Plant List Week 01

Question 1

Answer 1

Cercis occidentalis

Common Name: Western Redbud

Family: Fabaceae

Look for:

• multiple bare, smooth trunks,
• rounded, cordate leaves with a smooth margin,
• flattened legumes (green from the current year, brown from previous years)
  and (in the springtime)
• a profusion of pink and purple papilionaceous flowers.

Question 2

Answer 2

Genista x spachiana

Common Name: Florist Genista

Family: Fabaceae

Look For:

Look for:
- small leaves that fall off in the summertime,
- tough, green stems that allow the plant to photosynthesize year-round,
and
- long, loose spikes of fragrant flowers in late spring.

Question 3

Answer 3

Lupinus ssp.

Common Name: Lupine

Family: Fabaceae

Look for:
- brightly-colored, papillionaceous flowers (with banners, wings, and keels),
- upright conical or cylindrical racemes, often with the flowers in regular whorls,
and (most distinctively)
- alternate, palmately compound leaves with 9-15 lanceolate leaflets.

Question 4

Answer 4

Mimosa ssp.

Common Name: Sensitive Plant

Family: Fabaceae

Look for:
- a low-growing plant or small shrub,
- hairs and thorns along the stem,
- pink or white “puffball” flowers (when in bloom),
and
- delicate, bipinnately-compound leaves that respond to touch by folding up.

Question 5

Answer 5

Wisteria sinensis

Common Name: Chinese Wisteria

Family: Fabaceae

Look for:
- leaves that are odd-pinnate with 9-13 lanceolate leaflets,
and
- numerous flowers in drooping racemes, 6-12 inches long.

Question 6

Answer 6

Ajuga reptans

Common Name: Carpet Bugie

Family: Lamiaceae

Look for:
- a mat of waxy, dark green foliage spreading by stolons,
- opposite, elliptic leaves with entire margins,
- vertical stalks of blue or purple flowers sticking up 6-8 inches,
- clumps of small flowers on opposite sides of the stalk, subtended by an oval, leaf-like bract,
and
- tubular corollas with broad lower lips that are lobed into the shape of a gingerbread man.

Question 7

Answer 7

Rosmarinus officinalis

Common Name: Rosemary

Family Name: Lamiaceae

Look for:

• narrow leaves that are green on top and silvery-pale below
  and
• pale blue flowers with arching stamens that deposit pollen on the backs of visiting insects.

Question 8

Answer 8

Magnolia liliiflora

Common Name: Lily Flowered Magnolia

Family Name: Magnoliaceae

Look for:
- bright purple flower buds standing upright on bare branches in the spring,
- flowers that are white inside, purplish outside,
and
- leaves are 4-6 inches long.

Question 9

Answer 9

Magnolia stellata

Common Name: Star Magnolia

Family: Magnoliaceae

Look for:
- elliptic leaves,
and
- flowers made of many thin, white petals.

Question 10

Answer 10

Magnolia x soulangiana

Common Name: Saucer Magnolia

Family: Magnoliaceae

Look for:
- fragrant, late-winter blooms that are white to pink or puplish red,
- branch tips that fork around the flowers to form distinctive “Y-shaped” tips,
- large, obovate leaves that widen in a long “V,”
and
- abruptly acuminate leaf tips.

Question 11

Answer 11

Chionanthus retusus

Common Name: Chinese Fringe Tree

Family: Oleaceae

Look for:
- opposite leaves that are glossy green above, pale and downy on the underside,
- white flowers with 4 petals, borne in upright panicles at the ends of young shoots,
and
- gray bark that sometimes forms a diamond pattern.

Question 12

Answer 12

Forsythia x intermedia

Common Name: Forsythia

Family: Oleaceae

In the early spring, look for:
- bright yellow flowers on long, bare, unbranching stems,
and
- a corolla of four long petals fused at the base to form a shallow cup.

The rest of the year, look for:
- opposite leaves with smooth edges that become serrate halfway out,
- bumpy stems with four ridges that become increasingly rectangular in cross-section toward the tips,
and
- hollow stumps (left from pruning) that show the missing pith in the middle of the stem.

Question 13

Answer 13

Jasminum mesnyi

Common Name: Primrose Jasmine

Family: Oleaceae

Look for:
- long, arching stems,
- bright lemon-yellow flowers,
- dark green foliage,
and
- opposite, compound leaves composed of three elliptic leaflets.

Question 14

Answer 14

Syringa spp.

Common Name: Lilac

Family: Oleaceae

Look for:
- a large shrub or small tree with smooth, gray bark,
- simple, opposite leaves with entire margins,
- big, conical clusters of aromatic flowers at branch tips,
and
- individual flowers that are tubular, flaring into four lobes.
(The flowers are usually light purple, but pink and white cultivars do exist.)

Question 15

Answer 15

Ceanothus griseus var. horizontalis

Common Name: Carmel Creeper

Family: Rhamnaceae - The Buckthorn Family

Look for:
- a widely spreading low shrub,
- glossy, bright green foliage,
- egg-shaped leaves with three main leaf veins,
and
- light blue flowers in one-inch clusters.

Question 16

Answer 16

Ceanothus ‘Joyce Coulter’

Common Name: Joyce Coulter Ceanothus

Family: Rhamnaceae

Look for:
- linear to oblong leaves, about 1 inch long,
and
- large, spike-like clusters of medium blue flowers.

Question 17

Answer 17

Ceanothus maritimus

Common Name: Maritime Ceanothus

Family: Rhamnaceae

Look For:

You’ll recognize this plant primarily by the leaves. They should be:
- small (half-inch),
- opposite,
- green above and gray or white beneath,
and
- truncate or even obcordate at the tip.

Question 18

Answer 18

Narcissus CVs

Common Name: Narcissus

Family: Amaryllidaceae

Look for:
- a cluster of long, narrow, basal leaves with parallel veins,
- one or more showy flowers per stem,
- a corona of fused petals in the middle of each flower (typically),
and
- a withered spathe where the flower pedicel meets the stalk (family characteristic).

Question 19

Answer 19

Hyacinthoides hispanica

Common Name: Spanish Bluebell

Family: Liliaceae

Look for:
- a basal rosette of narrow leaves with parallel veins,
- flower stalks rising above the leaves in the springtime,
- loose clusters of hanging, bell-shaped, blue flowers,
- a perianth of six separate tepals on each flower,
and
- six epipetalous (epitepalous?) stamens.

Question 20

Answer 20

Hyacinthus orientalis

Common Name: Common Hyacinth

Family: Liliaceae

Look for:
- a basal rosette of green leaves with parallel veins,
- a compact head of waxy, fragrant flowers atop a short stalk,
and
- the lobes of three sepals and three petals that merge midway on individual flowers to form a single tube.

Question 21

Answer 21

Tulipa hybrida

Common Name: Tulip

Family: Liliaceae

Look for:
- broad, basal leaves with parallel veins,
and
- upright, showy flowers of six petals forming a cup like a wine glass.

Question 22

Answer 22

Vinca major

Common Name: Periwinkle

Family: Apocynaceae

Look for:
- a dense, shrubby groundcover,
- opposite, ovate leaves,
and
- blue flowers with five petals fused partway into a distinctive “propellor” shape.

Question 23

Answer 23

Vinca minor

Common Name: Dwarf Periwinkle

Family: Apocynaceae

Look for:
- a low, creeping groundcover with opposite, elliptical leaves,
and
- blue flowers with 5 petals fused into a distinctive “propeller” shape.

Question 24

Answer 24

Aubrieta deltoidea

Common Name: Common Aubrieta, Lilacbush

Family: Brassicaceae

Look for:
- a low evergreen herb,
- leaf margins that can be entire or coarsely toothed,
and
- flowers with four petals that can be lilac to reddish-purple.

Question 25

Answer 25

**Erysimum ‘Bowles Mauve’** Common Name: Bowles Mauve Wallflower Family: Brassicaceae Look for: - erect stems with narrow, gray-green leaves, and - clusters of mauve flowers with the standard floral structure of the mustard family.

Question 26

Answer 26

**Iberis sempervirens** Common Name: Evergreen Candytuft Family: Brassicaceae Look for: - narrow leaves that are shiny, dark, and thick, - numerous white (or purple) flowers in clusters at the top of tall stems, and - flowers that have two small petals and two opposite larger ones.

Question 27

Answer 27

**Lobularia maritima** Common Name: Sweet Alyssum Family: Brassicaceae Look for: - a low branching and trailing plant, growing up to 1 foot tall, and - tiny, white or purple, four-petaled flowers crowded in clusters.

Question 28

Answer 28

**Paeonia lactiflora** Common Name: Herbaceous Peony Family: Paeoniaceae Look for: - a mass of green stems up to 3 feet high, - alternate pinnately-compound leaves, - terminal leaflets that are so deeply lobed as to look like three separate leaflets, - large, terminal flower buds in early spring, and - large, showy, fragrant flowers in late spring.

Question 29

Answer 29

**Paeonia suffruticosa** ## Footnote Common Name: Tree Peony Family: Paeoniaceae Look for: - produces flowers on persistent woody branches - grows slowly to 3-5 feet tall - large flowers, 10-12 inches across, appear in spring - large leaves of 3-5 leaflets

Question 30

Answer 30

**Dendromecon harfordii** ## Footnote Common Name: Island Bush Poppy Family: Papaveraceae Look for: - rounded or spreading large shrub or small tree - dark green leaves up to 3 inches long - flowers from spring into early summer

Question 31

Answer 31

**Eschscholzia californica** Common Name: California Poppy Family: Papaveraceae Look for: - bright orange flowers with four petals, and - a sea of soft, finely divided gray-green foliage.

Question 32

Answer 32

**Papaver nudicaule** ## Footnote Common Name: Iceland Poppy Family: Papaveriaceae Look for: - brightly colored flowers with crumpled petals and many stamens, - visible hairs on the flower stalks and buds, and - a rosette of blue-green leaves with irregular lobes.

Question 33

Answer 33

Cotoneaster horizontalis Common Name: Rock Cotoneaster Family: Rosaceae Look for: - stiff, horizontal branches in a herringbone pattern - deciduous - small bright green leaves turn orange and red before falling - attractive groundcover if given enough room; do not prune

Question 34

Answer 34

**Duchesnea indica** ## Footnote Common Name: Indian Mock Strawberry Family: Rosaceae Look for: - strongly resembles strawberry (Fragaria vesca) but the flowers are yellow and the fruit is held upright - bright green leaves with 3 leaflets - yellow half-inch flowers are followed by red, tasteless half-inch fruit - a simple groundcover that doesn't need much care but can be invasive

Question 35

Answer 35

**Malus floribunda** ## Footnote Common Name: Japanese Flowering Crab Apple Family: Rosaceae Look for: - deep pink buds open to single white flowers - fragrant and very profuse blooms - small yellow fruit

Question 36

Answer 36

**Photinia x fraseri ‘Birmingham’** ## Footnote Common Name: Birmingham Photinia Family: Rosaceae Look for: - a common low-maintenance landscaping bush or small tree - leaves are elliptical to oval, up to 5 inches long, and dark red when new - has flat clusters of small white flowers in the spring

Question 37

Answer 37

Prunus serrulata Common Name: Japanese Flowering Cherry Family: Rosaceae

Question 38

Answer 38

**Rosa banksiae** ## Footnote Common Name: Lady Banks' Rose Family: Rosaceae Look for: - a vigorous evergreen climber, - long, spreading stems with very few thorns, - pinnately-compound leaves with 3 or 5 glossy, leathery leaflets, and - large clusters of small yellow or white flowers.

Question 39

Answer 39

**Spiraea cantoniensis** ## Footnote Common Name: Double Bridal Wreath Family: Rosaceae Look for: - a shrub that grows 5-6 feet tall with arching branches, - many double white flowers, and - diamond-shaped blue-green leaves up to 3 inches long.