RECOGNISING PLANT FAMILIES AND IDENTIFYING PLANTS Aim Distinguish between different plant families and to become proficient at identifying plants. The best way to build your ability to identify plants is by working with or handling a variety of different plants on a daily basis. The first ten plant names you learn are always much more difficult than the next ninety. Similarly, the first 100 names are always much more difficult than the next 900. If you plan to be a skilled gardener, landscape designer, or horticulturist: you need to learn to identify hundreds of different plants. As you have seen earlier; there is a system in identifying plant names. BECOME FAMILIAR WITH PLANT FAMILIES If you can get to know the way the system works, and the broad categories, the whole thing starts to make a great deal more sense. Each new name you confront is able to be associated with things and remembered more easily. FOR EXAMPLE: “When I see a plant with a daisy flower, I immediately know that it is in the Asteraceae family. Even if the genus is new to me, I will be more likely to remember it because I’m not only thinking: This is the genus of this new plant, but I am also thinking: This new genus is in the Asteraceae family. In essence, my brain is registering two pieces of information instead of one and that doubles the likelihood of me remembering the plant. BECOME FAMILIAR WITH LATIN Plant naming is based on the ancient Roman language of Latin. For most people scientific names are a foreign language when they start learning them. In the same way that it can be hard to pronounce a French or Chinese word for the language student it can be difficult to pronounce a new plant name for the horticulture student. The horticulture student has one huge advantage though. It doesn’t really matter how you pronounce plant names. The system of plant naming is all about how you write them, and experts all over the world pronounce the same names all sorts of different ways. As you become familiar with different names and more comfortable with using them, it then becomes a great deal easier to read, remember, and even pronounce new names that you come across. ONCE YOU KNOW THE PLANT FAMILY, IT’S A LOT EASIER TO FIND OUT THE GENUS YOUR FIRST AIM Your first important task should be to learn some of the most common plant families, and the things that distinguish plants as belonging to that family.
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RECOGNISING PLANT FAMILIES AND IDENTIFYING PLANTS
Aim
Distinguish between different plant families and to become proficient at identifying plants.
The best way to build your ability to identify plants is by working with or handling a variety of different
plants on a daily basis.
The first ten plant names you learn are always much more difficult than the next ninety.
Similarly, the first 100 names are always much more difficult than the next 900.
If you plan to be a skilled gardener, landscape designer, or horticulturist: you need to learn to identify
hundreds of different plants.
As you have seen earlier; there is a system in identifying plant names.
BECOME FAMILIAR WITH PLANT FAMILIES
If you can get to know the way the system works, and the broad categories, the whole thing starts to
make a great deal more sense. Each new name you confront is able to be associated with things and
remembered more easily.
FOR EXAMPLE:
“When I see a plant with a daisy flower, I immediately know that it is in the Asteraceae family.
Even if the genus is new to me, I will be more likely to remember it because I’m not only thinking: This is
the genus of this new plant, but I am also thinking: This new genus is in the Asteraceae family.
In essence, my brain is registering two pieces of information instead of one and that doubles the
likelihood of me remembering the plant.
BECOME FAMILIAR WITH LATIN
Plant naming is based on the ancient Roman language of Latin.
For most people scientific names are a foreign language when they start learning them.
In the same way that it can be hard to pronounce a French or Chinese word for the language student it
can be difficult to pronounce a new plant name for the horticulture student.
The horticulture student has one huge advantage though. It doesn’t really matter how you pronounce
plant names. The system of plant naming is all about how you write them, and experts all over the world
pronounce the same names all sorts of different ways.
As you become familiar with different names and more comfortable with using them, it then becomes a
great deal easier to read, remember, and even pronounce new names that you come across.
ONCE YOU KNOW THE PLANT FAMILY, IT’S A LOT EASIER TO FIND OUT THE GENUS
YOUR FIRST AIM
Your first important task should be to learn some of the most common plant families, and the things that
distinguish plants as belonging to that family.
When you know a plant belongs to the Asteraceae family, in an attempt to identify it, you may only need
to look through photographs in 2% of a book, of plants belonging to that family. If you don’t know what
family it belongs to though, you may need to look through the entire book.
The first step is to determine if the plant is an Angiosperm (flowering plant) or not.
Angiosperms are plants that produce flowers, and these make up most of our garden and crop plants.
Plants that are not angiosperms include Ferns, Conifers, Mosses and Algae. None of these plants
produce a flower.
If the plant is an Angiosperm it will either be a Dicotyledon or a Monocotyledon.
You can tell these two groups apart easily as follows:
The Protea family also tends to have insignificant petals and like the myrtles, is well represented in
Australian and African flora. These plants tend to have dry, thick leaves. Seeds are large having a mass
of furry hairs attached. Examples of genera include: Protea, Leucadendron, Leucospermum, Banksia,
Leucopogon, Isopogon, Telopea, Dryandra, etc.
ORCHIDACEAE
• A Monocotyledon
• Herbaceous plants
The Orchids include around 15,000 species, mainly from warmer climates, but with some extending into
colder temperate regions. Flowers are showy and complex. The corolla is irregular. The stamens unite
with the pistil to form a structure called the column. All forms are perennial and have thickened roots, or
tuberous or bulbous roots.
LILIACEAE
• A Monocotyledon
• Herbaceous plants
The Lilies include some 2000 species, many being bulbs commonly cultivated for amenity purposes. The
flowers have 6 petals, usually separate, but sometimes fused (joined). The ovary is superior (sits above
the point where you find the base of the petals). Examples include: Asparagus, Allium (onions), Tulipifera
(Tulip), Hyacinthus (Hyacinth), Lilium and Aloe
POACEAE (=Graminae)
• A Monocotyledon
• Most are herbaceous, but not all
The Grasses include around 4500 species. Most are herbaceous though a few are woody (such as the
bamboos).
These include some of our most significant crop plants e.g. wheat, barley and oats.
HOW MANY PLANTS DO YOU NEED TO KNOW?
*This depends on the type of job you have
• Most good horticulture certificates will teach you to identify at least 250 different plants
• Most good diplomas will teach you how to identify at least 1000 different plants.
• A retail nursery may sell 500 to several thousand different plants, and would expect their staff to
be familiar with the majority of plants that are being sold.
• A home garden on a 1000 square metre or quarter acre block of land could contain several dozen
to several hundred different plants. A landscape designer or contractor should be able to identify
all of the plants they are working with.
OTHER WAYS TO LEARN TO IDENTIFY MORE PLANTS
Like most things in life, the more you see a plant, the more likely you are to remember it.
Watch plant identification videos and make notes of what you see.
Check out what is available through our bookshop: http://www.acsbookshop.com
Look at our online plant directory: http://www.acsgarden.com
People who work in nurseries, or visit and browse at nurseries will find it so much easier to learn plant
names than someone who rarely ventures away from a book or computer. Visit some nurseries, and
read the plant labels.
When you propagate, pot up and give away (or sell) dozens of the same plant, the name tends to be
remembered more easily.
Start a Plant Collection. In many of our standard Distance Education courses, we require you to put
together and submit a plant collection. This is a technique that is widely used by other schools around the
world. Even if you do not undertake such a collection as part of a course, it can still be a great way to
build your plant knowledge.
Visit gardens and garden shows and make notes of anything you see (take photos if you can).
Join a garden club, society or association. Mixing and talking with other people who can identify plants
will help develop your own ability.
Visit your local botanical gardens where plants are labelled with their scientific names. When travelling,
visit the botanic gardens in different cities to learn more about different plant varieties and how they grow
in different climates/locations.
WHAT CAN YOU GROW WHERE?
The following selections of plants come from a wide range of climates.
You should be able to find something on this list to grow in most parts of the world.
These articles are presented to raise your awareness of how different environmental factors might affect what can be grown where. You need to consider the fact that such factors don’t only reflect the country or region you come from; but also lots of other considerations that can vary from place to place, even within the one small garden.
GROWING PLANTS IN THE SHADE
One of the many bonuses of trees in the garden is the lovely cool shade they provide over summer.
However, shade from large trees can also cause a range of different problems for plants and gardens:
• Reduced light can restrict plant growth. Many plants in shaded areas will appear weak and leggy, with
poor flowering.
• Shaded areas are cooler than adjacent open areas. Whilst this is generally a benefit to the garden,
growth in shaded areas may be slow in cool climates.
• Shade encourages the growth of moss and algae on the ground (including paths), making them
slippery.
• Water in shaded areas does not dry up so readily.
• Roots from large shade trees compete with smaller plants growing below them.
• Soil under trees can be quite dry, as the overhanging leaf canopy prevents water penetration.
• Foliage from some trees (e.g. conifers) may be toxic to plants below.
• Roots of some trees may give off toxins which inhibit growth of other plants (e.g. Mulberry).
• Leaf or branch drop from trees may smother or damage low-growing plants below.
• Trees restrict ventilation (air movement), which may encourage disease problems in shaded areas.
PLANTS SUITED TO FULL SHADE
Acalypha wilkesiana Agapanthus
Bauera rubioides Begonia
Boronia mollis Bromeliads
Camellia Chlorophytum
Clivia Convallaria (Lily of the valley)
Cotoneaster dammeri Cotoneaster dielsiana
Dampiera diversifolia Daphne odora
Epacris impressa Euphorbia wulfenii
Galanthus (snowdrops) Gyneura sarmentosa
Hedera (Ivy) Helleborus (Christmas rose)
Hosta Hydrangea
Iresine herbstii Impatiens
Iris cristata Kennedya prostrata
Lamium Nandina domestica
Pieris japonica Plumbago capensis
Philodendron Primula
Ranunculus Saxifraga
Selaginella Tetratheca ciliata
Thryptomene Vinca major (Periwinkle)
FERNS GROW WELL IN SHADE
Ferns are ideal for growing in shady areas as they are naturally adapted to growing in conditions of low
light. Different varieties can tolerate different levels of shade and soil moisture, so use the following lists
to choose ferns which suit your particular problem area.
You can find ferns suited for growing in most climates from tropical to very cold climates.
Sun Tolerant Varieties
Ferns are rarely suited to full sun, though the following will perform reasonably well with some direct
sunlight in morning and afternoon.
They will need filtered sunlight in the hottest part of the day and at the hottest time of the year.
Hardy to full sun if soil remains moist and humidity is high: