Plant ID from Descriptions Flashcards

Question

*Plectranthus* 'Mona Lavender'

Answer 1

Herbaceous perennial subshrub, grown as a tender annual. Form: Multi-stemmed, grows upright at first to then becomes loosely rounded. Foliage: Opposite, dark-green, glossy leaves, dark burgundy to purple below. 2" long leaves are dentate and lightly curved and folded down their midline. Fine hairs cover foliage and stems. Young, yellow-green stems add contrast then mature to rich dark purple. Flower: Masses of tubular, lavender-blue flowers flecked with dark purple are carefully arranged on 12" spikes that float above the foliage Bloom period: Midsummer to frost.

Answer 2

D/E: Deciduous Form: Annual / biennial / short lived herbaceous perennial wildflower. Emerges from a central cluster or basal rosette of leaves. Selected cultivars are very short while others are tall and sturdy and don't require staking. Foliage: Leaves are finely toothed to serrate and are covered with hairs; ovate to ovatelanceolate; basal leaves are broader than upper leaves; 3”-7” long and 1”-3” wide. Stems: Stiff, upright, and hairy. Somewhat branching. Flower: Composite 3’ wide flowerheads resemble daisies or sunflowers; ray flowers are bright orange-yellow and disk flowers are brown. Disk flowers are arranged in a dome-shaped pattern. Plants die after flowering. Cut flowers can be long-lasting in water. Some cultivars and varieties have flame red to brown centers and other color variations. Bloom period: Summer through fall

Answer 3

D/E: Deciduous Herbaceous perennial Form: Clump. Foliage mound 8"-30" tall. Flowers on stalks above leaves, scapes may be 10"-48". (Dwarf plants have scapes up to 12" tall.) Foliage: Basal keeled linear leaves, 1/2"-1 1/2" wide, 1'-2' long, depending on cultivar. Dormant foliage stops growing in cold weather, evergreen foliage continues to try to grow. Leaves may not be attractive after flowering. Flower: As many as 30 per scape, 1-12 scapes per plant. Fragrance varies. Each flower lasts one day (some cultivars have flowers that stay open longer). All colors (except pure white and blue), may be deep or pastel, and solid, two-toned or zoned. In form, they may be like a funnel or flattened like a shallow bowl, plain or ruffled. There are a few doubles. Bloom period: Summer. Most have one heavy bloom season of 2-3 weeks and may have slight rebloom in fall. Some cultivars begin to bloom in spring and rebloom off and on into October.

Answer 4

Tender perennial handled as a warm-season tender annual. Form: rounded mound, size depending on cultivar. Foliage: Opposite, round to kidney-shaped, cordate, margins scalloped and crenate-toothed; often with a horseshoe-shaped, dark red zone on the leaf blade. Zonation is variable (depending on parentage and night temperatures) and some cultivars have variegated leaves. Aromatic when brushed or crushed. Flower: Densely-flowered umbels (2"-4" wide) of five-petaled flowers that may be single, semi-double, or double held on upright flower stalks. Colors can be all colors except blue, violet, blue-violet or yellow. Flowers can be bicolored, eyed or speckled. Much variation in flower form. Bloom period: Blooms continuously early summer to light frost.

Answer 5

Tall and bushy annual Foliage: Semi-hairy and most times fragrant. Great variation in the leaf shape and texture but typically opposite & decussate. Flower: 2-lipped, the upper lips erect and hooded, the lower ones 2-toothes and more spreading. Born in panicles or in axillary whorls on erect stems. Colors: Pink, Purple/Lavender, Red/Burgundy, White Bloom Period: Spring-Fall

Answer 6

D/E: Deciduous Herbaceous perennial. Tall spires of small, lavender flowers born on square stems above fragrant gray-green foliage and a "woody" base. Foliage: Finely-dissected, aromatic, gray-green leaves. Stems: Square, upright, woody at base. Flower: Whorls of two-lipped, tubular, lavender flowers tiered in branched, terminal panicles 12"-15" in height. Bloom period: Summer

Answer 7

Tender perennial grown as a half-hardy annual. Heat and humidity tolerant. Form: Prostrate, low-growing, trailing. Foliage: Broadly ovate leaves on mostly alternate stems. Margins entire. Surfaces of leaves and stems covered with sticky hairs. Flower: Miniature, 1" wide, funnel-shaped flowers. Very floriferous. Bloom period: Late spring to frost

Answer 8

D/E: Deciduous Form: Woody vine, twining counter-clockwise. Foliage: Alternate, odd-pinnately compound, 9-15 leaflets that are elliptic, 1 1/2"-2" long by 1 1/4" wide. Bright green above and pubescent beneath. Flower: Flowers are nearly 1” long, pale lilac with yellow eye at the base of the standard, borne in racemes 2"-5" long. They have slight fragrance. Fruit: Pods 2'-4" long and velvety. Bloom period: Main bloom occurs May into June; may rebloom sporadically throughout summer and fall.

Answer 9

D/E: Broadleaf Evergreen; Semi-evergreen Form: Self-clinging vine, climbs by clinging to supports by means of 3-parted tendrils, which arise where 2 leaflets join. At the tip of the tendril are very small discs, which creep into crevices. The tips of the tendrils swell and wedge themselves in tightly. It grows flat against its support. Foliage: Opposite, deciduous, and semi-evergreen (southern climates), 2 leaflets per stalk. Leaflets oblong to ovate, 2"-6" long by 2" wide, glossy green above, turning to purple in the fall. The margin is entire. Stems: When a cross section is taken of the woody stem there is a crosslike pattern of pith in the center, hence the common name. Flower: 2-5 flowers appear in cymes in the leaf axils. The flowers are funnel form, 1"-2" long. Most commonly the flowers are orange or orange-red outside and somewhat lighter inside. They remain attractive for 3 to 4 weeks. Interesting fragrance. Bloom period: Late spring

Answer 10

D/E: Deciduous Clump-forming perennial with glaucus, fleshy, and succulent-like leaves that can range from pale gray-green to purple, are often whorled or alternate, growing from unbranched, upright and slightly speading stems up to 18" tall. Form: Clump forming, upright. Foliage: Rounded, ovate, succulent, slightly scalloped toothed, from gray to green to blue to purple depending on selection. Stems: Unbranched, upright to spreading. Flower: Red to pink to white, small, star-shaped flowers with prominent stamens born in dense, flat cymes. Bloom period: Midsummer to fall

Answer 11

D/E: Deciduous Herbaceous perennial Form: Bushy habit about 24" tall and wide. Gray foliage. Racemes of lavender flowers on arching stems. Foliage: Fragrant. Opposite, gray-green, ovate, cordate at base, densely tomentose. Prominent veins, bluntly toothed. Good all season. Flower: Lavender clusters rising in well separated tiers up the stem (racemes) Bloom period: mid-May through June and into early July.

Answer 12

D/E: Deciduous Herbaceous perennial. Rhizomes at rootstocks close to or on surface. Strap-shape leaves that are nearly always in basil fans. Flowers are large with prominent beard. Form: Upright Foliage: Sword shaped fans; broad. Stems: Smooth Flower: Simple and branched. Flower colors from white, pink, yellow and blue. Some can also be bi-colored. Bloom period: Early spring-summer

Answer 13

D/E: Broadleaf Evergreen; Semi-evergreen Form: Evergreen woody vine that climbs by twining its wiry stems. does not typically form a thick woody trunk. Foliage: Opposite, simple, 1"-3 3/4" long, evergreen, and entire; leaves lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate or elliptic with an acute to acuminate tip and rounded to cuneate base. Foliage is lustrous green in summer and may become yellow-green to purple-green in winter. Flower: Yellow, funnel-shaped with 5 lobes, fragrant, and solitary or in 1 1/2" long cymes. Flowering is dependent on the severity of winter in our region. This plant can be damaged by winter temperatures. Flowers on old growth. Fruit: Compressed capsule with a short beak, 1 1/2"long, and brown. Buds: Loosely aggregated pairs of non-descript scales. Stems: Wiry, glabrous stems that are green in youth, becoming red/brown with age. Bloom period: April

Answer 14

Perennial in frost-free climates, usually grown as annuals elsewhere. Form: Usually found as solitary, long stemmed flowers in bright colors. Foliage: Foliage is opposite and usually sessile (stalkless), Linear to ovate, pale to medium green. Stems: Usually single and erect, occasionally branching and creeping Flower: Single rows of petals to fully double forms. Colors range from white to chartreuse, yellow, orange, red, orange, purple and lilac. Bloom period: Blooms from mid-summer until first frost.

Answer 15

D/E: Deciduous Herbaceous perennial Form: Long-lived, reliable plants with often dramatic foliage and attractive and sometimes fragrant flowers. The range is enormous from 3' high clumps of beefy foliage to tiny tufts 6" high. Clump forming. Foliage: Ovate to lanceolate with entire margins, leaves vary tremendously in size and range in color from dark green, blue, yellow, and cream variegated, some with wavy margins, puckered spots, distinct veins or shiny surfaces. Flower: Erect thick scapes emerge above foliage . Trumpet-shaped flowers in a range of colors from lavender to white. May be small or large and waxy. Usually not fragrant. Bloom period: mid to late summer

Answer 16

D/E: Broadleaf Evergreen Herbaceous perennial Form: Rounded clumps of course textured, dark foliage, 18"-24" tall and wide. Foliage: Shiny, dark green, evergreen basal leaves to over 16" wide, palmately divided into 7-9 leaflets each segment elliptic to oblong with sharply serrated margins. Flower: Several nodding flowers per stalk, each to 3" wide. All colors except true blue. Color fades with age. Sepal remains attached and adds interest as seed pod forms. Bloom period: Bloom usually begins in March.

Answer 17

D/E: Broadleaf Evergreen; Semi-evergreen Form: Herbaceous perennial groundcover, 3"-6" tall, dense mat. Spreads by stolons. Foliage: Deciduous to semi-evergreen; entire, in rosettes arising from stolons, about 2" long and 1" wide; green in the species, or purple, bronze, or variegated in cultivars. Flower: Very showy vivid dark blue in the species, purple, pink or white in cultivars. Bloom period: Spring

Answer 18

Annual Form: Erect and procumbent. Foliage: Ovate to oblong. 2"-4" long. Rough, toothed, mid to dark green. Stems: Square Flower: spike inflorescence, each flower with a tubular corolla spreading at the mouth and slightly 2-lipped with 2 upper petals and 3 lower ones. Colors Blue, Gold/Yellow, Pink, Variegated, White Bloom period: Spring - Fall

Answer 19

D/E: Broadleaf Evergreen; Deciduous Form: Semi-evergreen vine. Foliage: Opposite and ternately to pinnately compound. Leaflets are ovate, acute, cordate with entire margins. Tendrils present. Stems: Slender and light brown in color. Six primary ridges present. Bloom period: Spring - fall Flower: Perfect, large flowers that have anthocyanin pigments. Fruit: Large, pubescent and resembles an old man's beard. Achene, that is 1"-2" long.

Answer 20

D/E: Evergreen Form: Root-clinging, perennial vine. Foliage: Juvenile foliage 1/4"-2" long; mature foliage 3"-6". Stems: Green and thin when young, gray and thick when older. Flower: Insignificant Fruit: Ovoid-pear-shaped, mostly solitary, densely hairy to 2 1/2", green ripening to purple, seldom in a container.

Answer 21

D/E: Deciduous Form: Woody vine, attaching by means of 5-12-branched tendrils with adhesive discs at the ends. As it grows, the larger stems develop aerial roots which will hold it more firmly to the surface. It is much more branching and broadly spreading than Parthenocissus quinquefolia. Forms a very tight, dense wall. Foliage: Alternate, broadly ovate, 4"-8" wide with 3 pronounced lobes that are acuminate at the apex and roughly serrated. Glossy dark green above, and finely pubescent on the veins beneath. When the leaves are young, they are smaller and almost entire. In the fall the leaves turn a brilliant scarlet-crimson. The leaves overlap like shingles, forming a dense covering. Flower: Not of ornamental value. Fruit: The blue-black berries are small.