Cory Tanner or Tannerius coryi

Consumer Horticulture Agent/Master Gardener Coordinator

Terminology

Botany: the science of plants

Taxonomy: the classification of plants

Vascular Plants

Ferns

Cone Bearing Plants

Flowering Plants

DicotsMonocots

TerminologyGymnosperm – “naked seed”

Has no flower or ovary (fruit); only conesAll conifers (pines, cedars, arborvitae)

Angiosperm – “vessel seeded”Has a flower with an ovary (fruit)All flowering plantsDivided into Monocots and Dicots

TerminologyDicotyledons (Dicots):

- flowering plants that contain two seed leaves

Monocotyledons (Monocots): - flowering plants that possess

one seed leaf

Monocot Dicot

What’s Wrong with Common Names?

Catesby’s Trilliumor

Rosey Wake-robinor

Bashful Wake-robin

Trillium catesbaei

Plant Classification

KingdomPhylum

ClassOrder

FamilyGenus

SpeciesCultivar

Scientific Plant NamesBinomial Nomenclature – 2-name system

Genus species

Developed by Carolus Linnaeus (1753)

Always Latinized and italicized

Usually very descriptive of the plant

Scientific Plant Names (cont.)Genus – a noun

identifies a particular group of related plantsFirst letter always capitalized

species – typically an adjective identifies a distinct subset of the Genusall lowercase

Let’s try some!White Oak

Canadian Hemlock

Acer rubrum

Osmanthus fragrans

Quercus alba

Tsuga canadensis

Red Maple

Fragrant Tea Olive

Scientific Plant Names (cont.)When two names aren’t enough…variety – has traits that separate it from the species,

but not enough to be a new speciesDesignated by var.

Cercis canadensis var. alba

cultivar – “cultivated variety” A variety that arose in garden/nursery culture.Designated in single quotes with the first letter of each

word capitalized. Not italicized.Magnolia grandiflora ‘Little Gem’

Scientific Plant Names (cont.)What about hybrids?

Hybrid – results from cross-pollination between two different species.Designated by an “x” between Genus and species.

Osmanthus x fortunei – Fortune’s Tea Olive

Hybrid between O. heterophyllus and O. fragrans

The Ultimate…Acer palmatum var. dissectum ‘Atropurpureum’

AKA:Purple-leaved Threadleaf Japanese Maple

Maple Palmate leaves

Leaves arehighly dissected

(threadleaf)

Leaves aredark red/purple

Plant IdentificationIt’s all in the details!!!

Gather Information1. Evergreen or Deciduous?2. Tree, shrub, vine or herbaceous?3. Leaf Arrangement4. Leaf Morphology5. Flower Arrangement and Morphology

The various ways leaves are arranged along the stem is used to identify plants.

Leaf Arrangement

Leaf Morphology• Venation refers to the pattern in which the veins are distributed in the leaf blade

• Parallel or Net-veined

• Net-veined can be either pinnate or palmate

Acute - ending in an acute angle

Obtuse - tapering to a round edge

Acuminate - tapering to a long, narrow point

Truncate - having a relatively square base

Leaf MorphologyShape of the leaf blade and the type of margin are important in plant identification.

Entire - smooth edge

Serrate - having small teeth pointed toward the apex

Dentate - teeth pointed outward

Lobed - incisions extending less than 1/2 way to midrib

Next Week – The wonderful world of soils!!!