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Field Activities
A Rose by Any Other Name
Description: Students learn about the process of naming and studying plants by selecting and observing a plant, naming it, and sharing their observations and names with fellow students.
Objective: Students learn:
- that they do not need prior knowledge to identify and enjoy plants;
- about methods of identifi cation and classifi cation of plants;
- some common terms used to describe plants; and
- some methods of plant identifi cation and classifi cation.
Materials: Although this activity can be conducted without any materials, the following items may be useful to have: paper and clipboards colored pencils magnifying glasses or hand lenses copies of student pages field guides (see Resources for suggestions)
Background: Have you ever wondered why plants have the names they have? Is there anything special about the names of plants? The world of plant names is a fascinating realm to explore. Often, understand- ing the name(s) of a plant helps us understand and appreciate the plant itself.
Most plants have several names. The common name is the name most people use for a plant. Each language may have its own common name for an individual plant, and often, especially for plants that have wide geographic ranges, there is more than one common name for each plant. These common names are also used
10. A Rose by Any Other Name
Grades: 4–
Time: 45 minutes to an hour and half, depending on class size
Subjects: science
Terms: scientific nomenclature, genus, species, binomial
Field Activities for different plants, especially in different regions. Using only common names can result in much confusion. Since many plants have important properties, such as medicinal or food uses, it is important to communicate very clearly about which plant you are discussing.
Carolus Linnaeus (1707–1778), a Swedish scientist, developed a system ( Species Plantarum, 1753) for giving each plant species its own unique name. This name is called the plant’s “scientific name” and follows Linnaeus’s formula for “scientific nomenclature.” The species name, sometimes called a binomial, has two main parts: the genus and the specifi c epithet (descriptor). Other parts of the species name include the author(s) who have fi rst identifi ed the plant and the family name that groups related genera (plural of genus) together.
The genus is the fi rst word in the binomial and is always capitalized. Although it comes first, it is more like a person’s last name. The genus describes a group of plants that are related. The second word, or the specific epithet, is unique within that genus to one spe- cies of plant. It is usually not capitialized. It is easy to think of the specific epithet like someone’s first name. For example, at school there may be several people named Katie, but in a family there is usually only one person with that name. To keep the Katies straight at school, a last name is often used. This is usually the same last name as other members of each Katie’s family. People familiar with Katie’s brother may be able to recognize that she is related to him either by her last name or by similar features.
Plants are like that too. The scientifi c name for the cottonwood found in the Middle Rio Grande bosque is Populus deltoides var. wislizenii. These names mean it is a tree (wood) with cottony seed. The genus Populus shows it is a poplar tree; deltoides refers to the leaf shape (deltoid or triangular); and the last name is for Frederick A. Wislizenus, who collected plant specimens in New Mexico in
There are several kinds of poplars or cottonwoods that grow in New Mexico. The Fremont cottonwood found in the San Juan and Gila Rivers is Populus fremontii. Populus angustifolia or narrowleaf
Virgin’s bowe r (Clematis ligusticifolia)
Field Activities
- Designate boundaries for the area where students can search for plants. This could be as simple as “do not get out of sight of this ‘designated landmark’.” Also designate a meeting time and a meeting place for students to return to start the nature hike.
- Ask students to select a plant that they would like to observe and name. Students should draw the plant or take notes about it. Students may want to refer to the Guide to Observing Plants student page to help describe the shape and ar- rangement of its leaves and characteristics of the flower or fruit. Students can also look for clues about where the plant grows. Does it seem to like the sun or the shade? Does it appear to need lots of moisture? Are there any plants that it seems to grow next to? What does the plant feel like? Does it have a smell? Does it make a noise when the wind blows? Once students have at least three interesting observations about the plant, they can create a name or names (common and/or scientifi c, or in other languages) for their plant.
- While students are exploring the designated area and selecting, observing, and naming plants, circulate among the students to assist with individual questions. Most students will need fi ve to 10 minutes for this part of the activity.
- Assemble the group together again, and explain that the group is going on a guided nature walk to each person’s plant. Ask a student to lead the group to his or her plant. Have the student introduce the group to his or her plant and explain his or her name for the plant. Ask if any other students selected the same kind (species) of plant. What was their name? Ask the students to share at least two of the special observations they have made. If you know the plant, you can add additional information about the plant here, but the activity works well without any previous plant knowledge. Ask if any other students have a plant nearby and move on to the next plant until all students have shown and discussed their plant.
Assessment: Assessment can be based on participation and noting the care and quality of the students’ observations.
Sacred datura (Datura wrightii)
Field Activities
Extensions: 1. Students may want to learn more about their plants. With field guides, and even the plant identifi cation cards in the “Who Grows Where?” activity, they can try to identify the plants they have become familiar with on their nature hike. An easy way to learn new plants is to invite someone who knows the plants of an area along to teach them to you.
- Students may want to research the different names for their plants. Most fi eld guides give both the English common name or names and the scientifi c name. Spanish plant names can be found in many sources as well. Interviews are another excellent way to collect common names for plants. A list of web sites for plants is included below.
Resources/ References: There are many references to help with plant study and plant identification. Complete citations can be found in Appendix B, but here is a quick list of fi eld guides that have plants that occur in the bosque. Allred, Kelly. 1997. A Field Guide to the Grasses of New Mexico, 2nd. ed. Agricultural Experiment Station, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces. Dunmire, William, and Gail Tierney. 1995. Wild Plants of the Pueblo Province. Museum of New Mexico Press, Santa Fe. Ivey, Robert DeWitt. 1986 and 1995. Flowering Plants of New Mexico. R.D. Ivey, Albuquerque.
There are also many web pages that contain information about plants. Here is a list of some of them:
A Working Index of New Vascular Plant Names is maintained by Kelly Allred at NMSU. All alien species are marked with an asterisk (*^ ). This list is available on the web at http://web.nmsu. edu/~kallred/herbweb/
Here are some other web sites as well. www.hcs.ohio-state.edu www.noble.org www.desertusa.com www.biosurvey.ou.edu www.laspilates.com www.fs.fed/database www.nrcs.gov/plants
Annual sunfl ower (Helianthus annus)
Student Field Activity
entire wavy sinuate serrate double dentate lobed serrate (toothed)
- If your plant is a forb, where do the leaves grow?
rosette basal along the stem
needle thread^
linear
lanceolate
oblanceolate (^) deltoid
spatulate ovate obovate elliptic
parallel net pinnate palmate
- What shape is your leaf or leafl ets?
- What kind of margin (or edge) does your leaf have?
- What kind of pattern do the veins in your leaf make?
Student Field Activity
Common Botanical Terms
Botanists use many special words to describe plants in very precise ways. Many of these words are very specific to distinct features, so they are not used in normal conversation. They are true English words, though (and legal for use in Scrabble®!).
Here is a list of some of the more common botanical terms that are used in this Guide to Observing Plants. Most of these terms are from Plant Identification Terminology: An Illustrated Glossary, by James G. Harris and Melinda Woolf Harris, published in 1994 and 2001 by Spring Lake Publishing of Payson, Utah.
tree: a large, woody plant that at maturity is over 10 feet (3 meters) tall
shrub: a woody plant, usually with several stems, that is generally under 10 feet (3 meters) tall
herb: a non-woody plant; stems die back to the ground at the end of the growing season; herbs include graminoids and forbs
grass: an herb that is in a family of plants that has jointed, tubular stems, leaf parts that include a sheath, ligule, and blade, and modified fl owers that produce grains
graminoid: an herbaceous plant that either is a grass or looks like a grass
forb: a non-grasslike, herbaceous plant
simple: undivided, as a leaf blade not separated into leafl ets
compound: with two or more parts in one organ
opposite: having two parts across from each other at each node, as in leaves on a stem
alternate: having only one part at each node, as in leaves on a stem
blade: the broad part of a leaf or petal
petiole: a leaf stalk
rachis: the main axis of a structure, such as a compound leaf or an infl orescence (cluster of flowers)
abcission layer: a thin wall of cells at the base of the leaf petiole that breaks down and causes the leaf to fall
node: the position on the stem where leaves or branches originate
internode: the portion of the stem between two nodes
rosette: a dense, radiating cluster of leaves
basal: positioned at or arising from the base, as leaves arising from the base of the stem
clasping: wholly or partly surrounding the stem
pinnate: resembling a feather, as in a compound leaf with leafl ets arranged on opposite sides of an elongated axis
