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BOTANY PRIMER FOR GARDENERS Linda R McMahan, PhD Botanist & Extension Horticulturist Oregon State University Extension [email protected]

Botany Primer For Gardeners

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Presentation designed for a 3-hr teaching session for master gardeners in Oregon. The presentation is for beginners and covers many botanical subjects at that level. It is hoped that learners will be intrigued enough to discover more information on their own

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Page 1: Botany Primer For Gardeners

BOTANY PRIMER FOR GARDENERS

Linda R McMahan, PhDBotanist & Extension HorticulturistOregon State University [email protected]

Page 2: Botany Primer For Gardeners

What We Will Cover

Plant Diversity Algae, fungi and lichens Spore producing plants – mosses,

liverworts, ferns Seed plants – conifers, ginkgo, and

flowering plants Plant Structure and Growth

Stems and roots Leaf structure Flowers and reproduction

Page 3: Botany Primer For Gardeners

Plant Diversity

From ancient time when we began studying the world around us, we tried to understand our surroundings by labeling plants and animals

Our current scientific understanding continues to refine relationships, but historically, many organisms have been considered to be plants even if they are not now considered to be so

I will use the historic understanding and explain modern differences as we proceed

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Plant Diversity The classification of various

kinds of plants is based on reproduction

Spore producing plants appeared on earth before seed producing plants

Later, seed plants became more common—these are also the ones most common in our landscapes and gardens

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Plant Diversity

Goal: Learning the patterns of diversity will help us learn to garden with nature rather than working against it

Fallen leaves inside umbrella plant, Darmera peltatum

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I. Organisms that reproduce through spores

Algae and fungi Lichens Slime Molds Mosses Liverworts and

relatives Horsetails Ferns

Sori, the spore carrying bodies on ferns, here a sword fern

Page 7: Botany Primer For Gardeners

Algae and Fungi Some algae are considered to be plants

and some are not--fungi now reside in a separate Kingdom but many people think of them as plants

Both reproduce using some form of spore or similar structure

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Algae

Include many different kinds, but the most familiar are those of streams, ponds and at the ocean shore washed up on the sand or growing on rocky shores

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Are Algae A Problem?

Algae by themselves are not a problem-it is not a parasite for example

Because growth of algae requires moisture and nutrients, it will grow where these are available, such as polluted streams. Algae grows in nutrient rich streams and on sidewalks because it can find required nutrients there. Control may be necessary for safety or other reasons, but the algae itself is not the cause of the harm, they just take advantage of the conditions.

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Fungi

Many kinds of fungi occur on earth When you say “fungus”, most people will

answer “mushroom” but fungi are much more complex

As we shall see, by far the most fungi are beneficial organisms but a few do cause diseases which are of concern to gardeners

It is important to distinguish between different kinds and not label all fungi as “bad”

Page 11: Botany Primer For Gardeners

Fungi

Some mushrooms and other fungi are also toxic, but this is rarely a concern. Unless you know they are a problem, please don’t treat mushrooms with fungicides because this will interfere with their positive interactions with plants and the environment.

For controlling fungi that cause disease, follow the recommendations of your local or state cooperative extension office.

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Mushrooms in the Lawn

Gardeners who are worried about safety can seek positive identification and information, or rake up the mushrooms and discard or compost them

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Positive Benefits of Fungi

Fungi are one of earth’s major decomposers, helping to return organic matter to enrich our soils

Soil fungi form mutually beneficial relationships with plants called mycorrhizae

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How Fungi Reproduce

Fungi reproduce through spores that become airborne

The visible part of a fungus is usually the spore-producing body

The larger mass of the fungus is fine fungal strands that are often underground or inside a decaying organism

A “mushroom” is one kind of fungal spore producing body

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Fungi

Mushrooms and other spore producing bodies are often the most visible part of the fungus

Mushrooms growing in an arc or ring are sometimes called a “fairy ring”

Yellow houseplant mushroom

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Not all spore producing bodies are “mushrooms”

Cup-like spore producing bodies in cracks in a brick walkway

Cup style spore bodies in moss on a decaying branch

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Mycorrhizae Most soil fungi

form relationships with most plants in a mutually beneficial relationship called mycorrhizae

Perhaps every plant shown in this forest clearing has associations with soil fungi

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Mycorrhizae

Mycorrhizae are found in the roots of the plants where tissues of the two organisms intertwine

Fungal strands are in contact with the soil and extend the absorption capacity of the roots

Fungi gain the benefit of photosynthetic nutrients made by the plants

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A new way to look at forests and gardens

Part of the magic of this relationship is that individual plants may form associations with dozens of different fungi

And, each fungus may form associations with dozens of trees

Together, these create a network of interactions

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Slime Molds

Slime molds are not technically fungi nor plants

They grow in moist, usually warm conditions such as forests and damp gardens

They are another form of decomposer but can alarm people who have not seen them before

Slime mold spore producing bodies on turf grass. Oregon State University Plant Clinic

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Slime molds in the garden

Slime molds have two phases. A moving mass first grows on decaying leaves, compost, or stumps. The spore producing phase is harder and often colorful. Both phases are ephemeral, disappearing only a few days or weeks after their appearance.Spore producing structures of a slime

mold on the back of an oak leaf

Page 22: Botany Primer For Gardeners

Lichens, a “special” group

Lichens are usually small and are not individual organisms

Instead, they are a combination of two different organisms—one is a fungus, and the other is algae

British soldiers, a ground dwelling lichen

Page 23: Botany Primer For Gardeners

Lichens Most are gray or

greenish The visible part is

the fungus, the algae are inside

Lichens are another mutually beneficial relationship

Several kinds of lichens on a tree branch

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Lichens

Both algal and fungal partners benefit from this relationship

Algae gain a moist environment and the fungus gains photosynthetic nutrients

Together, they inhabit places like this rock where neither could if they were alone

Lichens growing on a rock

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Lichens

Some gardeners are worried about lichen, but they are not a disease and cause no harm to the plant

Various lichens are indicative of good or bad air quality, an aid to understanding our environment

White and brown lichen on a tree trunk

Page 26: Botany Primer For Gardeners

Mosses

Are common in the moist habitats

Reproduce by spores Are of short stature

because they lack an organized vascular system to move water and nutrients

Help maintain moisture and provide homes for small creatures

Mosses and tiny mushrooms on a downed log

Page 27: Botany Primer For Gardeners

Mosses

Mosses are a healthy part of gardens and ecosystems

They often grow in lawns when the lawns themselves are not robust

Mosses are opportunists and will grow wherever the habitat is appropriate

Page 28: Botany Primer For Gardeners

Liverworts and other forest floor plants

Liverworts and their relatives have been on earth since ancient times

They reproduce by spores

They usually grow in natural habitats but sometimes can be found in gardens

They are not harmful in a garden setting

Selaginella, usually a forest dweller

Page 29: Botany Primer For Gardeners

Liverworts One species of

liverwort has become adapted to live in nursery pots and is considered to be a pest by nursery owners

Once in the garden, they usually disappear after a time and cause no harm

Page 30: Botany Primer For Gardeners

Horsetails

Perhaps no plant has caused such concern to tidy gardeners as the common horsetail. Rapidly spreading underground in a favorable environment, this plant can become quite a pest.Horsetail, Equisetum, showing the

spore producing branches that appear before the typical green branches

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Horsetails

Here is the familiar horsetail form

Horsetails of many kinds are native around the world

Control is usually through persistent hand weeding or tolerance

Page 32: Botany Primer For Gardeners

Ferns

Ferns also reproduce by spores

Ferns are popular garden plants and some forms thrive in most, shady garden conditions

Licorice fern growing on a tree trunk

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Ferns

Typically the fern leaves, called fronds, uncurl as they open such as shown here

Bracken fern in spring

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Ferns

Spores are produced on the backs of the fronds or sometimes on separate modified leaves that only bear spores

Sword fern spore bodies

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2. Plants that produce seeds

We will cover three kinds of seed bearing plants

Ginkgo Conifers Flowering Plants

Fruits of red osier dogwood, a flowering plant

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Ginkgo

Very ancient plants once though to be extinct

Related to conifers but have different reproductive structures

They are neither conifers nor flowering plants but in a group all their own

Fall foliage and seed bearing structures on a mature female tree

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Ginkgo biloba

Good landscape tree, drought and pollution tolerant

Distinctive leaf form often used in artistic work

Native to China

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Conifers

Bear their seeds in cones

Conifers also have needles or scales

When seeds mature, cones usually open

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Conifers

Large group with many trees and shrubs

Popular in gardens, partically because most are evergreen

Pines, firs, cedars, juniper, larch, and many moreAn ornamental conifer with

colorful cones

Page 40: Botany Primer For Gardeners

Conifers

Cones are made up of overlaping scales

In new female cones, the ovules are inside the cone but the scales are open to allow pollination

After pollination, the scales usually close while the seeds mature

Cone on an ornamental larch

Page 41: Botany Primer For Gardeners

Conifers Pollination time

differs for each species

Pollen is produced in tiny cones (dark orange in this tree) which is transferred by the wind to the tiny female cones at the tips of the branches

New cones and year-old cones on a pine species

Page 42: Botany Primer For Gardeners

Flowering Plants

A very large group, the latest to appear on earth

Developing seeds are protected within a solid structure which becomes a fruit

Pollen must actually grow through tissue to fertilize the ovum

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Flowering Plants Include trees, shrubs,

herbaceous plants, vines

Are very popular garden plants

Are highly adapted to particular forms of pollination

Many have very close mutually beneficial relationships with insect pollinatorsGaillardia or blanket flower attracts

bees and butterflies

Page 44: Botany Primer For Gardeners

Pollination

Is the process of transferring pollen from one flower to another

Typically, can be by wind, insects, water, birds, bats, or human intervention

Honey bee pollinating a Ceanothus flower

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Pollination

Plants pollinated by insects are typically sweet smelling, colorful, and have places for insects to land

The “reward” for pollination is food from nectar or pollen

Bumblebee on an aster

Page 46: Botany Primer For Gardeners

Pollination

Plants attracting butterflies also provide nectar—they often have a large flat surface to support the butterfly’s body

Butterfly pollinated plants often have “butterfly partners” that use the plant as places to lay their eggs

Page 47: Botany Primer For Gardeners

Pollination

Many other garden plants are pollinated by hummingbirds

These flowers tend to be red or orange

Birds can see these colors but bees cannot

Red columbine, Aquilegia canadensis

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Pollination

Plants pollinated by wind have less colorful flowers

Pollen is usually produced in catkins which contain only male flowers

Pollen is carried by the wind to female flowers that produce seeds

Catkins on a willow

Page 49: Botany Primer For Gardeners

Fruits When seeds

mature, they are carried in fruits

Fruits can be fleshy or dry and take many forms

Berries as shown here are one type of fruit

Calicarpa americana, the American beautyberry

Page 50: Botany Primer For Gardeners

More Fruits

Big leaf maple, Acer macrophyllum has dry fruits called samaras

Mimulus guttatus, yellow monkey flower has dry fruits called pods

Page 51: Botany Primer For Gardeners

3. Plant Anatomy Seed bearing

plants all share the same basic structures

Typical parts include leaves, stems, roots, and flowers

Differences are in the “details” which help us tell one plant from another

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Overall Plant Structure

This is sweet cicely, a plant native to Oregon

Botanists know this because it has white flower heads, each with many flowers of a certain type

Another clue is the finely divided leaves in a particular pattern

Page 53: Botany Primer For Gardeners

Stems

Provide overall support

Create the “architecture” characteristic of each plant

Have internal vascular systems for transport of water, minerals, and photosynthetic nutrients

Page 54: Botany Primer For Gardeners

Stem Structure

This stem is woody, with wood cells for support

The main stem has a side branch at a place called a node

The side branch has two buds, one at the end – a terminal bud, and one on the side, called a lateral bud

Page 55: Botany Primer For Gardeners

Stem Structure

Here is another winter twig with no leaves

Plants that loose leaves during dormancy are called deciduous

Note the leaf scars on the side where the leaves fell off in the fall

Also note that the terminal bud has scales

Page 56: Botany Primer For Gardeners

Stem Structure

Each year, when the buds break or start to grow, the bud scales fall off, leaving bud scale scars

If you look carefully, you can sometimes see these scars circling the branch

This helps us determine which is this year’s growth and which is last year’s

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Plant Growth Structure

Buds are of many types including flower buds, branch buds, and mixed buds

Lateral branch or mixed buds can grow into branches under the right conditions

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Plant Growth Structure

Note that the small branch is growing from a node area, just above the leaf

The buds that produce branches are usually in this location, leading to another name: axillary bud

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Kinds of Branching

The kind of branching on the last slide is called alternate

Here, the type of branching is called opposite

The kind of leaf pattern and branching pattern leads to different shapes of plants

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Woody Stems

Woody plants grow differently than herbaceous plants

Herbaceous plants are most commonly annuals, biennials, or perennials, which create new aerial growth each year

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Woody Stems

Here is a cross-section through a tree, showing typical woody structure

On the outside is bark

Right inside the bark is tissue called phloem that actively transports photosynthetic nutrients

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Woody Plants The inner part is

xylem tissue that transports water and is considered to be the “woody part”

This is also where we see growth rings, which can indicate the age of the tree

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Woody Plants One growth ring is

formed each year At the beginning of

each growth season, cells are large

At the end of the season, they are smaller and more dense, leading to the darker “rings”

The oldest growth of the tree is in the center

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Woody Plants

Nutrient and water transport happen on the outer edges of the tree or shrub

For this reason, it is important to protect the bark; injury can lead to disruptions of nutrient and water flow and growth

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Leaves

Leaves are usually the site of the process of photosynthesis, using the sun’s energy to create sugars and other nutrients

They also have unique patterns that help us identify plants

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Leaf Characteristics – Vein Patterns

The vascular system of plants moves through leaves in 3 kinds of patterns

The pattern shown here is called a parallel vein patternParallel veins on a lily plant

Page 67: Botany Primer For Gardeners

Parallel Vein Patterns

Parallel vein patterns

Occur in a group of plants called Monocotyledons or “Monocots” for short

They include grasses, lilies, onions, and many other related groups

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More Parallel Vein Patterns

Mianthemum dilitatum, false lily of the valley

Disporum species

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Pinnately Veined

Vein patters are also sometimes called venation

Pinnately veined leaves have veins in a feather-like pattern

This is a common pattern and signifies that the plant is in the group Dicotyledon or “Dicots” for short

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More Pinnate Vein Patterns

Leaf skeleton of a magnolia

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Palmately Veined Leaves

Palmately veined leaves are the third pattern

Main veins arise from the point of attachment, sort of like the fingers from the palm of a hand

These are also found in the group called “Dicots”

Coltsfoot

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More Palmately Veined Leaves

Fringecup, Tellima gandiflora A water lily

Page 73: Botany Primer For Gardeners

Petioles

Most leaves have a stem like structure connecting the leaf blade to the stem

These are called petioles

Some leaves do not have petioles, which helps us distinguish one plant from another

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Leaf Edges

Patterns of leaf edges also help us distinguish plants

This is one of many edge patterns or margins

This one is called a toothed margin

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Simple Leaves

Leaves with just one undivided leaf blade are called simple leaves

Several simple leaves on a branch are shown here

Oceanspray, Holodiscus discolor

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Simple Leaves

Remember, each leaf has a bud associated with it to facilitate branching

Several leaves and the associated axillary buds are shown here

Salal, Gaultheria shallon

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Compound Leaves

Compound leaves have more than one blade, each is called a leaflet

There are several patterns of compound leaves, this one is pinnately compound and has 7 leaflets

Oregon ash, Fraxinus latifolius

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Compound Leaves

Here is another example of a pinnately compound leaf

Remember, you can determine what is a leaf by looking for the bud at its base

This plant gives us a clue because the entire leaf is reddish- it has 11 leaflets

Berberis nervosa, long leaf Oregon grape

Page 79: Botany Primer For Gardeners

Compound Leaves

Another pattern is palmately compound leaves

This one has 7 leaflets

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Compound Leaves

Once again, the way to tell a leaf from a leaflet is to look for the axillary bud

This is difficult to determine in a photographs but is usually much easier in a hand-held sample

Wild lupine

Page 81: Botany Primer For Gardeners

Compound Leaves

One more pattern is also common and is doubly compound

This particular pattern is called bipinnately compound

Sometimes they are described as finely divided in herbaceous species

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Leaf Adaptations

Leaves can be modified to perform many different functions

These leaves are modified to catch insects in an insectivorous plant

California pitcher plant, Darlingtonia californica

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Modified Leaves

This Pacific Northwest native plant has leaves modified for vegetative reproduction

Piggyback plant, Tolmiea menziesii

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More Modified Leaves

Spines on a cactus Floating leaves on a water lily

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Roots

Since roots are underground, we seldom think about their presence

Major functions include support, absorption of water and minerals, and storage of carbohydrates and other photosynthetic nutrients

Large underground storage root of the wild cucumber

Page 86: Botany Primer For Gardeners

Roots

Even though we do not usually see roots, they are sometimes massive structures underground

For example, roots of this ash tree, and even the herbaceous plants beneath it, will extend many feet beyond the canopy of the above ground part of the plant

Veratrum emerging in the spring next to the trunk of an Oregon ash, Fraxinus latifolius

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Roots Woody plants also

have woody roots

Clip art showing roots of a tree

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Roots

Carrots, like those shown here in a pretend bunny, are tap roots. Their main structure is a single enlarged root with smaller roots off the surface

Tap roots often serve as storage for carbohydrates and other nutrients

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Roots

Roots of many if not most herbaceous plants are fibrous, such as in this bulb

Clip art

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Flowers and Fruits

The existence of flowers is one of the reasons we garden

Even vegetable gardens usually require flowers because fruits cannot form without them

passionflower

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Flowers

The purpose of flowers is to produce seeds

A side product is that gardeners and pollinators can enjoy the benefits they provideFlowers of Rosa nutkana (Nutka rose) and

Physocarpus capitatus (ninebark)

Page 92: Botany Primer For Gardeners

Flowers

A typical flower has four countable parts: Sepals, petals, stamens and pistils

Sepals and petals are the outer parts—sepals are usually green and petals are usually colorful

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Flowers

Many flowers are not typical

In this iris, for example, the three smaller petal-like structures are acutally sepals. The larger three are the petals

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Flowers

This trillium has the more typical pattern with three green sepals and three white petals

The sepals are the outer layer of a flower and usually cover the flower bud before it opens

Both iris and trillium are Monocots

Trillium ovatum

Page 95: Botany Primer For Gardeners

Monocot Flowers

Plants with flower parts in groups of 3 or multiples of 3 are usually in the subgroup Monocots

Note the parallel venation on this plant, which support that classification

Slinkpod, Scoliopus bigelovii

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Dicot Flowers

Flowers with flower parts in groups of 2,4,5 or multiples are usually Dicots

This flower has 4 petals so is most likely a Dicot

Notice that the central stigma (we will cover those later) is also split into 4 at the tip

Flower of a Clarkia species

Page 97: Botany Primer For Gardeners

Dicot Flowers

These flowers also have 4 petals

Look for the 4 smaller sepals

Also note the vein pattern is pinnate

This is a Dicot

Fireweed, Epilobium

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Dicot Flowers

In this penstemon, the petals are fused into a tube

You can still determine that it has 5 petals however by looking at the number of flower lobes

Notice the nectar guides, lines that point toward the center of the flower

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Dicot Flowers

Notice that these flowers also have a fused petal tube, and you can distinguish 5 lobes

Also note the nectar guides in this flower

This is another Dicot

Yellow monkeyflower, Mimulus guttatus

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Flowers That Break the Rules

Many flowers “break the rules”—learning to be observant will help you know plants better

In skunk cabbage and some other plants, the colorful part is a spathe and the flowers themselves are very small and located on the whitish spikes

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Flowers That Break the rules

In dogwoods, what appear to be petals are actually modified and colorful leaves called bracts

The many flowers are in clusters in the center of the bracts

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Flowers That Break the Rules

Some flower form tight clusters such as this wild carrot

Each structure has many flowers, and each of these can bear seeds

This kind of flat-top structure is called an umbel-umbel plants often attract butterflies

Page 103: Botany Primer For Gardeners

Flowers That Break the Rules

All plants of the sunflower family form flowering structures called flowering heads

It looks like one large flower but instead is many tiny ones grouped together

Each “petal” is a separate flower for example

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Flowers That Break the rules

This is another member of the sunflower family

Notice the tiny circular ring of flowers in the flowering head in the lower right

Each of the tiny flowers in this ring is blooming and each will produce a single seed

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The Sexual Parts

Although petals and sepals can be attractive, the real work of the flower occurs in the sexual parts

Stamens bear the pollen

Pistils bear the ovules that become seeds when fertilized

Erythronium flower with pendulous stamens and pistils

Page 106: Botany Primer For Gardeners

The Sexual Parts Look carefully at the

central part of this flower

Look for 6 stamens and 1 central pistil

The pistil ends with a pink stigma split three ways

The stigma is usually sticky and will hold pollen delivered by a pollinator, in this case probably a bee

A cat’s ear, Calochortus species

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The Sexual Parts

In this flower, note the 5 stamens and central pistil

Flannelbush, Fremontodendron californicum

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The Sexual Parts

This flower has numerous stigmas ready to release their pollen

In the center is one pistil with the stigma divided into many parts

Camelia sasanqua

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Fertilization

Once pollination occurs, the pollen grain begins to grow and sends a tube down through the pistil

This leads to fertilization and the production of seeds

A species of wild rose, Rosa sp.

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Fruits and Seeds

Seeds of flowering plants are carried in some kind of fruit structure

This Asian pear is a kind of fruit called a pome and the seeds are inside

Seeds are disseminated by foraging animals and the seeds pass through the digestive system

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Fruits and Seeds

Seeds of this wild plant called a baneberry are most likely disseminated by birds

The seeds are toxic, but since birds do not chew, the seeds pass unharmed through the bird’s digestive tract

Actea rubra

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Fruits and Seeds

Seeds of these lupines are carried in pods

Pods open along lines to release the seeds when they are ready

The red flowers are another species, Mimulus cardinalis

Lupinus polyphyllus

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Fruits and Seeds

Seeds of milkweeds have white parachute like attachments

These are disseminated by wind

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Fruits and Seeds

This is cow parsnip which has flowers in the umbel form

This flat-topped structure persists in seed formation

This is one of the plants that also supports the growth of butterflies

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Fruits and Seeds

Beechnut produces seeds that are nuts

The nuts are carried within an outer structure that splits open at maturity and releases the seeds to the soil below

They may also be carried by animals to new locations

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Fruits and Seeds

This pod has opened to reveal the seeds inside

Each seed is capable of producing a new plant which grows from a tiny embryo inside

Peony seeds

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Seed Germination

Under suitable conditions seeds germinate into new plants and the cycle starts anew

Clip art

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This is the End

This is the end of our brief beginning tour of botany for gardeners

We have only touched the surface and there is much more to discover and know

I wish you luck on this journey

Echinacea purpurea ‘White Swam’

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Botany Primer for Gardeners

Created by Linda McMahan, Botanist and Community Horticulture Faculty, Oregon State University Extension Service in 2010

All photographs except as noted are those of the author. This presentation and included materials may be freely used for educational purposes. For other uses, please contact the author at

[email protected]