treekey

The Tree key proposed is based on indian context, in particular : ‘Trees of Pune ‘ by Shrikant Ingalhalikar. The info is enriched by wikipedia. the idea is to allow an observer, who is initiated into tree identification, has some exposure to botany, to follow a logical path to arrive close to identifying a tree. A table of 500+ trees has been prepared.

It will be an exercise to associate the sequence of these logical steps with each of the trees.It is expected that many trees will have a unique sequence of steps. Those trees which have common sequence will need additional discriminating evidence/observation to be uniquely identified. ­ drafted by jitendra , to be vetted by Niranjan

Logic:

1. Linear logic : a sequence starting from shape of leaf etc and ending at identification. This is what Treekey does
2. Parallel logic : A more efficient logic could be to put several features observations at a time and thus narrow down the band of options and then follow a suitable logic of linear questions The logical steps for tree key can be defined by

Type of tree

deciduous, evergreen

Branches

succulent, cylindrical, terete, slender, watery juice,

The leaf

• Leaf Type: simple, uni­pinnate, multi­pinnate, digitate
• Leaf attachment: alternate and opposite
• Leaf shape: elliptic, lanceolate, linear, lobed, oblong, ovate
• Feel of the leaf: papery, white silky beneath, spinous, needle like, shining, strongly odorous, leathery

The stem and bark

dark brown, deeply cracked, deeply grooved, smooth, armed, grey, scaly, fissured, crooked, whitish, flaky,

Milky Juice

yes or no

The flower

colour, fragrant or not, size, solitary, group, clusters,

Pods

flat, woody,

The fruit

colour, size, woody, smooth, rough, edible, figs, fleshy, hard, lobed, round, globose, oblong, conical, coiled, twisted, cylindrical,

The seed

colour, size, rough, white silky cotton,