Families

Question 1

4 petals
6 stamens (4 tall, 2 short)

Answer 1

Mustard family (Brassicaceae)

Question 2

Weedy species with short lifecycles like the radish. Look for them in disturbed soils such as a garden or construction site, where the ground is exposed to rapid drying by the sun and wind. Sprout quickly and grow fast, flowering and setting seed early in the season before all moisture is lost from the ground.

Answer 2

Mustard family (Brassicaceae)

Question 3

Cabbage, cauliflower, kohlrabi, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, and kale

Answer 3

Mustard family (Brassicaceae)

Question 4

Square stalks and opposite leaves, often aromatic.

Answer 4

Mint family (Lamiaceae)

Question 5

The rich, spicy quality of these plants makes them useful in cooking, and nearly half the spices in your kitchen come from this one family, including basil, rosemary, lavender, marjoram, germander, thyme, savory, horehound, plus culinary sage

Answer 5

Mint family (Lamiaceae)

Question 6

Medicinally this family is rich in volatile oils, often used as the penetrating vapors in cough drops. These spicy oils are stimulating and warming, causing the body to open up and sweat; so most of these plants are listed as diaphoretic in herbal books. This property can help you break a fever. A fever is the body’s way of “cooking” the microorganisms that cause infections. Using a diaphoretic herb can help raise a mild fever just high enough to “cook” a virus, thus “breaking” or ending the fever. Volatile oils are also highly lethal to microorganisms.

Answer 6

Mint family (Lamiaceae)

Question 7

You can safely eat from any plants in these families.

Answer 7

Mustard family (Brassicaceae)
Mint family (Lamiaceae)

Question 8

5 sepals, all fused together so that only the tips are separate. The 5 petals are also fused together, but note how asymmetrical or “irregular” the flowers are

Answer 8

Mint family (Lamiaceae)

Question 9

Compound umbels. Usually hollow flower stalks.

Answer 9

Parsley / carrot family (Apiaceae)

Question 10

Carrot and parsnip, plus more aromatic spices found in your spice cabinet, such as anise, celery, chervil, coriander, caraway, cumin, dill, fennel and of course, parsley

Answer 10

Parsley / carrot family (Apiaceae)

Question 11

These families contain plants that are not safe for consumption.

Answer 11

Parsley / carrot family (Apiaceae)
Pea / Legume family (Fabaceae)
Mallow family (Malvaceae)

Question 12

Includes the deadliest plants in North America: poison hemlock and water hemlock

Answer 12

Parsley / carrot family (Apiaceae)

Question 13

“Compound umbels”. Notice how all the stems of the flower cluster radiate from a single point at the end of the stalk, kind of like an umbrella. At the end of each of these flower stems there is another umbrella of even smaller stems, hence the “compound umbrella” or “compound umbel”. To be a true umbel, the stems or spokes must all radiate from exactly the same point

Answer 13

Parsley / carrot family (Apiaceae)

Question 14

“Banner, wings, and keel”. Pods, often with pinnate leaves.

Answer 14

Pea / Legume family (Fabaceae)

Question 15

These are irregular flowers, with 5 petals forming a distinctive “banner, wings, and keel”, as shown in the illustration. The banner is a single petal with two lobes though it looks like two that are fused together. Two more petals form the wings. The remaining two petals make up the keel and are usually fused together. The proportions of the parts may vary from one species to another

Answer 15

Pea / Legume family (Fabaceae)

Question 16

Clover, licorice, peony, alfalfa, redbuds

Answer 16

Pea / Legume family (Fabaceae)

Question 17

Flowers with parts in threes. Sepals and petals usually identical.

Answer 17

Lily family (Liliaceae)

Question 18

Showy monocot flowers with parts in threes. 3 sepals and 3 petals, which are identical in size and color (often referred to as 6 tepals). There are 6 stamens, but some species lack anthers on some of the stamens. The overy is positioned superior and consists of 3 united carpels, as indicated by the same number of stigmas. Partition walls are present, forming an equal number of chambers. The ovary matures as a capsule or a berry with 3 to numerous seeds.

Answer 18

Lily family (Liliaceae)

Question 19

5 separate petals and a column of stamens. Mucilaginous texture.

Answer 19

Mallow family (Malvaceae)

Question 20

Funnel-shaped flower with 5 separate petals and a distinctive column of stamens surrounding the pistil. There are also 3-5 partially united sepals, often surrounded by several bracts. Crush any part of the plant and rub it between your fingers. You will notice a mucilaginous (slimy) texture, even in seemingly dry, desert species.

Answer 20

Mallow family (Malvaceae)

Question 21

Hollyhock, hibiscus, okra, and cotton are members of this family.

Answer 21

Mallow family (Malvaceae)

Question 22

The plants contain natural gums called mucilage, pectin, and asparagin, which gives them a slimy texture when crushed. It is the presence of these gums that creates the marshmallow effect. Mostly edible as a salad greens and potherbs, although not very commonly used, probably due to their slimy consistency. The flowers and seeds are also edible.

Answer 22

Mallow family (Malvaceae)

Question 23

The mucilaginous quality may be used just like the unrelated Aloe vera or cactus: externally as an emollient for soothing sunburns and other inflamed skin conditions, or internally as a demulcent and expectorant for soothing sore throats.

Answer 23

Mallow family (Malvaceae)

Question 24

Cotton is the only member of this family with documented poisonous properties. All others seem to be safe for edible and medicinal uses.

Answer 24

Mallow family (Malvaceae)

Question 25

Composite Flowers in disk-like heads.

Answer 25

Sunflower family (Asteraceae)

Question 26

what first seems to be a single large flower is actually a composite of many smaller flowers. You can see that there are hundreds of little flowers growing on a disk, each producing just one seed. Each "disk flower" has 5 tiny petals fused together, plus 5 stamens fused around a pistil with antennae-like stigmas.

Answer 26

Sunflower family (Asteraceae)

Question 27

Look closely at the big "petals" that ring the outside of the flower head, and you will see that each petal is also a flower, called a "ray flower," with it's petals fused together and hanging to one side.

Answer 27

Sunflower family (Asteraceae)

Question 28

Have either disk flowers, ray flowers, or both. When the seeds are ripe and fall away, you are left with a pitted disk that looks strikingly like a little garden plot where all the tiny flowers were planted.

Answer 28

Sunflower family (Asteraceae)

Question 29

The flower head is typically wrapped in green sepal-like "bracts" (modified leaves) surrounding the disk. The true sepals (found around individual flowers) have been reduced to small scales, or often transformed into a hairy "pappus", or sometimes eliminated altogether.

Answer 29

Sunflower family (Asteraceae)

Question 30

One of the best clues for identifying members of this family is to look for the presence of multiple layers of bracts beneath the flowers. This is not a foolproof test, only a common pattern.

Answer 30

Sunflower family (Asteraceae)

Question 31

Look inside the flower head for the presence of the little disk and ray flowers. Keep in mind that many members of this family have no obvious outer ring of petals, including sagebrush.

Answer 31

Sunflower family (Asteraceae)

Question 32

Dandelion, yarrow, artichoke, calendula, thistle, arnica

Answer 32

Sunflower family (Asteraceae)

Question 33

Mallow family scientific name

Answer 33

Malvaceae

Question 34

Sunflower family scientific name

Answer 34

Asteraceae

Question 35

Lily family scientific name

Answer 35

Liliaceae

Question 36

Pea family scientific name

Answer 36

Fabaceae

Question 37

Parsley family scientific name

Answer 37

Apiaceae

Question 38

Mustard family scientific name

Answer 38

Brassicaceae

Question 39

Mint family scientific name

Answer 39

Lamiaceae

Question 40

Knee-like nodes on hollow flower stems.

Answer 40

Grass family (Poaceae)

Question 41

Grass family scientific name

Answer 41

Poaceae

Question 42

Wind pollinated and lack showy petals and sepals of other flowers.

Answer 42

Grass family (Poaceae)

Question 43

Wheat, rice, wild rice, corn, oats, barley, sugar cane, and rye.

Answer 43

Grass family (Poaceae)

Question 44

"Sedges have edges. Rushes are round. [This family] have nodes where the leaves are found.

Answer 44

Grass family (Poaceae)

Question 45

Rose family scientific name

Answer 45

Rosaceae

Question 46

5 sepals and 5 petals with usually numerous stamens. Oval, serrated leaves.

Answer 46

Rose family (Rosaceae)

Question 47

Apple, strawberry, cherry blossom, almond

Answer 47

Rose family (Rosaceae)

Question 48

Alternate leaves which vary from simple to trifoliate, palmate, or pinnate. Whole leaves or smaller leaflets are frequently more or less oval-shaped with serrated edges.

Answer 48

Rose family (Rosaceae)

Question 49

Many different fruits, varying from fleshy fruits to various false fruits, dry seeds, capsules, or follicles.

Answer 49

Rose family (Rosaceae)