describing plants - tafe nsw...identifiable characteristics • identifiable characteristics are the...
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Identifiable characteristics
describing plants
Identifiable characteristics
• Identifiable characteristics are the features that describe a plant - in other words, they tell you what the plant looks like
• Identifiable characteristics are used to describe, identify and name plants.
Identifiable characteristics include
• colour of plant parts - such as leaves, flowers and stems
• texture of plant parts - are they rough or smooth? • presence or absence of hairs and type of hairs • presence or absence of spikes and type of spikes • type of stem - is it round, square, smooth, hairy
or spiky? • seed type - are they hard, papery, small or large
Identifiable characteristics also include:
• habit • significant features
Habit- Tree
• How a plant grows is called its habit or growth habit, for example, is it:
• a tree • a shrub • a creeper/climber? • Annual • Fern • Palm • cactus
Habit- Shrub
Habit-creeper/ Climber
Habit-creeper/ Climber
Habit-creeper/ Climber
Habit-creeper/ Climber
Habit
• Evergreen climbers • To 8m + • Vigorous climber for any vertical surface,
also used as a ground cover.
Foliage
• Juvenile foliage is simple, lobed, ivy shape, 6 – 10cm wide, attractive foliage with long reddish petioles
• Adult foliage is unlobed, dark green, 120mm across.
• new growth is lighter shade of green.
Cultivars • Main one grown is:
Hedera canariensis ‘Variegata’ creamy white margin with irregular patches of dark green and grey/green. New growth has a touch of pink.
Flowers/ Fruit
• Flowers: on arborescent (adult tree like) growth only, small, greenish and in a terminal umbels noticeable but not particularly attractive.
• Fruit: on (adult tree like) growth only, black berry.
Uses in Garden
• Wall plantings • Tropical effect plant • Shaded garden/ shaded walls • Ground cover • Spillover planting • Wire topiary (only smaller cultivars)
Uses in Floristry
• Corsages • Button Hole • Trail bouquets
Trees
• Trees are usually tall woody plants with a trunk.
• Branches arise from the trunk to form a distinct canopy
Significant features
• Significant features are usually characteristics that are easily seen or obvious.
• large showy flowers • large gumnuts. • Aroma or smell can also be a significant
feature - some Grevillias smell like dirty socks!
Plant descriptions
• Plant descriptions provide useful information in recognising and identifying plants
Now let's look at an example. Below is a description of Callistemon viminalis.
Its description is as follows:
• 'A graceful weeping bottlebrush which will grow to about 4 metres and a width of about 2 metres. Growth will vary depending on the growing conditions. The foliage is light green and the new growth is bronze. It has a greyish scaly bark. It has large red bottlebrush-like flowers.’
• All of the features mentioned above are examples of identifiable characteristics.
• The significant features include: • large red bottlebrush-like flowers • 'graceful weeping' appearance • The growth habit is determined by its size (4
metres) - it is either a small tree or a large shrub
References
• http://tle.tafevc.com.au/toolbox/file/ecdff337-53f7-1400-2b37-13782f37bd95/1/507_recognise_plants.zip/html/pages/website/webhome.htm?f_guide/fg_16.htm