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The beginner will often find it difficult, and sometimes quite impossible, to identify some of the flowers seen or gathered during a country ramble; and he will hardly be surprised to experience many disappointments in his attempts to do this when he realises the large number of species among our flowering plants, and the very close resemblance that allied species frequently bear to one another. But there are right and wrong methods of setting to work for the purpose of determining the identity of a plant, and the object of this chapter is to put the beginner on the right track. He must remember, however, that the aid given here is intended to assist him principally in the identification of the commoner species, though it may, at the same time, help him to determine the natural affinities or relationships of other flowers that fall in his way.

The directions we are about to give the reader regarding this portion of his work will be understood by him only if he is fairly well acquainted with the general characters of a flowering plant and with the structure of flowers; and as it would hardly be advisable to assume such knowledge, we shall give a brief outline of this part of the subject, dealing only with those points that are essential to our purpose, and explaining the meaning of those terms which are commonly employed in the description of plants and their flowers.