Introduction Like us, trees have names and are organized into families. Most of the families are arranged so that similar trees are grouped, or related. This usually means that trees with similar characters like leaf shape, flower patterns, bark, and fruit type are put together. We call this idea of grouping things at different levels a hierarchy. We use hierarchies all the time to explain the order of things. Consider your family tree or the way our government is set up with the President at the top. We use this concept of ordering to organize all living things because to understand and study our natural world, we need a way to understand how they are related. To organize living things, a specific name is assigned that is made of two parts, the genus name and the specific epithet. Together these two names make the species name and we refer to this type of naming as binomial nomenclature. These names are in Latin, which helped to standardize the names for living things around the world. Most living things also have common names, but these can vary across different cultures making it confusing at times. The Latin name given to a species usually reflects something about its character or is named after the person that discovered it. We define species names through writing descriptions of what they look like, including any sort of expressive term like measurements and color that distinguishes this species from the next. We will include common names with the scientific names in the activity. Wouldn’t you like to have something named after you that would be recorded forever? We would like to introduce a gymnosperm family, or trees with “naked seeds,” and an angiosperm family, or flowering producing trees as the two examples for this lesson. The Pinaceae, or Pine family is commonly considered to be evergreen because of their needle-like leaves and the Fagaceae, or Oak family is considered to be deciduous because they lose their leaves in the winter. These are two of the plant families represented in the tree collection of the Smithsonian Gardens and will give you an idea of how trees are named. A Tree of Trees: What’s in a name? Family hierarchy: Example: Family name Pinaceae Species name (2 parts) Pinus virginiana Genus Pinus Specific epithet virginiana www.gardens.si.edu
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A Tree of Trees: What's in a name? - Smithsonian Gardens
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Introduction
Like us, trees have names and are organized into families. Most of the families are arranged so that similar trees are grouped, or related. This usually means that trees with similar characters like leaf shape, flower patterns, bark, and fruit type are put together. We call this idea of grouping things at different levels a hierarchy. We use hierarchies all the time to explain the order of things. Consider your family tree or the way our government is set up with the President at the top. We use this concept of ordering to organize all living things because to understand and study our natural world, we need a way to understand how they are related.
To organize living things, a specific name is assigned that is made of two parts, the genus name and the specific epithet. Together these two names make the species name and we refer to this type of naming as binomial nomenclature. These names are in Latin, which helped to standardize the names for living things around the world. Most living things also have common names, but these can vary across different cultures making it confusing at times. The Latin name given to a species usually reflects something about its character or is named after the person that discovered it. We define species names through writing descriptions of what they look like, including any sort of expressive term like measurements and color that distinguishes this species from the next. We will include common names with the scientific names in the activity. Wouldn’t you like to have something named after you that would be recorded forever?
We would like to introduce a gymnosperm family, or trees with “naked seeds,” and an angiosperm family, or flowering producing trees as the two examples for this lesson. The Pinaceae, or Pine family is commonly considered to be evergreen because of their needle-like leaves and the Fagaceae, or Oak family is considered to be deciduous because they lose their leaves in the winter. These are two of the plant families represented in the tree collection of the Smithsonian Gardens and will give you an idea of how trees are named.
A Tree of Trees: What’s in a name?
Family hierarchy: Example: Family name Pinaceae Species name (2 parts) Pinus virginiana Genus Pinus Specific epithet virginiana
www.gardens.si.edu
Learning Goals:
Students will learn about scientific inquiry and how things are related and grouped together, or put into a hierarchy
Strengthen classification and organizational
skills
Learn how to use a dichotomous key
Use measuring tools to compare and order
things
What you’ll need: Activity sheet with pictures Notebook/ paper Colored pencils Ruler Magnifying glass or small hand-lens Camera (if possible for the teacher)
In the classroom or at home: Read introduction and review vocabulary. Discuss what it means to classify, or group things together and introduce what a dichotomous key is and how it is can be used to help identify organisms. These keys are similar to a “chose your own adventure,” because you have questions and make choices that lead to the next step. * Next discuss how all living things are grouped together and given names, similar to the way we are named. Discuss how humans’ scientific Latin name is Homo sapiens and how our common name is our given family name, like George Washington. Explain that one level of grouping is considered to be a family, the next level a genus, and the last level the specific epithet. The genus and specific epithet name form the species name. Share the two plant family trees from this lesson with your students and go over the definitions of the Latin names. Please note that these are two examples of plant hierarchies, and examples from the Smithsonian Gardens, but there are more names that would normally be on the family trees for both families. Have students complete the activity using the dichotomous key to figure out the names of the pine and oak trees from the images provided. Get outside: Use the images provided to go out and find a pine or oak around your school or community. Or explore the grounds of the Smithsonian Gardens and see if you can locate some of the trees indicated on the family trees in this lesson. The trees used here are located in the following gardens: NMNH, RIPLEY, HSG, NMAI, and HAUPT. Use the map of the garden to find your way.
Outside Activity: First, find a shady spot under a tree and have students group themselves together depending on height. They can decide how many groups to make. Next, they can divide their groups into subgroups depending on hair color and then by shoe size. Finally, come up with a name in two parts that describes your group. Have each group share their hierarchy with the rest of the class. Ask these questions:
o Do you see how this is similar to the Pine and Oak family tree examples?
o Do you see how we use characters to organize and group things together?
For Teachers: Answers for the following activity sheets.
* Review plant descriptions and introduce terms for parts of trees
www.gardens.si.edu
Pinaceae Family: 1 – Pinus bungeana, 2 – P. virginiana, 3 – P. thunbergii, 4 – P. cembra, 5 – P. pinea