
First, What type of plant is it?
- Woody tall plant – shrub or tree
- Broad leafed – has leaves and flowers (Angiosperm)
- Evergreen – has needles and cones (Gymnosperm)
2. Herbs and other plants
- Monocot or Dicot
- Monocots have one root, one seed leaf, parallel veins on leaves, and floral parts such as petals in multiples of three
- Bulbed flowers like lilies, daffodils, and irises
- Orchids
- Grasses
- Dicots have multiple roots, two seed leaves, palmate veins on leaves, and floral parts in multiples of 4 or 5
- Monocots have one root, one seed leaf, parallel veins on leaves, and floral parts such as petals in multiples of three
- Monocot or Dicot
3. Ferns and other plants with spores – including mosses and horsetails (pteridophytes and bryophytes)
4. Water Plants
Next, what do the leaves look like?
- Evergreen or deciduous
- Color
- Simple (one leaf per stem) or compound (multiple leaflets)
- Compound can be pinnate (leaves alternate on stem) or palmate (leaves arise from one central point)
- Compound can be alternate, opposite, or whorled
- Leaf Shape
- Needle
- Lanceolate (like a lance)
- Oblanceolate (oblong)
- Elliptical
- Spatulate – spatula shaped
- Ovate – egg shaped
- Cordate – heart shaped
- Linear – long, narrow, parallel sides
- Trifoliate – three leaves like a clover
- Dissected – Many segments, feather like
- Leaf attachment – petiolate, sessile, or clasping
- Petiolate – has a stalk that attaches to the stem
- Sessile – attaches directly to the stem
- Clasping – wraps around the stem
- Edges: serrated, lobed, or smooth
- Veins – palmate (arise from one central point) or parallel
Take a look at the stems; is it…
- Hairy
- Striped
- Spiked
Can’t miss the flowers…
- Color
- Bloom month
- Size
- Plant type (tree, shrub, vine, wildflower, etc…)
- Individual flower or cluster (inflorescense)
- Spike – flowers have no stalk (sessile). Youngest flowers at the top.
- Raceme – each flower has a stalk (pedicilled). Youngest flowers at the top.
- Panicle – Raceme with a group of flowers instead of just one on a stalk
- Corymb – pedicels are differing lengths – flat or round top
- Umbel – pedicels arising from a common point with a flat or convex top
- Cyme – inflorescense where terminal flowers bloom first
- Helicoid cyme – coiled inflorescense
- Cluster: many flowers on one stem
- Many flowers arise from one central point
- Flower shape: symmetrical or irregular
- Petals
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7 or more rays
- Many petals
- One (fused) like a bell or trumpet
- A few
After the plant is done flowering…fruit, seeds and cones can be identified.
If you feel like digging, check out the roots.
- Taproot or fibrous root
- Rhizome – thick stem on the ground that looks like a root
Finally, here are some great websites if you need help with plant identification:
- United States Department of Agriculture: http://plants.usda.gov/
- Tropicos by the Missouri Botanical Gardens: http://www.tropicos.org/