Plant Identification ❂ 2

L
earning about new plants is an exciting venture.
Sometimes you are looking for a plant to fill a
spot in your garden, or complete a particular color
scheme, and sometimes your attention is caught by a
❂ Topics in this chapter
magnificent tree, shrub or perennial in a public or private ❂❂ Plant names
garden. Knowing some of the botanical principles of plant ❂❂ Keys
identification can help you identify plants.
❂❂ Practicing plant identification
The rules of plant identification and nomenclature (nam-
ing) may seem complex, but knowing and applying the ba-
sic rules can lead to a better understanding of plants. Iden-
tification may be as simple as knowing that members of the
mint family (Lamiaceae) have square stems. (Rub a stem of
oregano or dead nettle between your fingers as a test.) Or it
may be as complicated as “keying out” an unknown plant to
genus and species.
In addition to dazzling your family and friends by rattling
off scientific names such as Picea glauca, by identifying
a plant you can determine its cultural requirements, size,
flowering and fruiting habits, propagation methods and
common problems. Many insects and diseases are fairly
host-specific, attacking only certain genera, species and
sometimes only certain varieties within a species. When
you know a plant’s genus and species, you can identify
See Chapter 19,
problems and make a diagnosis more easily and with more Diagnosing Plant
certainty. In fact, the first step in diagnosing a sick plant is Problems.
to identify the plant.

By Marty Wingate, Master Gardener, King

Plant names County, Washington State University
Plants follow the same kind of classification system as
Adapted by Michele Hébert, Extension Faculty,
do animals: domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, Agriculture and Horticulture, Cooperative
genus and species. As gardeners, we are mostly concerned Extension Service, University of Alaska
with the last three: Fairbanks.
38 • Plant Identification—Chapter 2

• Family—A broad group of plants with significantly different characteristic.

common characteristics. The family Betula papyrifera spp. commutata is a
name is written in plain text, the first paper birch that in Alaska grows only
letter is capitalized and the word ends in in coastal parts of Southeast. The word
“aceae.” For example, the conifer fam- subspecies is abbreviated spp.; it is not
ily is Pinaceae. Some families may be italicized. Sometimes the word variety
listed using an older style; for example, is used to mean subspecies.
you may find the daisy family written as
either Compositae or Asteraceae. Some- Hybrids
times taxonomists (people who make A hybrid is a cross between two variet-
decisions about plant names) don’t ies or species, whether of the same genus
agree. or two genera. F1 hybrids, common among
• Genus (plural, genera)—A category annual vegetables and flowers, are a highly
within a family that contains related controlled and manipulated type of hybrid.
species. Families may contain a few They are a cross between two inbred lines
genera or many. For example, the mon- within a species, each of which has been
key puzzle tree, Araucaria araucana, selected and repeatedly inbred for specific
is one of only two genera in the family traits.
Auricaceae. The rose family (Rosaceae), Hybrid names are written with an x
on the other hand, includes more than between the genus and specific epithet. The
100 genera—everything from apples latter word is made up, and often “media” is
to spirea. Genus names are written in used. Hybridization is common in cultiva-
italics or underlined, and the first letter tion, as breeders look for better plants for
is capitalized. For example, Picea is the our gardens. Sometimes, cultivated plants
genus for spruce. grow close enough together to cross on their
• Species—A population of individu- own.
als within a genus that are Some hybrids occur in nature,
capable of interbreeding such as Lupinus arcticus x media,
freely with one another. For which is a cross between Lupinus
example, Picea sitchensis is arcticus, Arctic lupine, and Lupi-
the species for Sitka spruce. nus nootkantensis, Nootka lupine,
Other terms also are important two lupine species that grow in close
in plant identification: proximity.
• Specific epithet—The
second word in a plant Cultivars
name. (The word “spe- The term cultivar is
cies” refers to the plant, short for “cultivated vari-
not the actual word in the ety.” These are plants within
name.) The word is itali- a species that have been selected
cized or underlined, and the first letter especially for a particular characteris-
is not capitalized. tic and propagated to continue this charac-
• Subspecies—A subset of a species. teristic. Bigger blooms, better color, larger
Subspecies are populations of plants fruits and more compact growth are a few
divided by geography and some
 Chapter 2—Plant Identification • 39

reasons a plant may be selected. The culti-

var name is written in plain text, capitalized Keys
and set off by single quotes. Keys are tools for classification
Gardeners are familiar with cultivar and identification. Keys move from
names and often refer to plants by only general to more specific descrip-
the genus and cultivar, especially if the tions and eventually to identi-
cultivar is the result of a hybrid cross like fication by choosing between
‘O-S Cross’ cabbage. Cultivars may arise paired statements. The paired
from chance seedlings, selective breeding statements have opposite descrip-
or a sport (a spontaneous genetic change). tions, such as “leaves hairy” and
Before 1959, cultivar names could be Latin, “leaves smooth.” Following the one
or at least sound like it. Viburnum opulus that more correctly describes a
‘Roseum,’ the snowball viburnum, was specific plant leads to more dis-
named before 1959. After that, cultivars crete choices until you arrive at
were named in modern languages, so you the name of the plant.
will find cultivars with Japanese, German, Keys are found in many plant
Dutch or English names. identification books. Some include the
For a while, the practice was to Anglicize whole range of flowering plant families;
cultivar names that English speakers found others cover only one genus, for exam-
difficult to pronounce or that were difficult ple, roses.
to market to English speakers. This practice The paired statements in a key may be
not only was unfair to breeders but caused a lettered or numbered. Sometimes the two
great deal of confusion. Now, growers and statements are separated by a lot of space
nurseries are encouraged to use the correct since there are even more choices below
names, whatever the language. each statement. See Table 1 for a brief ex-
ample of a key.

Table 1.—Example of a key.

I. Leaves opposite
1a. Leaves mostly less than 4 cm (1⅝ inches)
2a. Leaf margins toothed
3a. Leaf margins spiny-toothed.......................................... Osmanthus delavayi
or or or or
3b. Leaf margins crenate.................................................... Euonymus fortunei
2b. Leaf margins entire............................................................. Buxus sempervirens
1b. Leaves more than 4 cm............................................................. Viburnum davidii
II. Leaves alternate
1a. Leaves mostly less than 6 cm (2⅜ inches)
2a. Stems armed (thorny).......................................................... Pyracantha species
or
or 2b. Stems not armed
or 3a. Leaves oblanceolate..................................................... Pieris japonica
3b. Leaves ovate................................................................. Vaccinium ovatum
1b. Leaves greater than 6 cm
or 4a. Leaves ovate . .................................................................... Prunus lusitanica
4b. Leaves obovate................................................................... Prunus laurocerasus
 40 • Plant Identification—Chapter 2

Practicing plant identification For more information

Practice — as always — makes perfect.
The more you use botanical names for UAF Cooperative Extension
plants, the more quickly you will remember publications
them and not be so self-conscious saying Wild and Edible and Poinsonous Plants of
them. Here are some ways to learn and Alaska, FNH-00028.
remember:
• Say plant names over and over, us- Other publications
ing any opportunity that comes along.
Hultén, Eric. 1968. Flora of Alaska and
Repeat the names of plants in your own
Neighboring Territories: A Manual of
garden, even when you are alone. Say
Vascular Plants. Stanford University
aloud the plants you recognize in other
Press.
gardens.
• Spend a little time each day on plant
names. The names and the plants’ char-
See Chapter 1,
Botany Basics. acteristics should become almost second
nature.
• Try to learn the meaning of the names
so they make more sense to you. For
example, Populus balsamifera is the
balsam poplar (Populus is from the
Latin for poplar and balsamifera from
Latin meaning balsam-bearing). Color
also plays an important part in plant
names. Acer rubrum (red maple), Sym-
phoricarpos alba (snowberry) and Ribes
sanguineum (red-flowering currant) are
a few examples.
• When you look at plants, note identify-
ing features such as leaf shape and ar-
rangement, growth habit and flower and/
or fruit appearance. All of these aspects
help in correct identification. Refer to
Chapter 1 for illustrations.
• Practice during visits to arboreta, nurs-
eries and public gardens (an enjoyable
task in itself!), which often have plant
tags or lists of plants.
• Practice using keys such as the one in
Flora of Alaska and Neighboring Ter-
ritories by Eric Hultens.