Plant Classifications and Key Terms

Question 1

Why bother learning the scientific names of plants? (3 answers)

Answer 1

1. Plants can have several common names, but only have one scientific name.
2. Scientific names are universal and can be used to communicate across languages and cultures.
3. Scientific names can give us clues about botanical relationships and possible overlapping medicinal and edible uses.

Question 2

List the hierarchy of taxonomy from the largest grouping to the most specific scientific name.

Answer 2

1. Beingdom (eg. Plantae)
2. Order (eg. Apiales)
3. Family (eg. Apiaceae)
4. Genus (eg. Angelica)
5. Species (eg. archangelica)

Question 3

What are the three abbreviations found in any given scientific name?

Answer 3

1. spp - signifies all of the species in a given genus.
2. sp - signifies that the species is unknown.
3. the abbreviated genus name, used when there is a list of species and the genus has already been written immediately before. (eg. Populus trichocarpa and P. balsamifera. P. = Populus)

Question 4

How do you convey a hybrid in scientific names?

Answer 4

With an “x” between the Genus and Species. (eg. Peppermint is Mentha x piperita)

Question 5

What is the name of the system used to document the plant families of the world, what does their acronym mean, and what is the system based on?

Answer 5

APG III (the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group) is based on genetics.

Question 6

Who is the APG formed by, what do they do, and how often do they do it?

Answer 6

The Angiosperm Phylogeny Group is formed by plant taxonomists who gather every 5-10 years to come to a consensus on how we should categorize plants.

Question 7

Name the Umbel Family (carrot, parsley, etc.)

Answer 7

Apiaceae

Question 8

Name the Mint Family

Answer 8

Lamiaceae

Question 9

Name the Rose Family

Answer 9

Rosaceae

Question 10

Name the Legume Family (beans, peas, etc.)

Answer 10

Fabaceae

Question 11

Name the Buttercup Family (crowfoot, spearwort, etc.)

Answer 11

Ranunculaceae

Question 12

Name the Sunflower Family (daisy, aster, etc.)

Answer 12

Asteraceae

Question 13

Name the Nightshade family

Answer 13

Solanaceae

Question 14

Name the Grass Family

Answer 14

Poaceae

Question 15

Define Deciduous

Answer 15

A plant that regularly sheds its leaves.

Question 16

Define Evergreen

Answer 16

A plant that retains its leaves throughout the year.

Question 17

Define Annual

Answer 17

A plant that completes its lifecycle in one year or one growing season.

Question 18

Define Biennial

Answer 18

A plant that is purely vegetative (nonreproducing) in the first year of its life, then completes its lifecycle in the second year of its life.

Question 19

Define Perennial

Answer 19

A plant that lives for more than 2 years.

Question 20

Define Herbaceous

Answer 20

A plant that does not develop any woody growth - its growth is typically green and pliable.

Question 21

Define Herbaceous Perennial

Answer 21

A plant that regrows from dormant roots every year, and do not leave any woody growth aboveground.

Question 22

Define Woody Perennial

Answer 22

A plant that regrows from buds on woody growth every year.

Question 23

Define Fruit

Answer 23

A ripened ovary, enclosing one or many seeds. May be hard and woody, or soft and fleshy - it is any reproductive organ that encases the seed.

Question 24

Define Angiosperm

Answer 24

A plant that produces flowers and bears seeds enclosed in a fruit. (angio = vessel, sperm = seed)

Question 25

How many of the 330,000 recognized “true plants” of the Plantae Beingdom are angiosperms?

Answer 25

310,000

Question 26

Define Gymnosperm

Answer 26

A plant that doesn’t produce its seeds in enclosed fruit. (gymno = naked, sperm = seed)

Question 27

How many of the 330,000 recognized “true plants” of the Plantae Beingdom are gymnosperms, and what is the most familiar type?

Answer 27

1,000 and conifers.