Review of the Syllabus
Indroduction of Instructor and TA
Materials Required
Course Objectives
Exams
Collection Requirments
Plant Recognition List
Grading
Schedule

Methods of plant identification
    Comparison with known specimens, photographs, illustrations
    Recognition
    Using paper or electronic keys
    Expert determination

Scientific names; nomenclature; taxonomic hierarchy

Three parts to a scientific name
    Generic name (initial letter capitalized)
    Specific epithet (initial letter lower case)
    Author citation gives credit to the person who published the name

Scientific names are italicized in print or underscored in manuscripts.
The following serves as an example: Woodwardiavirginica (L.) J.E. Smith which is commonly known as the "Virginia chain fern"
A species name consists of the generic name + the specific epithet

Organisms are classified into a taxonomic hierarchy of successively inclusive categories. The basic categories, beginning with the most inclusive, are:
    Kingdom
    Phylum/Division
    Class
    Order
    Family
    Genus
    Species

Two significant contributions to systematics initiated by Linnaeus (1753) are the
    Rigorous use of binomial names
    Taxonomic hierarchy used in classification
 
 

Nomenclature is the activity of assigning names to taxonomic categories (taxa/taxon) according to a set of established guidelines. For plant names the principles, rules, and recommendations are provided in the publication called the International Code for Botanical Nomenclature. One of the principles is that each taxonomic group can bear only one correct name.

Basic plant structure (morphology)

    Vascular plant life cycles
        Annual
        Biennial
        Perennial
    Vegetative plant parts
        Roots
        Stems
        Leaves
    Stems
        Woody; herbaceous
    Specialized stems
        Aerial: Runners; stolons
        Underground: Tuber; rhizome; bulb
    Leaves
        Basic parts of a complete leaf: petiole; blade; stipules

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