Here’s the message I received from them:

A new online player for Lucid3 keys (including SDD compatible keys) has been developed by the CBIT Lucid team. Since this online player is instantly accessible, it will be a much more attractive option for delivering identification keys across the Internet, especially for such users as ecologists, farmers and students .

We plan to release this player early next year, once some additional features have been developed. In the meantime, we are providing you and other colleagues with access to a number of existing Lucid3 keys that we have deployed on the Internet using this new player. Apart from providing a demonstration of the online player, we also would greatly appreciate any feedback you can provide on its performance – did you experience any problems, do you have suggestions on how the player might be improved?

The following link will take you to an Introduction screen, which provides further information about the online player as well as access to a number of demonstration keys.

http://www.lucidcentral.org/online_player/

Issues arising from last meeting

• Standard data formats
  While DELTA is both a standard and a software suite, CSIRO has withdrawn support and frozen development of this tool. DELTA still has the advantage that it is used natively by a number of Key tools and can be imported into Lucid format, while it is not easy to reverse this process. The 'new' TDWG standard, SDD is xml based and supports all of the necessary DELTA directives as well as a number of new features. SDD is however only supported by Lucid and the EFG project at the moment, but being an open standard it is hoped that it will gain a stronger foothold.
• Need for generic tools for Kew
  One of the presentations involved a map of Madagascar for choosing distribution and comments were raised at how this would be a really useful feature for all of Kew’s key projects and this raised the issue of reusable standard characters & states that apply across keys at Kew. The Malesian key project has had a number of characters and states illustrated and Kew holds the copyright for these and they are available for use. Other possible tools / data sources that would be useful in this respect include images from TOAD and specimen records from Herbcat.
• Extracting data from existing/developing data sources
  Extracting data from the some of Kew’s growing data sources such as the eFloras databases is possible but it does take a certain amount of manipulation to massage data into the right formats. This effort is however nowhere near as great as 'recoding' the data from original texts.

Hoping I may have this link added to your site – it is a draft global key to Carex. Please take a look at http://utc.usu.edu/keys/Carex/Carex.html. It updates frequently and it (the data set) is approximately three years old.

Pure Multiple Entry keys (optimized for this)

These tend to be good for the narrow identification purpose, but achieve this by focussing and ignoring other purposes (data management, using data for natural language descriptions, keys, or analysis purposes).

ETI Linneaeus II/III (Netherlands)

• Authoring system (originally for CDs) for text, images, literature, etc.
• Model: “Write this in Word, we will convert this into authoring system”
• Structured descriptive data appear only in the form of a plugin:
  • NEXUS-Based multiple entry key, no text, no continuous data (leaf length)
    Platforms: Mac and Windows

Lucid (CBIT, Australia, Queensland)

• Optimized multiple entry key
• No text, but some continuous data support (Min, Range, Max)
• Has limited annotations on character data
• Taxa are strings
• Has own format (Lucid Interchange format), Import/Limited export of DELTA data (partial), NEW: SDD support
• Important: Has Builder and Player, Player is free, Builder costs
• Moore Foundation has paid 400 licenses for developing countries and workshops
• Closed Source software
• Platforms: Java, it can run locally as well as over the web.

XPer2

• Optimized multiple entry key
• No text, no continuous data support, no annotations (?)
• Taxa are strings
• Has own format (XPer), concrete PLANS for SDD
• Online web-based editor!
• Open Source software
• Platforms: Java, it can run locally as well as over the web.

Descriptive tools for dichotomous/polytomous keys

• Not supported by any of above
• Special tool: Lucid/CBIT Phoenix is good for reengineering existing printed keys
• From below: CSIRO DELTA (and Pankey)

General purpose descriptive tools

Pankey for DOS (UK)

No longer under ongoing development, not further considered.

CSIRO DELTA (Australia)

• Support all of categorical, continous (Min, lower Range, Mean/Single, upper Range, Max) and text data
• Supports generating “natural language” descriptions, has ID-key (“Intkey”).
• DOS-versions (and thin Windows shell)
• New Delta matrix (full Windows)
• Oldest, very capable & well tested, often complicated system (often requires writing batch command files)
• Has NEXUS export support
• Closed Source software
• Platforms: DOS, Windows
• Many software products are shells for the CSIRO DELTA programs.

DeltaAccess (Germany)

• Support all of categorical, continous and text data
• Support 98% of DELTA (import/export)
• Goes beyond DELTA, which can only partly be exported back to DELTA
• Has editor but originally analysis software
• Has fairly reliable own natural language description algorithm
• Has an Multiple Entry key “demonstration” (primarily intended as search engine analysis!)
• Web-based identication by export to DELTA, and e.g. Navikey!
• Does not support reduction of characters to those diagnostic.
• can be done by export to DELTA-> CSIRO DELTA
• SDD supports is planned (needs funding!)
• Open Source software
• Platform: Windows: MS Access

Special:

Mesquite (successor of MacClade)

• NEXUS based, intended for phylogenetic work
• Very good if phylogenetics is primary goal.
• Open Source software
• Platform: JAVA-based

EFG (Electronic field guide)

• producing SDD editor, including NEXUS import

Biolink (Australia, Steve Shattuck)

• Whole suite of components for all kinds of biodiversity software, containing a unique approach to descriptive data (free text with inserted coded data).
• GH has no hands-on-experience, current status not known – website disappeared.
• Closed source. Earlier versions were commercial, but no probably still freeware/letterware.
• Platform: Windows

A good overview (although not always complete and current) can be found at the
Digital Taxonomy Website.

The making of an interactive key has tree distinct phases, definition of characters and their states, character coding and the testing of the key. The character coding is the easiest and least time-consuming of the whole process, while the fist and third phases are often under estimated, both time-wise and in the complexity of the process. Two case studies are presented, the pea-key, a corroborative project dealing with a pea-flowering legumes of Australia (c. 1400 species) and the Malesian Seed Plant key a corroborative project dealing with the c. 350 families from the Flora Malesiana region.

Floras offer a means for the identification and correct naming of plants for a particular region. Kew’s tradition for writing Floras has lead to the production of 6 main African Floras, which together with other monographic work are gradually being digitised and will form part of the online e-floras resource. Having these works in digital form not only enables access to the Floras for users around the world through the internet, but also opens opportunities to improve and reuse this information. In this talk I will cover 3 ways in which the information in Floras and monographs can be used to build interactive identification systems. I will first describe the methodology used for the digitisation of Kew’s legacy works and how this information is now part of an online database for identification and nomenclatural queries (Flora Zambesiaca online). I will then demonstrate how Lucid Phoenix can be used to publish dichotomous keys online, using Phyllanthus key from Flora Zambesiaca as an example. And finally, I will demonstrate how to transfer character base information from a monograph (“Then genus Croton in Madagascar and the Comoro Is.” by A. Radcliffe-Smith – unpublished) into a DELTA/INTKEY system. With this key the user can arrive to a group of less than 10 taxa by using only 5 characters, out of a total of ~150 species of Croton.

The genus Galanthus represents 19 species that have attracted the attention of gardeners for over 400 years and remain attractive ornamentals to this day. Propagation is mainly carried out by bulbs collected from the wild and this has lead to recent concerns regarding their conservation status and as such, the genus is now listed under CITES. This has lead to a demand for tools to aid in the identification of the members of this genus and so an attempt was made to develop an interactive key to the genus. A demonstration is given, alongside an outline of the problems associated with the identification of bulbous monocots and their potential solutions.

A brief overview of Kew’s key projects and potential areas of overlap, available data standards, possible mechanisms and pitfalls.

As part of the CATE project we are developing keys in Lucid 3 to the genera of Araceae, and to the genus Anthurium (ca. 800spp.), Arum and Philodendron. The key to Arum is already online. These keys will be incorporated into a web-based taxonomic revision of the Araceae family as the plant model group for the project. Anthurium presents a particular challenge as it is a very large and difficult genus, within which it is currently nearly impossible for non-specialists to determine plants to species. We hope the key will go some way to solving this problem.

While there are two key players in the current interactive key playing field, namely Delta/Intkey and Lucid, there are a myriad of other tools available for users to choose from depending on their needs. While Lucid and Intkey will cover most peoples needs there are a number of factors that need to be taken into account when choosing the right tool for the job.

In this talk I will try to introduce the principals behind interactive keys and the different methods that are available. I will cover Lucid and Delta/Intkey in some depth. I will then cover a number of the other interactive key tools available out there and will finish off with some recent developments and promising tools that are coming available including the IdentifyLife project.

For some additional reading see Mike Dallwitz’s Comparison.

Time: 10:00 am to 4:00 pm

Venue: Pat Brenan Suite, Herbarium, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Interactive keys can loosely be described as software which makes identification of organisms easier by taking advantage of the data querying and multimedia capabilities of modern computers. There are a number of tools available for both building and running these keys with the main current players being Lucid and DELTA/Intkey.

There are a growing number of interactive identification tools being built at Kew and other institutes around London. There is also growing interest in the broader taxonomic community including global initiatives such as the IdentifyLife project and a number of on-line electronic floras. These keys are currently being built on an ad-hoc basis, with people having to learn the quirks of their chosen software and having some difficulty in sharing data between datasets. Staff within the Herbarium feel there is a need to share experiences and have a forum where ideas can be exchanged and problems (hopefully) solved. We envisage that this forum will meet every two months but this will be reviewed depending on popularity, need and people’s availability. The remit of the forum may well change over time to include broader issues with e-Taxonomy and web-based initiatives.

As a kick-off meeting we are holding a Mini Symposium on interactive keys, available software, their benefits and shortcomings and current projects at Kew that are developing/using interactive keys. All interested staff and associates are encouraged to attend, especially those members of staff who are currently developing keys or are thinking of using them in their projects.

The symposium will include talks and/or demonstrations on the following topics:

• A comparison of interactive key software.
• The Malesian Key
• eFloras/Flora Zambeziaca
• Data interchange and reuse
• The CATE Project

The Forum also has a mailing list which you might like to subscribe to.

If you have a key or project that you would like to present or demonstrate please contact Kehan Harman in the Herbarium on +44 (0)20 8332 5272 (x5272) or k.harman@kew.org

• You can either sign up online.
• or alternatively send an email to kikforum-request@kew.org. In the subject enter the word ‘subscribe’
  • You can optionally follow this with a custom password that you would like to use, otherwise the mailing list will issue you a random password.

Once you have joined the list you will be able to send emails to kikforum_at_kew.org.