Learning to recognise plants

It is important to be able to recognise the plants that are used in agriculture.

• If the plant is a weed, correct identification will assist in its control.

• If the plant is a pasture grass or legume, correct identification will help to manage the plant to get optimum growth for grazing

• If the plant is a crop species, correct identification will help to determine the right fertiliser treatment

   

Resources that help with plant identification

• Books • Plant identification key• Local experts• internet

Recognise plants

There is a large number and diversity of

plants available to us for production and

pleasure.

Examples of this would be plants used for:

• Food crops wheat, cabbage, canola, rice

• Fibre crops, cotton, hemp

• Pasture species to feed animals

• Natural species in the region where you

work

• Cultivated garden plants

• Cut flowers

Plant classification

How do plants get classified?

The plant kingdom is a name for all

plants ranging from one-celled

organisms, such as bacteria, to

flowering land plants. It contains a

very diverse collection of organisms.

This kingdom is simplified by

breaking it down into groups that

show a relationship. The diagram

shows you the main groups of plants

and how they are related.

Why do we need to classify plants?

Scientific Classification

Biological classification involves grouping plants with similar

characteristics together. The image below of grassy box woodland

includes several varieties of Eucalypts.

The aims of classification are:

• Stability and consistency in naming (everyone in the world does it

the same way so there is a common point of reference)

• Managing large numbers of plants in a meaningful way

Naming ConventionsBinomial Names

The following table contains rules, (or conventions). The naming

rules do not cover 'common names'.

When we apply the naming rules, the genus and species names

combined give us the name of the plant. This name (made up of

two names) is called the binomial. It can also be called the

scientific name or the botanical name.

The binomial name for the Dandelion is Taraxacum officinalis. It is

a member of the family Asteraceae.

Species Name Meaning Species Name Meaning

niveus Snow white chinensis From China

Flavus Yellow Indica From India

Cerasinus Cherry red Japonica From Japan

pupurea Purple Sax atilis Growing on rocks

viridus green melanoxylon Black wood

Family

A plant family is a collection of plants that

share similar characteristics, particularly of

their flowers and fruits. The system of grouping

and identifying plants is called botanical

nomenclature and is an international language

allowing an individual plant, wherever it grows,

to be identified by one universal name.

Families are then divided into one or more

genera.

Some Australian plant family names are

Casuarinaceae (e.g. Casuarina), Myrtaceae

(e.g. Eucalypts) and Mimosaceae (e.g.

Acacias), Gramineae (e.g. grasses image

Microlaena stipoides).

Genus

Each plant has two names: a genus name (written

first) and a species name (written second). These

names are written in italics and the genus name is

given a capital letter, as in Banksia ericifolia.

The flower and fruit similarities are closer within a

genus than they are in the family classification. A

genus (plural - genera) name may be descriptive or

it may be commemorative (named after someone).

Within any genus there may be one or more

species. Some genus names are Acacia,

Eucalyptus, Banksia (named after Sir Joseph

Banks.Capt.Cook’s botanist on the Endeavor),

Hakea, Grevillea, Melaleuca, Callistemon.

Melaleuca armarillis

Species

This is the basic unit of classification.

Plants in this grouping have common

characteristics and qualities. A species

can be described as ‘plants that freely

interbreed producing recognisable

offspring generation after generation.

Species name is usually descriptive

and is written in italics. E.g Callistemon

viminalisCallistemon viminalis

Plant Botanical Name - summary

Contains the plant’s Genus and Species written according to the rules of Naming

Conventions e.g. Rubus fruticosus – blackberry

Cultivars

Some plants are grown and bred especially to suit a need or produce a new habit

or flower. They are called Cultivars which is short for 'cultivated variety'.

Plant Common Name

The common name may vary from place to place. You may use the one you like or

remember best. No one name is correct everywhere e.g. Microlaena stipoides,

common names -  weeping grass, weeping rice grass and weeping meadow grass

Family name

Remember that a Family is a group of Genera (plural of Genus) which have things

in common. The name always ends in ‘aceae’.

Origin

This is the place where the plant naturally/ originally grew. It can be a country or

area, or state.

Recognising and Naming Plants

When identifying plants there are several

characteristics used including:

Flowers and fruit – these are the reproductive parts

of the plant and are the main key to identifying the

plant. Size, shape colour, fragrance, and the number

of parts (e.g. petals).

Leaves – vary in colour texture, shape, size and

arrangement.

Roots – used by plant for uptake and support and

generally fall into tap roots and fibrous roots.

Stems – support above ground structures; features

include texture, colour, shape and flexibility.

Habit – the shape, form, and size of a plant

Recognise the plants that you work with

Look around your school farm or local area and be able to recognise:

• 5 introduced or naturalised pasture species• 4 native grasses• 6 weeds