Flower or leaf characteristics, coloured or black and white illustrations – what helps student teachers to identify plants?

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Title: Flower or leaf characteristics, coloured or black and white illustrations – what helps student teachers to identify plants?
Authors: Remmele, Martin1,2,3 (AUTHOR) martin.remmele@ph-karlsruhe.de, Wieland, Elisa1 (AUTHOR), Hahn, Larissa4 (AUTHOR), Klein, Pascal4 (AUTHOR), Lindemann-Matthies, Petra1 (AUTHOR)
Source: Journal of Biological Education (Taylor & Francis Ltd). Jun2025, Vol. 59 Issue 3, p468-483. 16p.
Subject Terms: *Biodiversity, Plant identification, Eye tracking, Alfalfa, Book illustration
Abstract: For a sound understanding of biological diversity, it is not only important to identify species and recall their names, but to be able to distinguish between organisms based on a range of characteristic traits. However, whether flower or leaf characteristics are more important in identifying plant species and whether colour illustrations in identification books are more helpful than black and white ones is largely unexplored. With the help of a mobile eye-tracking device and pictures from two plant identification books, this study aimed to contribute to filling this knowledge gap. Thirty student teachers, all undergraduates in biology, were shown two freshly picked wildflowers (Medicago sativa and Echium vulgare) and asked to select the corresponding illustration from each of four plants on an identification sheet, which was either in colour or in black and white. For both plants, the number of fixations, and positively correlated fixation duration, were significantly higher for the flower than the leaf part. Although flowers and leaves were fixated longer and more frequently in the black-and-white illustrations, correct identifications were more likely with the coloured identification sheets. The results indicate that colour illustrations and sorting by flower characteristics are particularly helpful in identification aids for undergraduate students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Journal of Biological Education (Taylor & Francis Ltd) is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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  Data: Flower or leaf characteristics, coloured or black and white illustrations – what helps student teachers to identify plants?
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Remmele%2C+Martin%22">Remmele, Martin</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2,3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> martin.remmele@ph-karlsruhe.de</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Wieland%2C+Elisa%22">Wieland, Elisa</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Hahn%2C+Larissa%22">Hahn, Larissa</searchLink><relatesTo>4</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Klein%2C+Pascal%22">Klein, Pascal</searchLink><relatesTo>4</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Lindemann-Matthies%2C+Petra%22">Lindemann-Matthies, Petra</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Biological+Education+%28Taylor+%26+Francis+Ltd%29%22">Journal of Biological Education (Taylor & Francis Ltd)</searchLink>. Jun2025, Vol. 59 Issue 3, p468-483. 16p.
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  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Biodiversity%22">Biodiversity</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Plant+identification%22">Plant identification</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Eye+tracking%22">Eye tracking</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Alfalfa%22">Alfalfa</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Book+illustration%22">Book illustration</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
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  Data: For a sound understanding of biological diversity, it is not only important to identify species and recall their names, but to be able to distinguish between organisms based on a range of characteristic traits. However, whether flower or leaf characteristics are more important in identifying plant species and whether colour illustrations in identification books are more helpful than black and white ones is largely unexplored. With the help of a mobile eye-tracking device and pictures from two plant identification books, this study aimed to contribute to filling this knowledge gap. Thirty student teachers, all undergraduates in biology, were shown two freshly picked wildflowers (Medicago sativa and Echium vulgare) and asked to select the corresponding illustration from each of four plants on an identification sheet, which was either in colour or in black and white. For both plants, the number of fixations, and positively correlated fixation duration, were significantly higher for the flower than the leaf part. Although flowers and leaves were fixated longer and more frequently in the black-and-white illustrations, correct identifications were more likely with the coloured identification sheets. The results indicate that colour illustrations and sorting by flower characteristics are particularly helpful in identification aids for undergraduate students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Biological Education (Taylor & Francis Ltd) is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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RecordInfo BibRecord:
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    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1080/00219266.2024.2351387
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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        PageCount: 16
        StartPage: 468
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      – SubjectFull: Biodiversity
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Plant identification
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Eye tracking
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Alfalfa
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      – SubjectFull: Book illustration
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      – TitleFull: Flower or leaf characteristics, coloured or black and white illustrations – what helps student teachers to identify plants?
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            NameFull: Remmele, Martin
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            NameFull: Wieland, Elisa
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            NameFull: Hahn, Larissa
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            NameFull: Klein, Pascal
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            NameFull: Lindemann-Matthies, Petra
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            – D: 01
              M: 06
              Text: Jun2025
              Type: published
              Y: 2025
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