Botany Basics
What is Botany?
The science of plants, their classification
and study
What is Horticulture?
The art and science of cultivating flowers,
fruits, vegetables, and ornamental plants
What is a Plant?
• A plant is: photosynthetic, multicellular
organism
• Capable of manufacturing its own food!
Plant Classification
(Taxonomy)
There are many methods for identifying or
grouping plants for communication
• There are lots of systems of classification
– Which ones can you think of?
Life cycle
• Annual
– Short-lived plant. The entire life
cycle is completed in one growing
season.
• Biennial
– Two seasons to complete life cycle
• Perennial
– Live from year to year, either
woody or herbaceous.
Morphology or Appearance
• Evergreen, deciduous
• Woody, herbaceous
• Vines, trees, shrubs
• Opposite or alternate leaves
• Fruit, seed, etc. types
Environmental
• Xerophyte, halophyte, hydrophyte
• Hardy, tender
• Temperate, tropical, subtropical
• Warm season, cool season
Usage
• fruit, vegetable, ornamental
What is the difference between a fruit
and a vegetable?
Scientific nomenclature
Kingdom
Animalia
Others
Plantae
Division (several, those with horticultural interest-)
Pterodophyta - ferns
Spermatophyta – seed bearing plants
Class
Gymnospermae – naked seeds
Angiospermae
Subclass
Monocotyledonae (monocots) - 49,000 types
Dicotyledonae (dicots) - 237,000 types
Scientific Names cont.
Order
Family - ‘aceae’ usual ending
– First place you may start in identification
Genus
Species
– Authority -
• Cultivar- cultivated variety
Variety - botanical variety Binomial nomenclature
etc. genus and species
You can thank Linnaeus
for all this!
The Family Tree of Plants
Plant Groups in Landscape
• Spore-bearing plants
– Ferns
• Seed plants
– Gymnosperms: Cone-bearing plants
– Angiosperms: Flowering Plants
• Botany Handbook http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/MG012 (offline,
being updated)
Gymnospermae
Gymno = naked spermae = seed
• Plant Family examples:
– Cupressaceae
– Cycadaceae
– Ginkgoaceae
– Pinaceae
– Podocarpaceae
– Taxaceae
– Zamiaceae
Angiospermae
Angio = “container” Spermae = seed
• Flowering plants: (Tribe)
– Monocotyledoneae
– Dicotyledoneae
Plants without seeds
Seed Plants without Fruit
Cycads and Conifers
produce separate male
& female cones =
dioecious
Plant ID by the numbers:
One or two, and threes or fours/fives
A big first step in
plant ID is to
determine if it is
more like a palm
or an oak,
i.e., a corn plant or
a petunia
Is it a Monocot or Dicot ?
Monocot vs Dicot
CULTIVAR = CULTIVATED VARIETY
“Assemblage of cultivated plants which is clearly
distinguished by any characters and which, when
reproduced (sexually or asexually) retains its
distinguishing characters.”
- Liberty Hyde Bailey
• Botanical varieties naturally breed true from seed
• Cultivars are asexually cloned or by controlled
sexual crossing of breeding lines
Even More on Scientific Nomenclature
• Most commonly used system of
nomenclature
• System is not static
• As you move down though the
sections, plants are more
closely related
• Based on flower and plant
morphology
It’s all in the Family
• Being able to identify an unknown plant to its
family is a valuable skill
• Look at botanical characteristics and see if it
reminds you of another plant
• Look at references under the name of the
family to speed up your search
Common Plant Families
• Anacardiaceae
• Apocynaceae
• Cruciferae
• Fagaceae The rose is a rose
and was always a rose;
• Gramineae But the theory now goes
That the apple's a rose,
• Labiatae And the pear is, and so's
The plum, I suppose.
• Leguminosae The dear only knows
What will next prove a rose.
• Rosaceae You, of course, are a rose,
but were always a rose.
- Robert Frost, "The Rose
Family”
More Common Plant Families
• Asteraceae
• Brassicaceae
• Poaceae
• Clusiaceae
• Lamiaceae
• Fabaceae
• Arecaceae
• Apiaceae
• Zamiaceae
A Family Portrait
What makes a plant a plant
and not an animal?
• Cell walls
• Ability to make own food
• Special kinds of
anatomical (plant) parts
Plant Growth
• Plants make their own food - by converting
energy from sunlight.
• All living things require energy, not just for
growth and reproduction, but also for the
maintenance of life.
• To produce food, plants require energy,
carbon dioxide, water, and the essential
nutrients.
Plants and energy (simplified)
• Photosynthesis
– The process of turning light energy into
energy that can be transported and stored
by the plant
Eeek! Chemistry!
6 CO2 + 12 H2O + light + chlorophyll =
C6H12O6 + 6 H2O + 6 O2
What does this
mean to you?
Eeek! Chemistry! cont.
• 6 CO2 + 12 H2O + light + chlorophyll = C6H12O6 + 6
H2O + 6 O2
• C6H12O6 is the general formula for carbohydrates
– Sugars can be transported
– Starches can be stored
Both are forms of carbohydrates – as
anyone on the Atkins diet can tell you!
More Energy Stuff
• Respiration
– Breaking the carbohydrates into a form of energy
the plant can use
Although we think of
respiration in humans as
breathing, breathing is
really the gas exchange
that supports respiration.
A Balance
• Photosynthesis • Respiration
– Produces food - Uses food for
Energy
– Energy is Stored
- Energy is released
– Occurs in Cells with - Occurs in all cells
Chloroplasts - Oxygen is used
– Oxygen is released - Water is produced
– CO2 is used - CO2 is produced
- Occurs in Dark or
– Occurs in light Light
What’s all this used for,
anyway?
• Plant growth and development
– Cell division
– Cell elongation
• Where does growth occur in plants?
– Meristems
Gross Anatomy
Major plant organs include:
roots
stems
leaves
reproductive organs:
flowers or cones
fruits and seeds
Know the Node!
Roots
Functions
1. Absorption of water &
nutrients
2. Anchoring
3. Conductance
4. Storage
Fibrous roots Taproot
Roots cont.
Morphology
*primary roots/
secondary roots
*tap root/fibrous roots
*adventitious roots
*root hairs
Tap Root
Types of Tree Roots
Small absorbing roots Lateral roots
Sinker roots Taproot
Stems
• Functions
– Conductance
– Support
– Photosynthesis
– Gas exchange
• lenticels
• Morphology
– Nodes/internodes
– Modifications
• tendril
• thorn
This Bud’s for You!
• Nodes
– Points on a stem where a leaf or
leaves are attached.
– Spaces between nodes are called
Internodes.
• Buds
– Lateral buds at the base of
leaves.
– Terminal buds at the apex of
stems.
– Adventitious buds on stems.
Stem: Movin’ on up (and down)
• Phloem – tubes that conduct food & hormones
produced by the plant, from leaves to entire plant
• Xylem – tubes that conduct water and minerals from
roots to entire plant
• These tissues are formed by the vascular cambium
Stem Types
• Crowns
• Simple
• Branched
• Climbing
• Creeping
• Rhizomes
• Stolons
Palms are different!
*Palms only have one bud
at the top of the stem
*Many palm roots do not
have the ability to
branch if they are cut
The Leaf
Functions
1. Collection of light
2. Photosynthesis
3. Gas exchange
4. Storage
Leaf cont.
Morphology
– Blade/petiole
– Shape of blade
– Margin
– Attachment to stem
– Number and arrangement
of leaflets
Simple Leaf
• tip- the terminal point of the leaf.
• blade-the flattened, green,
expanded portion of a leaf.
• margin- edge of a leaf.
• midrib-the most prominent central
vein in a leaf.
• lateral veins-secondary veins in a
leaf.
• petiole-the leaf stalk (connects blade
to stem).
• stipules-leaf-like appendages (at the
base of petiole of some leaves).
http://generalhorticulture.tamu.edu/h202/l
abs/lab2/index.html
Compound Leaves
• leaflet- secondary leaf
of a compound leaf.
• rachis- an extension of
the petiole bearing
leaflets.
• petiolule-the leaflet
stalk.
• petiole-the leaf stalk
• lateral veins-secondary
veins in a leaf.
• stipules-leaf-like
appendages (at the base
of petiole of some
leaves).
Common Leaf Shapes
I’m Getting Edgy!
Leaf Me Alone!
How
many
leaves are
on this
slide?
Leaves are different
Monocot Leaf
– Chief veins are parallel
or nearly so.
– Typically grasses, palms
Dicot Leaf
– Veins form a net-like
pattern.
– Commonly referred to
as “Broadleaves”.
Flowers
• Function
– Control pollination
– Develop into fruit and seed
• Morphology
– We need many slides for
this!
Remember – much of the
classification of plants is
based on floral morphology
Flower Types
• Single
– A solitary flower at the end of a
peduncle (a stem supporting a
flower or flower cluster). Ylang
Ylang
• Cluster
– Three or more flowers gathered
closely together in simple or
branched groups. Can be
Racemose or Cymose. Pentas,
Mango
Flower Morphology
• petals - corolla
• sepals - calyx
• receptacle
• pistil
• ovary/ovules
• style
• stigma
• stamen
• filament
• anther
• pollen
Pollen Grains
Peas, if you please…
More-phology
• Complete
– has petals, sepals,
stamens and pistils
• Perfect
– has both stamens
and pistils
– staminate
– pistillate
• Flower types
– monoecious
– dioecious
Fruits and Seeds
• Function
– seed dispersal
– seed protection
– contain genetic information
for next generation and
structures to create new
plant
• Morphology
– Ovary development
– Cotyledons/endosperm,
embryo
Seeds
• Have an outer coat, usually tough (like an egg
shell).
• Typically have endosperm (like egg white).
• Have one or two inner embryos (like egg yolk).
• Range in size from dust-sized to Avocado- sized.
• Contains one or two cotyledons, or seed- leaves.
– Monocot - one cotyledon - grasses, sedges, palms.
– Dicot - two cotyledons - broadleaves
Seed Parts
Fruits
• Ripened and seed-bearing ovaries of flowers.
• Nearly as varied in color, form, size, texture and
number as are flowers.
• Can be used as the distinguishing characteristic
of a species or variety.
• Divided into two large categories
– Dry
– Fleshy
Dry Fruits
• Achene
• Samara
• Nuts
• Grain
• Capsule
• Silique
• Legume
• Follicle
Fleshy Fruits
• Simple
– Drupe
– Berry
– Pepo
– Hesperidium
– Pome
• Compound
– Aggregate
– Multiple
So when someone brings me a plant, how
do I get to the scientific name?
• Dichotomous keys
• Plant ID books
• Glossaries of terms
• Websites
DDIS Plant and Weed sample
(2)
(3)
Plant Identification Learning
Module
Distance Diagnostic and
Information System
Back to Plant ID:
Who ya gonna call?
• The first line of assistance is
your county agent.
• Other local experts are
available
Activity
Things you can do to learn more about plant ID:
(1) Practice using a Plant Key for Identification and
regularly use the online Plant FlorIDa Learning
Module. It is a great interactive tool to learn all of
your Florida plants!
And/Or
(2) Start Your own Plant ID Notebook:
– press a plant
– complete the Plant ID Note Sheet
Let’s take a field trip!
Acknowledgements:
This presentation was adapted from a PowerPoint originally
developed by: Dr. Elizabeth Lamb, Cornell University
IPM program – formerly @ UF/IFAS IRREC
Other contributors include:
• Adrian Hunsberger, Miami Dade Extension Agent
• Kim Gabel, Hort. Agent - Monroe County (THE KEYS)
• Stan Rosenthal, Extension Agent – Forestry, UF/IFAS
Leon County Extension
• Jim Chatfield, Extension Specialist, the Ohio State
University
• Paul Baumann, Weed Specialist – TAMU
• Oregon State Univ. Master Gardener Botany page:
http://extension.oregonstate.edu/mg/botany/index.html
