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Service Notice

The Western Australian Herbarium’s collections management system and census were set to read-only mode on 1 October 2025. Taxonomic updates published since this time are not being reflected in Florabase, herbarium collections, or Western Australia’s taxonomic names census (Nomos). Conservation listings displayed on Florabase may also be out of date. Please refer to DBCA’s Threatened species and communities webpage for the most recent Threatened and Priority Flora List, noting that recent taxonomic updates are similarly not included. Our database migration is moving to a staging phase. We thank you for your patience as we ensure the integrity of our biodiversity data, develop new workflows, and train staff to use the new systems. Please reach out to us if you have any questions or concerns.

The notice period started at 12:00 pm on Wednesday, 1 October 2025 +08:00 and will end at 12:00 pm on Friday, 1 January 2027 +08:00.

Advanced Search

Interactive Keys

Our curated list of interactive plant identification keys.

Our getting started guide will help you get your device prepared to use some of these keys.

AusGrass 3

A comprehensive resource for the taxonomy of Australian grasses. Originally developed by Bryan K. Simon and colleagues, it builds on the foundation established in AusGrass (Sharp & Simon 2002) and subsequent developments in the online platform AusGrass 2.

Open

Australian Tropical Rainforest Key

Edition 8 includes 2762 taxa in 176 families and 48 new name changes.

Open

Chamelaucieae

A key to Western Australian species in the Chamelaucieae tribe of Myrtaceae.

Authors: Barbara L. Rye, Matthew D. Barrett, Terry D. Macfarlane, Nicholas S. Lander, Malcolm E. Trudgen, Neville G. Marchant and Kevin R. Thiele

  • Software: Open DELTA / CSIRO DELTA
Open

EUCLID

EUCLID: Eucalypts of Australia Fourth Edition.

Open

Goodeniaceae

A key to the Western Australian species in the family Goodeniaceae.

Authors: Chris Hollister and Kevin Thiele

  • Software: Lucid 3 / 4 (Javascript)
Open

Haemodoraceae

A key to the Western Australian species in the family Haemodoraceae.

Authors: Chris Hollister and Kevin Thiele

  • Software: Lucid 3 / 4 (Javascript)
Open

Lamiaceae

A key to the Western Australian species in the family Lamiaceae.

Authors: Chris Hollister and Kevin Thiele

  • Software: Lucid 3 / 4 (Javascript)
Open

Malvaceae

A key to the Western Australian species in the family Malvaceae.

Authors: Chris Hollister and Kevin Thiele

  • Software: Lucid 3 / 4 (Javascript)
Open

Orchids of Western Australia

Key to the Native Orchids of Western Australia

Authors: Ramón Newmann and Andrew Brown

  • Software: Lucid 3 / 4 (Javascript)
Open

Pea Flowers of Western Australia

A key to the Western Australian species of pea flowers.

Authors: Chris Hollister and Kevin Thiele

  • Software: Lucid 3 / 4 (Javascript)
Open

Proteaceae

A key to the Western Australian species in the family Proteaceae.

Authors: Chris Hollister, Nicholas Lander and Kevin Thiele

  • Software: Lucid 3 / 4 (Javascript)
Open

Ptilotus

A key to the Western Australian species in the genus Ptilotus.

Authors: Robert Davis and Kevin Thiele

  • Software: Lucid 3 / 4 (Javascript)
Open

Restionaceae

A key to the Western Australian species in the family Restionaceae.

Authors: Chris Hollister and Kevin Thiele

  • Software: Lucid 3 / 4 (Javascript)
Open

Rutaceae

A key to the Western Australian species in the family Rutaceae.

Authors: Chris Hollister and Kevin Thiele

  • Software: Lucid 3 / 4 (Javascript)
Open

Search the WA Flora

We provide a basic key to species in our Advanced Search feature.

This data was captured originally for The Western Australian Flora — A Descriptive Catalogue (2000) and continuously maintained until 2008. The underlying dataset was captured using the DELTA System, but this software is not required to use the data.

Open Advanced Search

SpiKey

An interactive key to Triodia spinifex grasses of the Pilbara, Western Australia.

Authors: Matthew D. Barrett, Benjamin M. Anderson and Kevin R. Thiele

Open

WATTLE Acacias of Australia 3

WATTLE 3 includes over 1,000 formally described species of Acacia, plus several hybrids and informal taxa of this genus. It also includes two species of Acaciella, four species of Senegalia and nine species of Vachellia that occur in Australia and which were previously included in Acacia. WATTLE 3 contains more species, updated coding and new or updated descriptions for each taxon, together with photographs and improved distribution maps.

New to this version is the WATTLE App, packaged for use on an Android or Apple smartphone or tablet. No phone or Wi-Fi connection is required to use the key, making it especially valuable for people working in the field. The WATTLE App can be downloaded from Google Play and App Store for $9.95 and $9.99, respectively.

Open

WAGenera

A key to Western Australian families and genera of flowering plants by T.D. Macfarlane, L. Watson and N.G. Marchant.

Open the Key to Genera

Perform an identification to genus level directly, without reference to any family.

Open the Key to Families

Perform an identification to family level. Useful when only family-level information is required.

Key to Genera Within Families

Perform an identification to genus level within a particular family of vascular plant. 48 keys are currently available, below.

Acanthaceae Bombacaceae Burseraceae
Capparaceae Caryophyllaceae Casuarinaceae
Clusiaceae Combretaceae Convolvulaceae
Dilleniaceae Droseraceae Gentianaceae
Geraniaceae Goodeniaceae Haloragaceae
Hydrophyllaceae Lecythidaceae Loganiaceae
Loranthaceae Lythraceae Malvaceae
Melastomataceae Menispermaceae Menyanthaceae
Molluginaceae Nymphaeaceae Oleaceae
Opiliaceae Papaveraceae Passifloraceae
Plumbaginaceae Polygalaceae Primulaceae
Proteaceae Ranunculaceae Rhizophoraceae
Santalaceae Sapindaceae Sapotaceae
Stackhousiaceae Sterculiaceae Stylidiaceae
Surianaceae Thymelaeaceae Tiliaceae
Tremandraceae Violaceae Viscaceae

How to get started

Check the system requirements and install the required software.

Interactive keys are computer-aided identification tools that assist with finding the correct name for an unidentified specimen. These keys provide numerous benefits over the traditional printed dichotomous key, including:

  • Ordering the characters to start with the one that best separates the remaining taxa
  • Characters can be scored in any order, depending on the material you have available
  • Contain illustrations and text explaining the terminology used for many of the plant parts

Authors, please see our Publication Guidelines and Tutorials.