Instructor Information Plants and Soil Pathways– Standard G1.1: Understand how to classify and identify plants by order, family, genus, and species Upon completion, students will: ○Know the general hierarchy of classification– focusing on class, order, family, genus, and species ○Be able to write the basic scientific names for plants ○Understand how identification and classification can be used in the FFA and career fields

Keepin’ It Classy Identifying and Classifying Plants By Kelly Dawkins

Today’s Objectives ●Learn the common methods used to identify and classify plants ●Learn the proper methods for writing plant names ●Learn basic terms used to group plants ●Learn about vocabulary used to distinguish plants within a species

Why Do We Classify Plants? ●Plants are classified in several different ways. ●A plant name shows their relationship to other plants. ●It also tells us about its place in the plant world. ●Only the family, genus and species are needed for average identification.

Basic Plant Categories ●Class ●Order ●Family ●Genus ●Species

Class ●Gymnosperms: Plants which don't produce flowers ○What are some examples of gymnosperms? ●Angiosperms: Plants which produce flowers Gymnosperms Angiosperms

Class: Angiosperms ●Dicotyledons (Dicots) o Plants with two cotyledon leaves o Four to five floral parts ●Monocotyledons (Monocots) o Plants with one cotyledon leave o Three floral parts

Order ●A group of related Plant Families o classified by their differences from a common ancestor. ●The names of the Orders end in “-ales.” Examples: Liliales- Lily Order

Family ●Each Order is divided into Families. ●These are plants with many botanical features in common. ●Usually the highest classification used. ●The names of the Families end in “-aceae.” Example: Fabaceae – Pea, Legume and Bean Family Sweet Peas

Genus ●It’s the normal name that you give a plant. ●The plants in a Genus are often easily recognizable as belonging to the same group. ●Similarity of flowers and fruits is the most widely used feature, although roots, stems, buds, and leaves are also used. ●The name of the Genus should be written with a capital letter and either underlined or italicized. Example: Magnolia

Species ●This is the level that defines an individual plant. ●The name will describe a feature of the plant o flower color, size or shape of leaves, etc. ●The Genus and Species name are used to identify that specific plant. ●The name of the Species should be written after the Genus name, uncapitalized and either underlined or italicized. Example: Ranunculus flammula

Watch This! -- Overview of taxonomic hierarchy

Uses for Classification What are some SAE or FFA activities that may require plant classification? Vegetable Judging Floriculture Nursery/ Landscape Others? What are some career fields where classification/identification can be used? Forestry Crop/Fruit Sciences Horticulture Others?

Practice Makes Perfect Practice writing the classifications for Roses. How would we write the order? Rosales How would we write the family name? Rosaceae How would we write the genus? Rosa How would we write the genus and species for the Rugosa rose? Rosa rugosa