Seems to me there is quite a demand for identifying plants by "home users". Isn't there a site that determines plants like this site does for trees: http://www.oplin.org/tree/??? I've found several sites that does something like this for trees in different countries and several languages. But I haven't found one for plants. I know there are a lot more plants then trees per region, but by adding more identifiers it should still limit the list of possibilities enough to find out what plant I've come accross. By combining leave, flower, seed, stem and/or root identifiers (whatever available) a limited list should be possible. Adding pictures to the list will let the user determine for itself what plant it is. Once the latin name has been found there are usually dozens of sites where you can find more information about it. Someone who knows a site like that?
Notice that the site you linked to limits itself to "the common trees of Ohio". That's how keys to various groups are possible, a comparatively small group is tackled by each one. The much-desired universal garden plant identifying web site will never exist, there are too many kinds of plants in cultivation. The current edition of The RHS Plant Finder sourcebook is listing something like 70,000 kinds of plants for Britain alone - and that's just those that are indicated as being on the market, by participating nurseries.
Hmm, that is a lot indeed. I know virtually nothing about plants so a site that would only let me identify which genus (group) of plants it would belong to would already help because with that and google I'd probably be able to find it. 70.000 plants, 100 plants in a genus would limit it to 700 identifiable groups... I guess that site doesn't exist either...:) But thanks anyways! :)
A regional guidebook may be what you need, if you aren't addressing mystery tropicals. Possibly your country actually has some that have keys to important cultivated genera contained within its borders, or at least including those that have naturalized (this is done fairly often, that is the inclusion of species that have gone wild in books primarily about those that are genuinely native).
I can't think of anything online that exists yet. If you are looking to identify garden perennials in The Netherlands, I would suggest using the "European Garden Flora". Unfortunately, I doubt that many libraries would allow you to bring in your plants to identify. There's another good book that helps identify to genus, but I can't recall the title, and I'm not at the garden this week to remind myself what it is - I'll try to remember to post a follow-up.
