Download Master Gardener Volunteer Training

Backyard Botany
2010 Southern Region IPM Training
for Master Gardeners
Kerry Smith
MG State Program Coordinator
Where Do You Start?????
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Become observers of
nature – teach yourself
As a child we learn
patterns
Plants have patterns
Look for signs
Plants have distinctive
traits
Look for Signs
Physical Features
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Eye color
Height
Hair color
Narrow face
Etc, etc
Canis lupus
familiaris
Repetitious patterns
Pattern Shows Relationships
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2 – 4 – 6 – 8 – 10 etc
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Matching games
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Puzzles
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Look for similarities between plants
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The are easier to learn than some other organisms
Animals much more difficult
Similarities Show Kinship
Salvia azurea
Salvia greggii
Salvias are in the Mint (Lamiacae) Family
Leaf Types
All Mints have
opposite leaf
arrangement
Describe the Stem
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Stem shape
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Square
Round
Stem habit
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Skull cap
Zigzag
Twisted
All Mints have
square stems
Describe the
leaf stem?
Catnip
Describe the Petiole
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The leaf stem
Look where attached to
stem
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Stipules, other???
Look where leaf
blade attached
See dots, tiny
leaves, glands,
etc???
Describe the Flower
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Number of flower petals
& their shape
Describe the calyx
 how many sepals
Number and shape of
pistil & stamens
Position/shape of flower
parts
Imperfect, Dioecious Flowers
Female
Male
Describe Seed or Fruit
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Here’s where it can be
tricky
Find the calyx – look inside
Find the flower base
Shape, color, cluster
Fleshy or dry capsule
Etc, etc, etc
The most specific &
unique part of any plant
description
Fruit & Seed Types
Mint Family Flowers
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A tube inside a tube
Calyx - fused sepals
Fused flower petals
Flower – lip and hood
Stamens often
extended
Mint Family Seeds
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Usually 4
Occasionally 2
Descriptions = Names
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All these details make the name
Indicate relationships
Lead to ranking
And more
Sounds complicated…..
We need a system for all this!
Systematic Botany
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Identify, classify &
name
A standard system
Hierarchy
Began with Carl
Linné (Linnaeus)
Original developed
from 1735 - 1753
The Ranks – or Hierarchy
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What are the ranks?
King David Come Out For
God’s Sake
Each rank can have a
“sub” set
Or a “super” set
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Ranking shows
relationships
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Kingdom
Division
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Specific epithet
Species name
= G + S + botanist’s name
What’s In A Name
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Honorary – Franklinia alatamaha
Specific
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May seem backward
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Colors - rubra = red
Place - alabamense = named in Alabama
Shape – angustifolius = narrow leaf
Etc, etc
Kerry Smith
vs. – Magnolia grandiflora
Gardener’s Latin by Bill Neal
Ranking for Wild Blue Sage
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Kingdom – Viridilantae (green plants)
Division - Embryophyta (plants w/seeds)
Class - Angiospermopsida
(covered seed)
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Order – Lamiales
Family - Lamiaceae
Genus - Salvia
Specific epithet - azurea
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(Species name = Genus + epithet)
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Salvia azurea Michx.
One Name per Plant
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Kingdom – Viridilantae (green plants)
Division - Embryophyta (plants w/seeds)
Class - Angiospermopsida
(covered seed)
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Order Magnoliales
Family Magnoliaceae
Genus Magnolia
Specific grandiflora
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Species Magnolia grandiflora L.
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Plant Groups
Families and Orders
Commonly Seen
Mint Family
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Mostly herbaceous
Often aromatic leaves
Square stem
Opposite leaves
Calyx - 5 fused sepals
5 fused flower petals
Two “lipped” flower*
Lamiaceae – coleus,
agastache, mint, salvia,
rosemary, ajuga, etc
Hibiscus Family
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Mostly woody
Often stipules at petiole
base
Collar of stamens
surrounding pistil*
Compound pistil –
3 or 5
Malvaceae - hibiscus,
althea, hollyhock,
cotton, malva, albutillon
Magnolia Family
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Woody
Leaves shiny or waxy
Many seeds in a whorled
cluster*
Fragrant flowers
Stamen scars on seed
cluster stem*
Magnoliaceae – yellow
poplar, sweet bay
magnolia, banana
shrub, cucumber tree,
etc
Rose Family
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Herbs and woody
Leaves often folded at
middle & have stipules
Flowers single or clustered
– petals x5
Numerous & loose
stamens*
Hypanthium – ovary in
flower stem*
Rosaceae - serviceberry,
apple, cherry, strawberry,
blackberry, pear, peach,
plum, cherry, etc
Huge economic importance
Boxwood Family
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Woody & herbaceous
Evergreen
Waxy, opposite or
spiralling, alternate
leaves
Imperfect flowers, but
rarely dioecious
“Horned” fruit
Buxaceae Sweetbox, Buxus,
Pachysandra
Holly Family
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Woody & often evergreen
Leaves often toothed &
alternate not opposite
New fruits often bottleshaped and “capped”
Cap is the distinctive,
black/dark stigma
Flowers imperfect – often
dioecious, tiny & clustered
Only 1 genus world wide in
Aquifoliaceae – hollies
Order Pinales
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Gymnosperms
Pinaceae – pine, spruce, fir
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Podocarpaceae – podocarpus
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Jointed, 2-3 part seed structure
Cupressaceae – cypress,
bald cypress, juniper,
Japanese cedar, falsecypress,
arborvitae, dawn redwood
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Cone shaped seed structure
“Soccer ball” shaped seed
structure
Taxaceae – yew, plum yew
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Surrounded by fleshy, open, cuplike collar
Order Pinales
Cypress, cedar,
etc – soccer ball
Pine, fir, spruce
- cone
Podocarpus jointed
Yew – cup
like collar
Cypress Family
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Under Pinales Order
Woody
Imperfect flower, but
rarely dioecious
Leaves usually needle-like
as juvenile and scale-like
at maturity
Leaves shed as branchlets
(cluster)
Cypress Family
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Under Pinales Order
Rounded, soccer ball like
fruit
Cupressaceae – cypress,
bald cypress, juniper,
Japanese cedar,
falsecypress, arborvitae,
dawn redwood (leyland
cypress a cross =
cypress & falsecypress)
Order Fagales
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Betulaceae – birch,
alder, ironwood,
hazel
Fagaceae – beech,
oak, chestnut
Myricaceae – wax
myrtle
Juglandaceae –
hickory, pecan
Beech Family
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Under Fagales Order
Woody
New leaves whorled
Imperfect flowers –
never dioecious
Male catkins*
Seed cap or husk is
scaly and/or spiny*
Fagaceae – beech,
oak, chestnut
Order Ericales
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Sometimes we just have
to memorize
And have faith in the
botanist with the
microscope
Order Ericales
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Ebenaceae – ebony,
persimmon
Primulaceae
Theaceae – camellia,
gordonia, stewartia
Styacaceae – styrax
Clethraceae
Cyrillaceae
Ericaceae –
rhododendron, azalea,
erica, vaccinium
Tea Family
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Under Ericales Order
Woody
Leaves often thick & serrated
Leaves often red before
falling off*
Flowers single - petals x5
Numerous stamens fused at
their base*
(not so in Rosaceae)
Theaceae – camellia,
gordonia, franklinia, stewartia
Rosaceae
Erica Family
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Under Ericales Order
Native to acidic soils
Woody
Leaf if serrated has hairs
Petals fused/tubular
Jointed flower stem*
(pedicel)
Opening pore on anther*
Ericaceae (Heath/Erica) –
rhododendron, azalea,
erica, vaccinium
Testing, Testing….
Did this Work?
Male catkins*
Seed cap or husk is scaly
and/or spiny*
Male catkins*
Seed cap or husk is scaly
and/or spiny*
Fagaceae – beech, oak,
chestnut
All Fagales have “lacy”
catkins
Waxy leaves
“Horned” fruit
Waxy leaves
“Horned” fruit
Buxaceae family – boxwood,
sweetbox, pachysandra
Jointed flower stem
Anther opens w/pore
Jointed flower stem
Anther opens w/pore
Ericaceae family –
vaccinium, rhododendron,
azalea, heather
Fused stamens
Thick, serrated leaf
Fused stamens
Thick, serrated leaf
Tea Theaceae – camellia,
gordonia, franklinia,
stewartia
Individual & numerous
stamens – “puff”
Folded leaf
Usually a hypanthium
Individual & numerous
stamens – “puff”
Folded leaf
Usually a hypanthium
Rosaceae Family – huge
economic importance
Young fruit bottle shaped
Black “cap”, or button on fruit
Small flower & something’s
missing
Young fruit bottle shaped
Black “cap”, or button on fruit
Small flower & something’s
missing
Genus holly (Ilex)
Backyard Botany
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Confused?
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It’s really not as complicated as you thought
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Just use your power of observation
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Learn one or two families to start
Look for patterns and describe plant parts
More questions ???
Backyard Botany
2010 Southern Region IPM Training
for Master Gardeners
Kerry Smith
MG State Program Coordinator