Explore the field guide

Follow the path from family to genus to species. Every name leads somewhere worth exploring.

Header photo Reuben C. J. Lim, CC BY-NC-SA

Choose your starting point

The guide divides into three levels. Start wherever your curiosity is.

Start with families

See four broad branches of the collection, then follow the connections to the genera inside each one.

Explore families

Meet the genera

Compare eight groups and use the paired species links to continue your search.

Browse genera

Discover each species

Filter sixteen reference cards by family, then open a species record for a closer view.

View species

Tile photos: Randi Agusti, CC BY-NC; Reuben C. J. Lim, CC BY-NC-SA; Yusran E. Ritonga, CC BY-NC.

Found a plant that caught your eye?

Move between the guide and the identification interface whenever you need a comparison. The community page shows how photographs and written notes can sit together in a useful observation. You can explore freely without an account.

Identify a plant Meet the community
Living Beilschmiedia kunstleri tree with dense green foliage
Living tree, dense foliage Photo borala, CC BY-NC

Read the forest, one detail at a time.

You do not need to name every plant before you start exploring. Begin with a clear observation and follow the classification trail at your own pace. This guide deliberately keeps its collection small: every family connects to two genera, and every genus connects to two species. Those counts describe this website’s selection, not the total diversity of the families.

Use the photographs as reference material. A close-up may show a fruit, a leaf, or a preserved herbarium specimen; the caption tells you who made the image. The original botanical source appears beside the description so you can examine the evidence and read beyond our summary. Regional ranges describe published distributions, not the location where a reference photograph was taken.

Build a useful observation

  1. Take a wider photograph showing the plant’s overall form.
  2. Add close views of leaves and any visible flowers or fruits.
  3. Write the date, general location and what you actually observed.

Three words to know

Family
A classification that groups related genera.
Genus
A classification within a family; the first word of a species name.
Species
The more precise level used in this guide, written with a two-part scientific name.

Naming reference: International Association for Plant Taxonomy. Field workflow is original project guidance.

See how the collection connects

The collection at a glance: 4 families, 8 genera and 16 species
Family Genus Species in this guide
Dipterocarpaceae Vatica Vatica rassak, Vatica mangachapoi
Dipterocarpaceae Dipterocarpus Dipterocarpus grandiflorus, Dipterocarpus kerrii
Lauraceae Actinodaphne Actinodaphne malaccensis, Actinodaphne pruinosa
Lauraceae Beilschmiedia Beilschmiedia madang, Beilschmiedia kunstleri
Burseraceae Canarium Canarium odontophyllum, Canarium littorale
Burseraceae Dacryodes Dacryodes rostrata, Dacryodes laxa
Myristicaceae Horsfieldia Horsfieldia irya, Horsfieldia superba
Myristicaceae Myristica Myristica fragrans, Myristica iners