Broad Classification Scheme
Annual, Biennial, or Perennial?
Marigold is an annual plant.
A species that completes it’s life cycle in 2 growing seasons.
An oak tree is a perennial plant.
Herbaceous or Woody?
A daylily is an example of a herbaceous, perennial plant.
Burning Bush is an example of a woody, perennial plant.
Deciduous, coniferous evergreen or broad-leaf evergreen?
Sugar Maple is a deciduous, woody perennial plant.
Norway Spruce is a coniferous evergreen, perennial plant.
Holly is a broad-leaf evergreen, perennial plant. Ilex meserveae 'Blue Angel'
Bald cypress Eastern larch
Leaf Types
Simple Compound Pinnately compound Bipinnately compound Palmately compound Scale-like Needle-like
Leaf Arrangement
Oleander
Leaf type? Leaf shape? Leaf margin? Leaf arrangement?
Leaf type? Leaf shape? Leaf margin? Leaf arrangement?
Leaf type? Leaf shape? Leaf margin? Leaf arrangement?
Leaf type? Leaf shape? Leaf margin? Leaf arrangement?
Leaf type? Leaf shape? Leaf margin? Leaf arrangement?
Vegetative Flower Mixed
Flower bud Vegetative bud
Mixed bud
Paper birchWayfarringtree viburnum
I would advise against doing a Google image search using the key words “naked buds”.
Stem Morphology
Terminal Bud
Bitternut hickory Common lilac
Lateral Buds
Basswood
Leaf Scars
Black walnutNorthern catalpaGreen ash
Vascular Bundle Scars
Ohio buckeye
Terminal Bud Scale Scars
Lenticels
Paperbark cherry White poplar
Tree-of -heaven
Pith
Butternut Black walnut
Kentucky Coffeetree
Take a look at the twig image and answer the following: What’s the leaf arrangement? Does your twig have a terminal bud? Lateral buds? Can you find any leaf scars? Vascular bundle scars? Can you find any lenticels? Can you find the most recent set of terminal bud scale scars? Do you even care anymore? Do you have a headache?
White ash
END
Plant Nomenclature
Plants have 2 different names: Common Name Botanical or Scientific Name
Sugar Maple Acer saccharum
Acer = genus saccharum = specific epithet genus + specific epithet = the “binomial” that identifies a species
Gymnocladus dioicus What’s the name of the genus? What’s the name of the specific epithet? What’s the name of the species?
Acer saccharum ‘Autumn Splendor’ ‘Autumn Splendor’ is a cultivar name cultivars, generally speaking, do not come true-to- type from seed. A species may have several cultivars or none at all: Acer saccharum ‘Arrowhead’ Acer saccharum ‘Cary’ Acer saccharum ‘Millane’s Dwarf’ Acer saccharum ‘Seneca Chief’, etc…
Gleditsia triacanthos inermis Gleditsia triacanthos var. inermis inermis is a variety name. Varieties come true- to-type from seed.
Acer saccharum Legacy® Legacy® is a registered trademark (PP 4,979). Legacy® is registered with the Office of Trademarks and Patents in Washington, DC. Acer saccharum Oregon Trail TM Oregon Trail TM is a trademarked plant. The TM protects the commercial application of that name to said plant.