CharKey: An Electronic Identification Key for Wood Charcoal of French Guiana

We propose here the first computer-aided identification key adapted to charcoal of French Guiana, based on the wood anatomy of 507 species spread in 71 families, which covers 86% of the tree families currently listed in this part of Amazonia. The key records 26 anatomical features leading to 112 features states, almost all of which are illustrated by SEM photographs of charcoal. The whole tool, named CharKey, contains the key itself and the associated database including photographs. It is accessible using the free software Xper², specifically conceived for taxonomic description and computer aided-identification.