Using a Flower Identification Guide

• 1). Purchase a guidebook with color photos of flowers and their leaves. Make sure the photos are easy to see clearly. If the book is intended to be a field guide, choose one that is comfortable to carry by hand or in a backpack. For greater ease of use, choose a book that divides the flowers into sections, like region, season, wildflowers, perennials and family. Flower identification guides can be purchased at bookstores or online. Before purchasing a book online, try to find a copy at the library to make sure the photos and categories are satisfactory.
  
  
• 2). Practice identifying some common flowers in the yard or neighborhood before taking the guide on vacation or somewhere unfamiliar. Find flowers that are known, then work with the guide to make sure the correct plant can be found.
  
  
• 3). Decide whether the options for the flower can be narrowed down by section, like region or plant type. If so, go to that section in the book.
  
  
• 4). Look at the flower, then find the flower in the book that matches. Read the description to confirm the flower's identity. Try to identify several more familiar flowers before trying unknown ones.
  
  
• 5). Take the book on a vacation, hike or elsewhere to identify flowers that are unknown. The more the book is used, the easier it will be in future identifications.
  
  

Internet Flower Identification

• 1). Find a flower to identify.
  
  
• 2). Take a picture of the flower to look at when on the computer. If a camera is not available, write the flower's features in a notebook, including color, size, petal number and shape and any other unique features.
  
  
• 3). Get online and find a flower identification site that uses photos. Click through pages on the website until the correct photo is found, then read the description. The website www.flowerpictures.net features photos in an A to Z format.