Contributors
This project is a joint effort among Carol Friedman, Janet Kistler, and Steve Kistler. This website is maintained by Steve.
Major thanks are due to Dr. Allen Clay Risk, of Morehead State University, and Hart County botanist and author Randy Seymour.
References
Books
I have found the following books useful in identifying the species in this area:
Eastern Trees, by George Petrides and Janet Wher (Petersen Field Guide series.) 1988. Very complete guide with descriptions, drawings and photographs. Includes woody bushes and vines.
Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada, by Gleason and Cronquist. 1963. A very complete technical key.
Illustrated Companion to Gleason and Cronquist's Manual, by Noel H. Holmgren. 1998. An outstanding volume showing detailed drawings of all plant species in our area.
Plant Life of Kentucky, by Ron Jones. 2005. A very complete illustrated guide and key to the state flora.
Trees and Shrubs of Kentucky, by Mary Wharton and Roger Barbour 1973. A valuable resource for the Kentucky botanist, with photographs of leaves, flowers, fruit, and winter appearance.
Wildflowers and Ferns of Kentucky, by Thomas Barnes and Wilson Francis. 2004. Includes photographs and descriptions of 500 species.
Wildflowers of Mammoth Cave National Park, by Randy Seymour. 1997. A great local guide, including descriptions and photos of 400 plants found in the park.
Wildflowers - Northeastern/North-central North America, by Roger Tory Petersen and Margaret McKenny. 1968. A great regional guide, including over 1300 drawings.
Online Resources
Flora of the Southeastern United States, by Alan Weakley. April, 2022. An exhaustive and complete technical flora. This is a 329 MB pdf file, accessible via website or downloadable. Free download from North Carolina Botanical Garden can be accessed here.
A smaller, 109 MB pdf file, can be found on the same page. It contains only those plants in Weakley's flora which can be found in Kentucky. Here.
iNaturalist, at https://www.inaturalist.org/home. This is a citizen-science site, good for identifying plants, insects, fungi, etc. Also useful for keeping track of personal sighting data. The phone app is very useful in the field. Includes ID information and range maps.
iNaturalist also has an app called SEEK, which does not make your information public, so it's great for kids. It's a great tool for identifying organisms in the field.
The Tennessee-Kentucky Plant Atlas and the Kentucky Plant Atlas are both excellent online tools, as well. Both include species locations by county.
The USDA PLANTS database, at https://plants.sc.egov.usda.gov/home. This is a very complete national database including photos and range maps.
Closer to home, the Kentucky Native Plant Society has a site at https://www.knps.org/. It is not for plant ID as much as the headquarters for native plant lovers in the state. They have a very active Facebook page, which is a good place to post photos and get questions answered.
Other sites, not specific to Kentucky, but useful for ID and photo verification. I use these sites in conjunction with Plant Life of Kentucky, by Jones, listed above. That book can verify if a species is present or expected in Kentucky
Illinois wildflowers, at http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/
Missouri plants, at http://www.missouriplants.com/
Go Botany A nice online key; based in New England. https://gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/simple/
Biota of North America (BONAP). Great distribution maps for thousands of US species. Many maps are not current, but still can be very useful. http://bonap.org/
Major thanks are due to Dr. Allen Clay Risk, of Morehead State University, and Hart County botanist and author Randy Seymour.
References
Books
I have found the following books useful in identifying the species in this area:
Eastern Trees, by George Petrides and Janet Wher (Petersen Field Guide series.) 1988. Very complete guide with descriptions, drawings and photographs. Includes woody bushes and vines.
Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada, by Gleason and Cronquist. 1963. A very complete technical key.
Illustrated Companion to Gleason and Cronquist's Manual, by Noel H. Holmgren. 1998. An outstanding volume showing detailed drawings of all plant species in our area.
Plant Life of Kentucky, by Ron Jones. 2005. A very complete illustrated guide and key to the state flora.
Trees and Shrubs of Kentucky, by Mary Wharton and Roger Barbour 1973. A valuable resource for the Kentucky botanist, with photographs of leaves, flowers, fruit, and winter appearance.
Wildflowers and Ferns of Kentucky, by Thomas Barnes and Wilson Francis. 2004. Includes photographs and descriptions of 500 species.
Wildflowers of Mammoth Cave National Park, by Randy Seymour. 1997. A great local guide, including descriptions and photos of 400 plants found in the park.
Wildflowers - Northeastern/North-central North America, by Roger Tory Petersen and Margaret McKenny. 1968. A great regional guide, including over 1300 drawings.
Online Resources
Flora of the Southeastern United States, by Alan Weakley. April, 2022. An exhaustive and complete technical flora. This is a 329 MB pdf file, accessible via website or downloadable. Free download from North Carolina Botanical Garden can be accessed here.
A smaller, 109 MB pdf file, can be found on the same page. It contains only those plants in Weakley's flora which can be found in Kentucky. Here.
iNaturalist, at https://www.inaturalist.org/home. This is a citizen-science site, good for identifying plants, insects, fungi, etc. Also useful for keeping track of personal sighting data. The phone app is very useful in the field. Includes ID information and range maps.
iNaturalist also has an app called SEEK, which does not make your information public, so it's great for kids. It's a great tool for identifying organisms in the field.
The Tennessee-Kentucky Plant Atlas and the Kentucky Plant Atlas are both excellent online tools, as well. Both include species locations by county.
The USDA PLANTS database, at https://plants.sc.egov.usda.gov/home. This is a very complete national database including photos and range maps.
Closer to home, the Kentucky Native Plant Society has a site at https://www.knps.org/. It is not for plant ID as much as the headquarters for native plant lovers in the state. They have a very active Facebook page, which is a good place to post photos and get questions answered.
Other sites, not specific to Kentucky, but useful for ID and photo verification. I use these sites in conjunction with Plant Life of Kentucky, by Jones, listed above. That book can verify if a species is present or expected in Kentucky
Illinois wildflowers, at http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/
Missouri plants, at http://www.missouriplants.com/
Go Botany A nice online key; based in New England. https://gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/simple/
Biota of North America (BONAP). Great distribution maps for thousands of US species. Many maps are not current, but still can be very useful. http://bonap.org/