1. Cory Tanner or Tannerius coryi Consumer Horticulture Agent/Master Gardener Coordinator

2. Terminology Botany: the science of plants Taxonomy: the classification of plants

3. Vascular Plants Ferns Cone Bearing Plants Flowering Plants Dicots Monocots

4. Terminology Gymnosperm – “naked seed” Has no flower or ovary (fruit); only cones All conifers (pines, cedars, arborvitae) Angiosperm – “vessel seeded” Has a flower with an ovary (fruit) All flowering plants Divided into Monocots and Dicots

5. Terminology Dicotyledons (Dicots): - flowering plants that contain two seed leaves Monocotyledons (Monocots): - flowering plants that possess one seed leaf

6. MonocotDicot

7. Botanical Names

8. What’s Wrong with Common Names? Catesby’s Trillium or Rosey Wake-robin or Bashful Wake-robin Trillium catesbaei

9. Plant Classification Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus Species Cultivar

10. Scientific Plant Names Binomial Nomenclature – 2-name system Genus species Developed by Carolus Linnaeus (1753) Always Latinized and italicized Usually very descriptive of the plant

11. Scientific Plant Names (cont.) Genus – a noun identifies a particular group of related plants First letter always capitalized species – typically an adjective identifies a distinct subset of the Genus all lowercase

12. Let’s try some! White Oak Canadian Hemlock Acer rubrum Osmanthus fragrans Quercus alba Tsuga canadensis Red Maple Fragrant Tea Olive

13. 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 species Designated 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’

14. 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

15. The Ultimate… Acer palmatum var. dissectum ‘Atropurpureum’ AKA: Purple-leaved Threadleaf Japanese Maple Maple Palmate leaves Leaves are highly dissected (threadleaf) Leaves are dark red/purple

17. Plant Identification It’s all in the details!!! Gather Information 1. Evergreen or Deciduous? 2. Tree, shrub, vine or herbaceous? 3. Leaf Arrangement 4. Leaf Morphology 5. Flower Arrangement and Morphology

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

19. 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

20. 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

21. Leaf Morphology Shape of the leaf blade and the type of margin are important in plant identification.

22. 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

23. More to come… Next Week – The wonderful world of soils!!!