Plant List Week 01 Flashcards
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Magnolia stellata
Common Name: Star Magnolia
Family: Magnoliaceae
Look for:
- elliptic leaves,
and
- flowers made of many thin, white petals.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.)
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Paeonia suffruticosa
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
Dendromecon harfordii
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
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.
Papaver nudicaule
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.
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
Duchesnea indica
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
Malus floribunda
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
Photinia x fraseri ‘Birmingham’
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
Prunus serrulata
Common Name: Japanese Flowering Cherry
Family: Rosaceae
Rosa banksiae
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.
Spiraea cantoniensis
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.
