees - you can see the bones of a tree and get to know its bark. An ash for example will have jet black buds and the skeletons of ash keys still attached often

 

[copper_head]

Winter is the time to start with trees - you can see the bones of a tree and get to know its bark. An ash for example will have jet black buds and the skeletons of ash keys still attached often

That certainly makes sense, well I'm going to the Galloway forest at the end of the month so should be a good spot to get going. I guess just seeing which trees I can ID in town is worthwhile too, although I imagine theres a lot more non-native species?

 

[Harvestman]

Winter is the time to start with trees - you can see the bones of a tree and get to know its bark. An ash for example will have jet black buds and the skeletons of ash keys still attached often

I don't entirely agree with this, although it is perfectly possible to do it this way. I would prefer to learn initially by learning the foliage, which is after all what all the tree identification guides will show you as the main determining features, and once you are confident identifying a tree in leaf you can learn it in winter. If you know, fopr example, that your tree is a sweet chestnut, you can look at its features in winter to see how you can distinguish it from other trees, so you can find other sweet chestnuts in winter.

Both ways work, I just think learning it in leaf first is easier for a complete beginner. I also think that without leaves you will struggle to distiguish between, for example, different sorts of willows, or maples. Winter is good for evergreen conifers though, as they keep their foliage.

Either way, have fun learning.

 

[Gailainne]

Check these out Field study council folding guides, excellent stuff, and easy to slip into a ruck or daysack they also have a winter tree ID