Dichotomous Key Lisa Wedin
Is the plant woody?
- Yes Tree or shrub
- Does the plant have needles?
- Yes plant 1
- No plant 4
- Does the plant have needles?
- No Herbaceous
- Does the plant have more than 10 anthers?
- Yes plant 3
- No plant 2
- Does the plant have more than 10 anthers?
Hi lisa,
Your Key is clear and easy to follow. I was able to correctly match plants using the woody vs herbaceous disction first. It allows for easier organizaiton. One minor critique is maybe adding a bit more detail in the description like leaf shape of flower color to between catagories. But the simplicy is great and very useful.
Hi Lisa –
There are a few things here to consider. Don’t let it overwhelm you. You may want to take a peek at how some of your classmates have organized their dichotomous keys, and then I think it will make sense.
We usually work in couplets – paired branches of individual features which distinguish one plant from another. That way, there’s no duplication of labels (no 2 “A”s, no 2 “i” choices, etc.
Also, the branches of each couplet will usually indicate a single feature and a lack of that feature – i.e., A = has glitter, A’ = lacks glitter. Then each branch will either resolve to a plant (A = has glitter -> Plant Sparkle) or point to another couplet (A’ = lacks glitter -> B).
We don’t use “no” as a descriptor – “lacks” or “does not have” is the preferred wording. In the case of “more than 10 anthers” vs. the alternative, I’d probably say “Has 10 anthers or more” and “Has fewer than 10 anthers”. (I can’t actually see how many anthers Plant 2 has, but I’m guessing it has 4, to go with those 4 petals). Then they resolve to the plants as you indicate.
The couplets don’t take the form of questions. They’re descriptors – they describe what is seen.
Can you make the corrections and try again, please?
Thanks,
Steph the TA
I like how you included all the plants that were given. Something you can work on is indenting every new couplet past the first one.