The identification flow chart walks the user through each branch of the decision tree. The branches ultimately end in "bins," which are simply collections of characters states for leaf morphology. For example, dicot leaves having a petiole attached outside the margin, lacking lobes, with pinnate primary venation, smooth margins, no agrophic veins, brochidodromous secondary venation and elliptic shape would be grouped in bin 24. At each step, the terminology is illustrated so the beginner can "choose the picture" that best matches the pattern seen in their fossil.

To navigate the decision tree, click on the “plus sign” to expand the choices. Clicking on the underlined text will produce images that define the terminology. These will appear to the right of the flow chart or below it, depending on your screen resolution. When you reach the terminal branch of the tree, thumbnail images of all of the matches from the database will be displayed. At this point, clicking on a thumbnail image will take you to the detailed information about the morphotype.