Alberta Native Plant Council

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

The Draft Alberta Illustrated Keys presented here were written by Linda Kershaw and Lorna Allen. The full set of keys took several years to complete and test. The draft keys were posted as they were developed, and will continue to be available here.However, the corrected and updated versions have been compiled into a book, “Vascular Flora of Alberta: An Illustrated Guide” (June 2020), which is available through Amazon.ca.

Since the compiled keys became available in June 2020, some errors and some ways to improve the text have been found. The authors thank all who contacted them with corrections and suggestions. Lists of Errata and Enhancements for the 1^st printing (June 2020) can be found here. The Errata include corrections that affect the use of the keys. Minor changes have also been made to correct typos, formatting, etc., but these are not included in the Errata. The Enhancements include additional features or wording changes that will enhance the keys. The updated 2^nd printing, incorporating these Errata and Enhancements, was published in November 2020. Over the winter, we’ve made more corrections and improvements. These are included in Errata #2 and Enhancements #2) which is posted here. All of the suggested changes are included in the 3^rd Printing (April 2021) and in the new ebook version (April 2021), both available through Amazon.ca.

Click here for an pdf file update to species name changes complied by Ian MacDonald (current as of January, 2022) or you may download the file to your computer here

The draft keys, available here, 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