Plants

Eric Rhonehouse, Whitney Stevenson, Stephen Carse

Groundpine Lycopoduim Dendroideum

• Description: The Ground Pine is a tree-like club moss. It has horizontal stems flowing under the dirt, also known as rhizomes. The upright shoots contain numerous branches and pale needle-like leaves. These plants mainly reside in Alaska to Newfoundland and south to Washington.

• Image cc via http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lycopodium_dendroideum

Dwarf Horsetail Equisetum Scirpoides

• Description: Are found mostly in the Arctic Circle and Alaska, but are also found in dense populations in Montana, Idaho, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, and in the New England area. They have a maximum height of about 30 centimeters and are the smallest existing species of horsetail. It has hollow cylindrical jointed stems that are very slender.

• Image cc via http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equisetum_scirpoides

Skeleton Fork Fern Psilotum Nudum

• Description: A fern plant that lacks roots. It is found in tropical Africa, Central America, tropical and subtropical North America, South America, tropical Asia, Australia, Hawaii, Southern Japan, New Zealand, Lord Howe Island, and in a few isolated spots in Southwest Europe. It is a spore producing vascular plant that prefer a humus rich soil and lots of moisture but can with stand a fair amount of drought.

• Image cc via http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psilotum_nudum

Maidenhair Spleenwort Asplenium Trichomanes

• Description: Its large divided leaves, referred to as fronds, are long and thin as it comes to a point at the tip. It also has short rhizomes, which are basically a horizontal stems found underground that send out smaller roots. They have a maximum height of about 40 centimeters.

• Image cc via http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asplenium_trichomanes

Wood’s Cycad Encephalartos Woodii

• Description: These dioecious palm tree like, plants are one of the rarest species of plants in the world. They are extinct in the wild but are kept cloned. They can reach about 20 feet high with a trunk about 12-20 inches in diameter at the base. It has about 50-150 dark green glossy leaves at the top that are about 150-250 centimeters long with 70-150 sickle shaped leaflets kneeled along the leaf. The male trees have a strobili that are cylindrical and about 20-40 centimeters long. 6-8 strobili can coexist on the same plant at any one time.

• Image cc via http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encephalartos_woodii

Maidenhair Tree Ginkgo Biloba • Description: These large trees can reach a

height of anywhere from 66 feet to 164 feet. It is deep rooted to resist snow and wind damage, which is prevalent in its homeland of China. Its branches are erratic and lengthy. These trees live a long time with some reports dating over 2,500 years ago. Its leaves are bifurcating fan shaped and can be anywhere from 2 to 6 inches long. These trees are deoecious, which means that there is a female tree and a male tree, and the male trees produce pollen from small pollen cones. The females form two ovules at the end of the stalk that develop into seeds after pollination. The seeds are envelopes in a fleshy yellow fruit like shell that smells really bad.

• Image cc via http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ginkgo_biloba

Norway Spruce Picea Abies • Description: These trees are large

evergreen coniferous, which means that they stay green year round. They can reach anywhere from 115 feet to 180 feet tall with a 1-1.5 meter trunk diameter at the base. They have needle leaves 12-24 millimeters long. They have the longest cones of any other spruce at about 9-17 centimeters long. The Norway Spruce has both male cones and female cones on its branches.

• Image cc via http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norway_Spruce

Paddy Oats Gnetum Gnemon • Description: Paddy Oats are

native to Southeast Asia and the western Pacific Ocean islands. They grow 15-20 meters tall with evergreen leaves. They emerge as bronze in color and then darken into a glossy green as they mature. The strobilus has a little bit of fruit skin enveloping a large seed that is 2-4 centimeters long.

• Image cc via http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnetum_gnemon

Gallic Rose Rosa Gallica • Description: The Gallic Rose is

native to Southern Europe and Central Europe all the way to Turkey and the Caucasus. They are found in large patches as shrubbery. Its flower can range from white, which is very rare, to deep purple and pink. Like other roses the Gallic Rose has prickles on its stems. This rose can survive in temperatures as low as -25 degrees Celsius.

• Image cc via http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosa_gallica

Sunflower Helianthus Annuus • Description: The Sunflower head

is actually a combination of many smaller flowers. The outer petal bearing florets are sterile and can come in a variety of colors like orange, yellow, red, and other colors. The inner circle bears tiny florets called disc florets. They eventually mature into seeds. The inner florets are generally arranged in a spiral formation. They usually grow between 5-12 feet high.

• Image cc via http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sunflower_sky_backdrop.jpg

Twilight Lily Lilium Tsingtauense

• Description: The Twilight Lily is native to East China and Korea. It grows on a single stem and is about medium size ranging from 70-100 centimeters tall. They are prevalent in midsummer and are bright orange or bright red with maroon spotting. This plant grows from a bulb.

• Image cc via http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lilium_tsingtauense.jpg

Weeping Willow Salix Babylonica

• Description: The Weeping Willow stands about 20-25 feet tall. It is a deciduous tree native to dry sections of Northern China but has traveled around the continent with help from the Silk Road. They have yellowish brown shoots with tiny buds running down them. Their leaves are long and narrow reaching about 16 centimeters long and at maximum 2 centimeters wide. In early spring their flowers arrange in catkins. There are male and female plants of this sort.

• Image cc via http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Salix_babylonica.jpg

Sycamore Maple Acer Pseudoplatanus

• Description: The Sycamore Maple is native to central Europe and southwestern Asia. It is a deciduous tree that can reach 20-35 feet tall and has a broad rounded dome-like crown. As a young tree the bark of the Sycamore Maple is smooth and grey. As it matures the bark starts to break up into scales. Its leaves are anywhere from 10-25 centimeters long and are dark green in color.

• Image cc via http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:DarnleySycamore.JPG

Japanese Red Pine Pinus Densiflora

• Description: The Japanese Red Pine is native to Japan, Korea, China, and Southeast Russia. It can reach 20-35 meters tall. They prefer slightly acidic soil and full sun. It has needle-like leaves that are 8-12 centimeters long. Its cones are 4-7 centimeters long. It is an ornamental tree and is frequently used in Japanese gardens.

• Image cc via http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pinus_syluestriformis_(Takenouchi)T.Wang_ex_Cheng.JPG

White Oak Quercua Alba• Description: The White Oak is a very

populous hardwood tree in North America. This tree can live a very long time and some specimens have been documented over 450 years old. They can grow from 65-85 feet tall, but the tallest ever recorded was 144 feet tall. It is also common for this tree to be as wide as it is tall because its lower branches extend out laterally. The bark is light gray and its leaves grow about 8.5 inches long. Its leaves are wide and deep glossy green in color. Its acorns are about 1 inch in length and fall around early October.

• Image cc via http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Quercus_alba.jpg