Botany - B.Ye. Yakubenko 2017

Part Three. Kingdom Plantae
Chapter IX. Division Angiosperms, or Flowering Plants (Angiospermae, Magnoliophyta)
Laboratory Class. Topic 14.44. Plan of Morphological Analysis and Techniques for Identifying Flowering Plants

I. General characteristics of plants.

1. Life form (herb, subshrub, shrub, tree).

2. Plant longevity (annuals, biennials, perennials).

3. Ecological and biological type: a) terrestrial, aquatic, marsh, forest, meadow, steppe, inhabiting sandy and saline habitats; b) monoecious, dioecious; c) parasites, Saprophytes, etc.

4. Pubescence — glabrous, pubescent; pubescence type: soft, rigid, velvety, tomentose, scattered, dense, appressed, spreading, consisting of simple, branched, stellate, or golden hairs. The presence of pubescence on the plant as a whole and on its individual Organs is noted.

5. Height in centimeters.

6. Flowering period.

II. Underground parts of plants.

1. ROOT system — taproot, fibrous; dominant roots — primary (taproot), lateral, adventitious.

2. Rhizome — short, long, slender, thick, branched, unbranched.

3. Presence of bulbs, tubers, root tubers («tubers»), and other underground modifications of the root or SHOOT.

III. Stem.

1. Growth habit — erect, ascending, twining, climbing, prostrate, rooting at the nodes, etc.

2. Branching pattern and internode development — unbranched, branching from the base or only in the upper part; with shortened internodes, etc.

3. Shape and cross-sectional profile — round, 3–4-angled, flattened, winged, grooved; solid or hollow.

4. Phyllotaxy (leaf arrangement) — alternate, opposite, whorled (verticillate), leaves in a basal rosette.

IV. Leaves.

1. Structure and size: a) simple, compound; b) large, small, medium-sized.

2. Composition and attachment to the stem — sessile, petiolate, stipulate, with sheaths or ochreae; clasping, decurrent, with ligules, auricles, etc.

3. Shape of the leaf blade — scale-like, acicular, linear, lanceolate, elliptic, oval, round, ovate, obovate, etc.

4. Shape of the base, apex, and margin: a) cuneate, cordate, sagittate, hastate, rounded; b) acuminate, acute, mucronate; c) entire, serrate, crenate, sinuate.

5. Degree of dissection of the leaf blade — entire, ternate-, palmate-, or pinnately lobed, cleft, divided.

6. Venation — pinnate, palmate, arcuate, and parallel.

7. Leaf modifications — spines, tendrils, etc.

V. Flower arrangement and inflorescences.

1. Flowers: sessile or pedicellate; solitary, in groups of 2–3, or in inflorescences.

2. Bracts: present or absent; their shape, size, and characteristics.

3. Flowers grouped in inflorescences: a) indeterminate (raceme, spike, spadix, catkin, umbel, HEAD, composite spike, panicle, etc.); b) determinate (cyme, monochasium, etc.).

VI. Flowers.

1. Bisexual, unisexual, sterile, actinomorphic (regular), zygomorphic (irregular), epigynous, hypogynous, perigynous.

2. Perianth: simple, double, simple sepaloid or petaloid. For grasses: Structural Features of lemma and palea, glumes, their number, shape, venation, presence of awns, and THE POSITION OF awn attachment on the lower glumes and lemmas.

3. Calyx: regular or irregular, its shape: free or connate (dentate, lobed, divided). Number of sepals or lobes, color, pubescence, and other CHARACTERISTICS OF THE calyx.

4. Corolla: actinomorphic, zygomorphic, sympetalous, polypetalous; corolla shape. Number of petals or corolla lobes. Place of attachment (to the pedicel, Ovary, calyx). Coloration, pubescence, and other Features of the corolla.

5. Stamens: connate, free; nature of fusion (with each other, with the corolla tube, etc.). Number of stamens. Place of attachment. Stamens equal or unequal in length.

6. Pistil: number of pistils per flower; free, adnate to the receptacle or to each other; presence of style and stigma; number of styles and stigmas; shape of stigmas (capitate, stellate, etc.); position of the ovary — superior, inferior, half-inferior; ovary solid, lobed, glabrous, pubescent. Number of locules in the ovary: number of carpels, other characteristics of the pistil.

7. Floral formula: with a simple perianth — P A G; with a double perianth — Ca C A G.

Note. Floral formulas use conventional letter symbols to represent the floral structure. The number of sepals, petals, stamens, and carpels is indicated by numbers next to the respective floral part symbol; when there are more than 12 parts, the infinity sign (∞) is used. Brackets in a floral formula indicate the fusion of calyx lobes, petals, etc. A horizontal line placed below or above the number of carpels indicates a superior ovary (line below the number) or an inferior ovary (line above the number). A regular flower is conventionally designated by *, and an irregular one by ↑. For unisexual flowers, male flowers are designated by ♂ and female flowers by ♀. The letter symbols used in the formula correspond to the Latin names of the floral parts: P – Perigonium (simple perianth); Ca – Calyx; C – Corolla; A – Androecium (stamens); G – Gynoecium (carpels).

VII. Fruit, infructescence.

1. Size, shape, coloration; fruit glabrous, covered with hairs, prickles, appendages, etc.

2. Origin — true, false: simple, aggregate, schizocarpic.

3. Seed count — single-seeded, many-seeded.

4. Fruit types — dry indehiscent (caryopsis, achene, nut, etc.), dry dehiscent (follicle, legume, silique, silicle, capsule, etc.), fleshy (berry, drupe, etc.).

VIII. Seed.

1. Dimensions, shape, coloration.

2. Other characteristics.

IX. Identification results.

1. Identification pathway (step numbers in the key).

2. Family name — Latin, Ukrainian.

3. Genus name — Latin, Ukrainian.

4. Species name — Latin, Ukrainian.

X. Habitat. For example, dry pine forest; fresh pine forest; fresh hornbeam-oak forest; alder swamp, Sphagnum bog; upland meadows, clear-cut areas; pine plantations, etc.

XI. Economic importance. Poisonous, medicinal, fodder, food, honey-producing, industrial, weed, etc.

XII. Location. Region, district, settlement, forestry.

XIII. Date of collection.

XIV. Collector.

XV. Additional information about the plants.

After the identification is complete, a label is prepared. If the label is handwritten, there is no need to write headings such as "Family," "Genus," or "Species"; simply provide the names (in Ukrainian and Latin). When making the label, do not write the genus name separately from the species name: they should be written together on a single line with the full names of the genus and the specific epithet.

Guidelines for plant identification. Identifying a plant means determining which family, genus, and species it belongs to. Special identification keys are used for this purpose. In addition, students must have a good knowledge of the morphological features of the root, stem, leaf, flower, and fruit, and approach this work with great care.

Plants are generally identified in a fresh, unwithered state. However, this can also be done using herbarium specimens: dried flowers are carefully placed in a test tube with Water and boiled gently over a low flame (using an alcohol burner). After boiling, they become soft, elastic, and easily accessible for morphological analysis.

To identify families at the beginning of an identification key—for example, in the "Key to the Higher Plants of Ukraine" (1987, p. 11)—a table for identifying the families of the flora of Ukraine is provided, followed by keys for identifying genera within those families. In turn, the genera contain keys for identifying plant species. Botanical identification keys are constructed on a dichotomous principle, presented in the tables and keys in the form of steps. All steps are listed on the left and denoted by sequential numbers 1, 2, 3, containing a specific set of characteristics, some of which are affirmative and others negative. This means that for each group of characteristics in the key, a definite affirmative statement (thesis) is given, immediately followed by the negation of those characteristics (antithesis). Together, they form a step in plant identification. When identifying a plant, be sure to read the entire text of the step—that is, both the thesis and the antithesis (the first corresponds to the number of the step, while the second is designated in the keys by "—", "0", or "+"). By comparing the set of characteristics of our plant, obtained through morphological analysis, with the characteristics of the thesis or antithesis, we choose which one applies to our plant: the thesis or the antithesis. All theses and antitheses are marked with numbers on the right-hand side. If the actual characteristics of the plant match those mentioned in the thesis, one proceeds to the step indicated by the number on the right of the thesis; conversely, if the plant's characteristics match the antithesis, one proceeds to the new step corresponding to the number on the right of the antithesis. Moving in this manner from one step to another, one eventually finds the complex of characteristics specific to a given family, thereby determining the name of the botanical family to which the identified species belongs.

To give you a clear understanding of the plant identification process, we provide concrete Examples of the sequential identification of Scots pine and an herbaceous plant (greater stitchwort) using the "Key to the Higher Plants of Ukraine" (1987).

Identification of Scots pine. Using the family identification table ("Key to the Higher Plants of Ukraine", 1987, p. 11), proceeding from step 1 (antithesis: plants are divided into herbs, trees, and shrubs) to 22 (thesis: gymnosperms; ovules, and subsequently seeds, are naked, not enclosed in an ovary); then to step 23 (antithesis: leaves usually long, green, needle-like—needles, linear-lanceolate, or broad), to step 24 (antithesis: leaves needle-like, linear, linear-lanceolate, or scale-like), to step 25 (thesis: seed scales of strobili gathered into more or less elongated woody cones; trees or shrubs), to step 26 (thesis: mature strobili woody, with spirally arranged scales; There are two ovules at the base of each scale; male cones are axillary). Most are evergreen trees with needle-like leaves (needles, rarely shrubs), and we ascertain that the plant we are identifying belongs to the pine family (Pinaceae). Next, using the genus identification table, proceeding from step 1 (antithesis: terminal shoots elongated, lateral ones shortened) to 5 (thesis: leaves in clusters of 2–5, needle-like), we establish that the given plant belongs to the genus pine — Pinus.

Using the Key for identifying species of the genus pine, given on page 41, proceeding from step 1 (antithesis: 2–3 needles per cluster) to 5 (antithesis: two needles per cluster), to 8 (antithesis: leaves no longer than 6–8 cm), to 14 (antithesis: annual growth constitutes a single internode), to 15 (antithesis: leaves greyish-green, prickly), to 16 (antithesis: apophyses smooth, flat, matte, greyish-brown), we learn that the identified pine species is Scots pine — Pinus sylvestris L. As a result of the identification, it should be revealed which botanical family, genus, and species the given plant belongs to.

Identification of greater stitchwort. Using the family identification table (p. 11), proceeding from step 1 (antithesis: plants reproduce by seeds. Herbs, trees, or shrubs), to 22 (antithesis: angiosperms. Ovules are located in a closed ovary), to 28 (thesis: flowers 4- or 5-merous), to 29 (antithesis: terrestrial plants), to 45 (antithesis: green plants), to 49 (thesis: perianth double), to 50 (thesis: petals free), to 51 (thesis: ovary superior), to 52 (antithesis: carpels fused to half their length and above, or carpels single), to 56 (thesis: flowers actinomorphic), to 57 (antithesis: number of stamens equals the number of petals...), to 71 (antithesis: herbaceous plants), to 87 (antithesis: plant with other characteristics), to 88 (antithesis: plant with other characteristics), to 89 (antithesis: plant without glands), to 90 (antithesis: stamens of more or less equal length), to 91 (antithesis: equal number of sepals and petals), to 93 (thesis: stem leaves, at least the lower ones, opposite or whorled), to 94 (antithesis: petals and stamens not attached to the upper margin of the calyx), to 95 (antithesis: sepals free or fused only at the base), to 96 (thesis: styles 2–5, free; sepals, petals, and stamens 10 or 5 each, sometimes fewer; fruit a capsule, rarely indehiscent—nut-like or berry-like; leaves entire, fusing at the base into a long sheath). We determine that the plant we are identifying belongs to the pink family — Caryophyllaceae. Using the key for identifying genera of the pink family (p. 65), proceeding from step 1 (antithesis: leaves without stipules), to 5 (antithesis: sepals completely free), to 7 (thesis: sepals free from the base), to 8 (antithesis: petals developed), to 9 (antithesis: Teeth of the opened capsule two or more than the styles), to 12 (antithesis: styles three), to 14 (antithesis: petals deeply twice-incised or bipartite), to 18 (antithesis: petals bipartite almost to the base, rarely absent, capsules spherical or ovoid, with six styles), we ascertain that the plant belongs to the genus stitchwort — Stellaria.

Using the key for identifying species of the genus stitchwort (p. 66), proceeding from step 1 (thesis: stem four-angled, glabrous. Perennial plants), to 2 (thesis: bracts herbaceous, leaves lanceolate), to 3 (thesis: sepals 7–10 mm long, petals twice as long as the sepals), we ascertain that the species of this stitchwort is greater stitchwort — Stellaria holostea L.

Thus, we have determined that the plant is called greater stitchwort and belongs to the pink family.