Posts

Scavenger Hunt: Plant Family

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Snapchat-20140924052818

 

Solanum lycopersicum

Tomato

This is a tomato plant from my garden. Its in the Solanaceae family because it has a superior ovary and the fruit consists of two carpels. If you look closely you can see someone in the background.

IMG_0030

 

Solidago canadensis

 

Canada Goldenrod

I found this Canada Goldenrod on the Alum Creek Trail. I knew it was in the Asteraceae family because of the complex compound flowers, their daisy like appearance also helps. Inside the flower head are a lot of tiny achene fruits which are also typical of Asteraceae.

Scavenger Hunt: Sight ID

Lonicera sp.

IMG_0225

 

Honeysuckle found in the alley by my apartment.

The opposite leaves with paired red fruit made me think it was Honeysuckle. upon further inspection I saw that the pith inside the stems was hollow which is common to honeysuckles.

Vitis Sp.

IMG_0224

 

This is Wilde grape vine that I found along the Scioto Trail at Scioto Audubon Metro Park. I noticed that it was wild grape vine because of the leaf shape and it was a large vine the was growing everywhere. there were also a few purple fruits still present on the plant which confirmed that this was Wild Grape Vine.

Scavenger Hunt: Special Characters

Perennial Pea

Lathyrus latifolius

IMG_0230 IMG_0229

 

I found this perennial pea in the alley outside of my apartment. These produce a dry legume fruit which is a single carpel that encloses several seeds. in my photos the legumes have already split open and dropped their seeds. You can see they split into two and then curled.

 

White Sweet Clover

Melilotus albus

IMG_0217

 

I found this plant in a field at Scioto Audubon Metro Park. It produces a raceme inflorescent. Raceme inflorescence have many flowers being produced on the same stalk.

Brittney’s Scavenger Hunt

1390769_10154640234425258_2965337169487823876_n10625162_10154643481715258_1764154211567403172_n

Rosa sp.

This plant was found during the field trip to the Chadwick Arboretum and learning garden. It was cultivated along the roadside of Lane Ave.

Rosa sp. is a member of the Rosaceae family. This plant was identified as a cultivated rose due to the thorn-like structure on the stem (prickles), radial symmetry and the alternate leave pattern. It is what we commonly know as a rose. Some conserved characteristics of this family include the alternate leaves, stipules at the base of the petiole, actinomorphic and contain a hypanthiym.

(ignore that it is in blue font and underline, I do not know how that got that way nor do I know how to change it)

 

10409361_10154643564490258_2683010467400014903_n 10553309_10154640232215258_1688192647089591876_n

This plant was found in the courtyard of Jennings Hall.

This is a member of the Poaceae family, also commonly known as the grass family. A conserved characteristic that helped identify this plant to family is the fact that it is a grass because of its hollow round open leaf sheath. Other conserved characteristics include tiny wind pollinated flowers, parallel venation, and they are monocot.

 

10646770_10154640230855258_2269572919400449669_n

It is possibly a shrub of the Rosaceae family. Aronia berry

Aronia sp.

This plant was found outside of Jennings Hall.

This is a plant with berries. It was keyed as a berry because I squished the berry like structure and it was fleshy both inside and outside. It contains a black berry, with alternate, serrate leaves.

10671278_10154643599180258_807590251899854062_n 10685382_10154643598500258_3438521250180101876_n

Through Newcomb’s it was not keyed correctly, however it may have been closely related to the Swamp Fly Honeysuckle

Lonicera oblongifolia

Similarities of the two are that the leaves are oblong, the berries are red and the leaves are entire and opposite, however the Swamp Fly Honeysuckle blooms in late spring. It is now fall as this picture is being taken.

This plant was found along the roadside of Henderson Rd.

This plant has opposite, simple, entire leaves. It was keyed because the leaf arrangement are next to each other along the stem, on the opposite sides of the stem, they contain one leaf per petiole, meaning they are simple, and the margins of the leaf are smooth, meaning entire.

10653654_10154640232780258_4135503616695545315_n

Taraxacum officinale

Known as a Common Dandelion

This plant was also found during the field trip to Chadwick Arboretum and learning garden.

It was keyed to species because growing up, we all know what a dandelion is. However, it is commonly known to know an all yellow head.

Andropogon gerardii

Big Blue Stem

This picture was taken in the middle of the driveway to the parking lot at Cedar Bog.

This plant is one of the three main prairie grasses. It was keyed to Big Blue Stem because it was spoken about during the field trip to Cedar Bog. It’s characteristics include its tall height, it’s coloring of being reddish purple bronze, and it’s flowering part looking similar to that of a turkey’s foot.

image

Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)

IMG_0058[1]
The dandelion is the perfect example of basal leaf plant because all of the leaves are coming out the ground at the same point in a circular formation around the flowering stem. This arrangement has the leaves coming up from the ground and not along any main stem or branch like other plants.

Sycamore (Platanus occidentalis)

IMG_0045[1]
Here is a sycamore tree (Platanus occidentalis) found growing by Chadwick learning gardens. The sycamore has a distinct bark color with smooth white bark high on the tree with flaky brown bark at the base. The leaf arrangement is alternate making it a dead give away that the tree is in fact a Sycamore.