Many decorative dried botanicals have been modified to some extent from their original form. At a minimum, most specimens will have been dyed and/or scented. Some will be easily recognizable as a particular plant part, but others will no longer look at all like the plant part they actually are. For instance, leaves may be woven or cut to look like flowers. We have tried to account for this in the construction of the key. However, it is still recommended that the user maintain a certain degree of flexibility in the selection of states. If you are not sure which plant part you have, either skip this feature, try using the “Other or difficult to discern” state, or choose more than one state to avoid excluding your specimen.

Leaves

Leaves, leaflets, or leafy branch - This state includes a number of different types of leaves, including some that are not true leaves in the botanical sense, such as lycopod microphylls, or those that are not usually called leaves in common usage, such as fern fronds or conifer needles. This state also includes leafy branches. A few examples for entities that fall into this state are shown below:

 

 

 

 

Modified leaves - Palm and banana leaves are often cut and used to form decorative bundles, flowers, and the like. Examples of these are shown below: