What is the Key to Tasmanian Dicots?
The Key to Tasmanian Dicots is an interactive identification key that helps you put a name to a plant found in Tasmania. Instead of flipping through a printed flora, you answer simple questions about a specimen — the shape of its leaves, the structure of its flowers, whether it is a tree, shrub, herb or climber — and the key steadily narrows the field until you reach a family, genus and species.
It is mainly the work of Greg Jordan and David Tng of the School of Plant Science at the University of Tasmania, developed as a Faculty of Science teaching initiative with help from many botanists, students and members of the public. Since 2024 the website has been maintained by a team of mainly Australian Plants Society Tasmania volunteers. The keys, descriptions and distribution maps draw on standard references including Curtis & Morris' The Student's Flora of Tasmania and the Atlas of Living Australia.
What you can identify with it
Although it is named for the dicots, the resource is really a gateway to the whole Tasmanian flora. Alongside the dicotyledons it includes keys to:
- Monocots — grasses, lilies, orchids, sedges and their relatives
- Conifers — including Tasmania's distinctive native pines
- Ferns and fern allies
- Mosses and liverworts
There is also a handy tool to help you decide which of these major groups your plant belongs to before you start. To set the scale of the task, here is the Tasmanian flora by the numbers:
How to use the key
The key is designed for beginners and experts alike. You do not need to know any botanical jargon to start — the questions are illustrated and explained as you go.
- Start at the main page and confirm the broad group — dicot, monocot, conifer, fern, moss or liverwort. If you are unsure, use the built-in group identifier.
- Work through the family key. At each step, choose the option that best matches your plant. Pictures and notes explain any unfamiliar terms.
- Narrow to a genus and species. As you answer, the list of possibilities shrinks until you reach a named plant.
- Confirm your identification using the descriptions, photographs and distribution maps provided for each species.
Tips for a reliable result
- Examine a complete specimen where possible — leaves, flowers and fruit all carry clues.
- Use a hand lens for small features such as hairs, glands and floral parts.
- If a step is ambiguous, try both branches and compare the final descriptions.
- Cross-check against the distribution map: a plant well outside its known range is worth a second look.
Jump straight into the key
These shortcuts open the most useful parts of the official University of Tasmania site:
Who it is for
The key is a practical, everyday tool for anyone who wants to know the name of a Tasmanian plant. It is used by university and school students learning botany, by professional botanists and ecologists in the field, by naturalists and bushwalkers curious about what they have found, by land managers and bushcare groups dealing with native vegetation and weeds, by gardeners growing local species, and by citizen scientists contributing records to the Atlas of Living Australia.
About Tasmanian dicotyledons
Dicotyledons — "dicots" for short — are flowering plants whose seedlings typically emerge with two seed leaves (cotyledons). They usually have net-veined leaves and flower parts in fours or fives, and they include most of Tasmania's familiar trees, shrubs and wildflowers: the eucalypts, wattles, banksias, heaths and daisies, among many others. They contrast with the monocots, such as grasses, lilies and orchids, which have a single seed leaf and parallel-veined leaves.
Tasmania's isolation, cool climate and ancient Gondwanan heritage have produced a flora rich in species found nowhere else, which is exactly why a good identification key is so valuable. While modern classification has refined the old "dicot" grouping, the term remains a useful, practical way to organise the bulk of the island's flowering plants for identification.
Guides & how-tos
New to plant identification? These short, beginner-friendly guides will get you started:
Frequently asked questions
Is the Key to Tasmanian Dicots free to use?
Yes. The key is freely available online and needs no registration or login. It is provided as an educational and reference resource by the University of Tasmania.
Do I need to know botanical terms to use it?
No. The key is written for beginners as well as experts. Technical terms are explained with notes and pictures at each step, so you can learn the vocabulary as you identify your plant.
Does it only cover dicots?
No. Despite the name, the resource also keys out Tasmanian monocots, conifers, ferns and fern allies, mosses and liverworts, and includes a tool to help you decide which group a plant belongs to.
Can I use it on a phone in the field?
Yes. The key works in any modern web browser, so you can use it on a phone or tablet while you are out, as well as on a computer at home.
Who do I contact about an error in the key?
The official site includes a "report issues" form, and the key is maintained by a team of Australian Plants Society Tasmania volunteers. Use the link on the University of Tasmania pages to send feedback.