Photographing plants for identification

Start wide enough to show habit

Photograph the plant where it grows before filling the frame. Show whether it is a tree, shrub, vine, rosette, tuft, or spreading patch, along with nearby substrate and habitat. Then make a whole-plant view that connects roots or base, stems, leaves, and reproductive parts whenever the plant's size allows. [1][2][3]

Document how leaves attach

Leaf arrangement is often more useful than leaf color. Include a stem segment showing whether leaves are opposite, alternate, whorled, or basal; photograph the upper and lower surfaces, margins, petiole, and any stipules or hairs. Use a ruler or familiar scale beside, not on top of, the plant. [1][2][4]

Give flowers and fruit several views

Record the entire inflorescence as well as one flower from the front and side. Include buds, open flowers, and fruit if they occur together, because reproductive structures often separate otherwise similar species. Do not pull petals apart or detach fruit merely to reveal a feature; revisit later if a new stage is needed. [1][3][4]

Keep the encounter and uncertainty intact

Put multiple photographs of the same individual at the same time and place into one observation, but make a new observation for a later revisit. Record date, location accuracy, habitat, abundance, odor or sap only when noticed without damage, and whether the plant was cultivated. Some determinations still require a key or specimen, so stop at the supported rank. [1][4][5]

Related guides

• Using a hand lens in the field
• Making useful citizen-science records