Draft Illustrated Keys to the Vascular Plants of Alberta
April 2019 / January 2020

The Alberta Illustrated Keys presented here are written by Linda Kershaw and Lorna Allen. These are draft keys, posted as they were developed, to allow people to use them. The full set of keys took several years to complete and test. Corrected and updated versions have been compiled into a book, now available through Amazon.ca. The draft keys will continue to be available here.

The keys begin with the introductory Keys to Family, followed by 4 major groups: Pteridophytes (ferns and fern allies), Gymnosperms (coniferous trees and shrubs), Monocots (seed plants with 1 cotyledon), Dicots (seed plants with 2 cotyledons).

Keys to the Pteridophytes and Gymnosperms are each presented in a single file. However, the Monocots and Dicots are much larger groups, so they have each been divided into several files. These include 19 single-family keys which cover the larger families. Miscellaneous small families and a few recently revised family groups (i.e. Lilies & Allies in the Monocots; Figworts & Allies in the Dicots) have been lumped together in common files to simplify the website and/or to facilitate naming and identification. Families with just 1 species in Alberta will appear in the ‘Keys to Family’ section. There is an alphabetical list of families, with the Section and File where each is located, at the end of this page.

Click on each group or family below for the pdf file.

Alphabetical list and location of family files. To download a pdf file of this entire table click here