Classifying Ornamental Plants

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• Classifying Ornamental Plants

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• Suppose you were walking through the woods and
  stumbled upon an unusual plant. What would you
  call it? Would you know how to classify it?
  Could you identify its characteristics? These
  are questions many taxonomists ponder when
  labeling a new plant.

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• Take a couple of minutes and list as many plants
  as you possibly can. Lets classify them as
  deciduous (loose their leaves) or coniferous
  (remain as evergreens).
• Now list as many animals as you can. Can you
  classify them as birds, reptiles, amphibians,
  insects, fish, or mammals?
• Why do you know more about animals?

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Student Learning Objectives

• 1. Describe the system used for naming and
  classifying plants
• 2. Identify the major groups of plants
• 3. Describe the differences between annuals,
  biennials and perennials
• 4. Understand how this information is important
  to the Horticultural industry

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Terms to Know

• Angiosperm
• Annuals
• Biennials
• Binomial nomenclature
• Bryophytes
• Conifer
• Cotyledons
• Deciduous
• Dicots

• Evergreen
• Ferns
• Genus
• Gymnosperms
• Herbaceous
• Monocots
• Perennials
• Species
• Woody

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How Are Plants Named and Classified?

• Plants are classified by the similarities of
  their characteristics.
• Taxonomists compare flower patterns, stem and
  leaf structures, life cycles, genetic
  similarities and many other characteristics.
• They are then grouped in specific categories, or
  taxas

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Categories/Taxas
Example
Kingdom Plantae Phylum (Division) Magnoli
ophyta Class Liliopsida
Order Cyperales Family Poaceae
Genus Triticum Species aestivum
Sample classification of bread wheat
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• Botanists call plants by their last two taxas
  genus and species
• This system is known as binomial nomenclature
  (two-word naming system)
• Developed by Carl Linnaeus
• Uses Latin for three reasons
• Universal (known by all scientists)
• Very descriptive
• Unchanged (contains no slang words)
• Genus is capitalized Species lower case
• Ex. Triticum aestivum

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Cultivars

• In the Horticulture industry, we usually use
  cultivar names as well. Ex
• Malus domestica Fuji
• Picea pungens Procumbens'

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What Are Some Ways That We Can Put Plants Into
Groups?

• Plants live in a variety of climates and niches
• The adaptations that plants have made to survive
  in different climates allows for them to be
  classified into one of four major groups
• Bryophytes, Ferns, Gymnosperms and Angiosperms

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Bryophytes

• Belong to the phylum Bryophyta
• Non-vascular plants
• No conducting tissues
• Live in damp places
• Limited in size due to lack of conducting tissue
• Ex. Mosses and liverworts

Liverwort
Moss
Courtesy of Wm. C. Brown Publishers
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Ferns
Ferns in the forest

• Vascular plants
• Reproduce by spores
• Have no true leaves 0nly fronds
• Fronds produce food and spores
• New fronds called fiddleheads

Fiddleheads
Spores on underside of frond
Courtesy of Wm. C. Brown Publishers
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Gymnosperms

• Reproduce with seeds found in cones
• Also known as a conifer
• Leaves reduced to scales or needles
• Most are evergreen hold on to their green color
  year round
• Ex. Pines, spruce, cedar
• Some can be deciduous- lose their leaves
• Ex. Ginkgo, larch

Coniferous evergreen Pinus contorta
Deciduous conifer Ginkgo biloba
Courtesy of Wm. C. Brown Publishers
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Angiosperms

• Plants that reproduce by flowers
• There are two types monocotyledons (monocots)
  dicotyledons (dicots)
• A cotyledon is a food storage structure in the
  seed.
• Monocots have a single cotyledon
• Ex. Grasses, corn and lilies
• Dicots have two cotyledons
• Ex. Roses, petunias and geraniums, beans

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Angiosperms - Monocot

• Have flower parts (sepals, petals, stamens,
  pistils) in multiples of three
• 3, 6, 9
• Parallel venation within the leaves
• Stems with scattered vascular bundles
• Narrow leaves
• Fibrous root system

Orchid Paphiopedilum curtisii
Courtesy of Wm. C. Brown Publishers
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Angiosperms - Dicot

• Flower parts are in multiples of 4s or 5s
• 4,12,16 or 5, 10, 15
• Netted veins
• Vascular bundles are in rings around the stem
• Have broad leaves
• Taproot system

Hibiscus sp.
Courtesy of Wm. C. Brown Publishers
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Monocot vs. Dicot
Courtesy of Wm. C. Brown Publishers
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Monocot vs. Dicot
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Why is distinguishing between monocots and
dicots important in landscape maintenance?
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Stem Cross Section
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What Is the Difference Between Annuals, Biennials
and Perennials?

• Plants are often classified based on their life
  cycles
• Even though gymnosperms and angiosperms reproduce
  by seed, there are different strategies for
  passing the seeds on to future generations

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Annuals
Corn Zea mays

• Plants grow from seed, flower, produce new seeds
  all in one season
• It dies after producing new seeds
• Have an herbaceous stem green fleshy
• Ex. Impatiens, corn, snapdragons

See life cycle
Courtesy of Wm. C. Brown Publishers
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Biennials
Foxglove Digitals purpurea

• Plants that live for two years, then flower and
  die
• Food is produced during the first year, flowers
  the second year
• Ex. Foxglove, carrot, queen Annes lace

See life cycle
Courtesy of Wm. C. Brown Publishers
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Perennials

• Plants that live for three or more years
• Flower for a short time
• Do not die after flowering
• Can be herbaceous or woody having thick stems
  made of wood
• Ex. Tulips, Kentucky bluegrass, trees and shrubs

Bristlecone pine Pinus longaeva
See life cycle
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Back to Annuals
Germination----Growth---Flowering----Death
Back to Perennials
Germination---- Growth---Flowering----Dormancy
One or more flowering cycles
Back to Biennials
Germination---Growth---Dormancy---Growth---Floweri
ng---Death
Season 1
Season 2
Courtesy of Interstate Publishing
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Summary

• What is the difference between an angiosperm and
  a gymnosperm?
• How is a monocot different from a dicot?
• Are evergreens herbaceous or woody plants?
• How would you classify the grass found outside on
  the lawn?

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Summary Cont.

• What makes up the scientific name of a plant?
• Why are scientific names written in Latin?
• In what group would you find mosses? Describe
  their habitat.
• Describe the life cycle of a perennial.
• Name all 7 taxas in the classification system.

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Summary Cont.

• Can I spray Weed-b-gon on a lawn?
• Can I spray Grass-b-gon on day lilies?
• Could I spray Weed-b-gon on my vegetable garden?
• What is the downside to including biennials in a
  perennial flower garden?
• What are some practical classifications I might
  want to give landscape plants?