Polyclaves are identification tools that have a wide variety of applications across, and beyond, the life sciences. These keys allow identification of a specimen from a pool of possibilities. Characteristics of the specimen are identified, eliminating other candidates in the pool, until a unique identification is made. PollyClave can be used as a web interface for any DELTA-format polyclave database.

The following databases are currently available if you want to try out PollyClave:

	Leaves	Twenty-one tree and vine leaves; a small teaching and demonstration database.
	LPB seeds	Seed flora of La Perouse Bay, Manitoba, Canada: a DELTA database of morphological and ecological characters. E. R. Chang, T. A. Dickinson, and R. L. Jefferies. Can. J. Bot. 78: 481-496 (2000). (UofT link | Non UofT link)
	Carolinian Trees	Preliminary database for identification of the 60 trees species present in the Carolinian region of Ontario, Canada.
	Ontario Ericaceae	Preliminary database for identification of the 11 Ontario genera of Ericaceae (heath family).
	Phalaenopsis species	Preliminary database for identification of species (not hybrids) in the orchid genus Phalaenopsis.

You can also install PollyClave on your own system, for use with your own DELTA-format databases (which, of course, needn't be botanical). See the PollyClave Administrators' Manual for full information. Pollyclave was developed with support from the University of Toronto Instructional Technology Project fund.

PollyClave is a venture of the University of Toronto Department of Botany, the University of Toronto Libraries, and the Royal Ontario Museum. All contents jointly copyright ©, 1996. To use the PollyClave program with your own data, please see PollyClave Administrators' Manual. We welcome your questions and feedback. Last updated October 5, 2009.