4.2 Identifying Plants

4.2 Identifying Plants

Plants

There are around 400,000 species of flowering plants in the world, one in five of which are at risk of extinction. That equates to more species than birds and approximately the same as mammals. Outdoor environmental education is a great way to explore and discover the intrinsic value of plants and their place in the world, the extraordinary way they adapt to being pollinated and the life that they sustain.

Before you head out on plant hunts, FSC (Field Studies Council) identification charts (depending on what habitat you are heading out to) and a hand lens are useful(see resources below).

Annual, biennial and perennial

Plants in the UK fall into one of three categories, annual, biennial or perennial, depending on how long an individual plant lives for. An annual plant, such as a poppy for example,  will grow from a seed, flower and set seed all in one year, after which that individual plant dies, though its offspring may appear in the same spot the following year. A biennial plants, such as a foxglove for example, grows from a seed into a leafy plant in the first year, without flowering. It returns to grow from the roots in its second year, when it flowers and sets seeds, after which that individual plant dies, though again, its offspring may appear in the same spot the following year. A perennial plant, such as an ox-eye daisy, is one that grows and flowers every year for several years in succession – how many years depends on the species, but definitely more than the two year lifespan of a biennial plant.

Suggestions for sessions

Plant Hunters

Set out on your wild flower session as a ‘Plant Hunter’ just like the Scottish plant hunter Robert Fortune, who ‘discovered’ tea in 1842 and transported it from China to India, which created one of the most financially successful industries of all time!

Bee Brainy

Set out on your plant hunt as a pollinating insect. Can you see how different flowers have set out coloured lines to guide you to their nectar? Can you see the nectar or even smell the nectar? Can you, blindfolded, find a flower by its smell?

Daisy (Bellis perennis)

A common plant of many a lawn in the UK, and many a headdress is made from these flowers on warm summer days!

Identification:

  • A herbaceous perennial plant with short creeping rhizomes.
  • Small, hairy, spoon-shaped leaves that are 2-5cm long.
  • Flowering heads are 2-3 cm and made up of lots of small flowers; some are the white ray florets and others are the yellow disc florets.

Environmental activities:

Can you spot the red tips on top of the white ray florets on daisies? See if these change colour over a few weeks. Are they red to attract a pollinator?

How do you think the Daisy got its name? Watch how the flower head opens during the day and shuts at night, just like an eye opening and shutting i.e. ‘day’s-eye’.

Have a good look at the leaves of the daisy and how close they are to the ground. Then see if you can work out why the daisy usually grows up so quickly after a lawn has been mowed?

How many daisies can you cover with your foot? If you can cover more than nine then, apparently, spring has arrived!

Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)

Identification

  • A biennial or perennial herbaceous plant.
  • Deeply toothed dark green leaves that occur in rosettes. The deep-toothed leaves are what give the dandelion its name that derives from the French “dent de lion” (lion’s tooth).
  • A bright yellow flower that is in fact a collection of lots of small yellow flowers.
  • The flower stalks are hollow.
  • The flowers develop into a downy spherical “clock’ with seeds (the achenes) surrounded by downy hairs (the pappus). This down helps the seeds disperse in the wind in a parachute-like fashion.

 Ethnobotany

Dandelion is also known as ‘pissey bed’ or ‘pissenli’(from the French piss en lit meaning to wet the bed), which refers to the children’s tale that if you pick a dandelion you will wet the bed. In fact this children’s tale has some roots in fact, as this plant has been scientifically proven to be strongly diuretic.

Dandelion leaves and flowers have been used not just as a medicine but also as food. Their use in salads has recently increased.

The roots of dandelion can be made into a coffee substitute, and the flower heads into a wine.

The stem of a dandelion exudes a milky sap (latex) when broken.

During the Second World War the Germans, Russians and Americans produced rubber from dandelion latex. There is now a renewed interest in harvesting latex  from dandelions, as rubber trees are increasingly plagued by fungal attacks.

Environmental activities

Look at the base of the yellow flowers with a hand lens and see if you can see the ‘pappus’ of hairs that will eventually mature into the dandelion ‘clock’.

Make a rubber band out of dandelion latex (make sure no one in your group is allergic to latex). Collect sap from dandelion stems by breaking them and squeezing out the latex. Coat one of your fingers down to the first knuckle with the sap. Let it dry and then gently roll this off your finger to produce a small, stretchy elastic band. (https://thedigforkids.com/make-rubber-band-from-dandelion/)

Bluebell (Hyancinthoides non-scripta)

Britain is home to more than half the world’s bluebells. Bluebells grow in deciduous woodlands and are often considered a sign of ancient woodland (that is a woodland that has existed since the 17th century).

Identification

  • Narrow tube-like flowers with up rolled tips.
  • Leaves are linear to lanceolate.
  • The flowers are all on one side of the stem.
  • The parts of the flower are in threes: Six fused petals, six stamens.
  • The three outer stamens are attached to the petal for about four fifths of their length.
  • Anthers are pale cream.

Ecology

Annual changes in bluebell flowering times are a useful indicator of climate change.

Bluebells are a protected species due to their vulnerability to illegal harvesting from the wild, and hybridising with the non-native Spanish bluebell. Plants also do not repond well to being picked or trampled. It has been illegal for anyone to collect native bluebells for sale without a licence since 1998.

Bluebells are mainly pollinated by bumblebees, however other insects also take advantage of their nectar.

The sap of bluebells used to be used as a glue, though it can also cause dermatitis, so be careful if you experiment with this.

The bluebell plant is toxic if eaten!

Environmental activity:

Get down close and personal with bluebells with your hand lens and see if you can see the pool of nectar at the base of the ovary. Have a good breathe in whilst you are there so you can smell the aroma that attracts the pollinators!

Take part in one of the surveys recording the invasive Spanish bluebell or the Natural History Museum survey looking at climate change and bluebells.

Common storksbill (Erodium cicutarium)

Identification

  • Feathery leaves 2-20cm long with many deeply cut lobes.
  • Hairy stems up to 60cm tall.
  • Flowers can be in clusters of up to seven which are 12mm across.
  • Five petals
  • Flower develops into a long beaked fruit once fertilised (hence the name ‘storks bill’)
  • Flowers are rose/purple to white

Ecology

When the seeds are ready to be dispersed the whole of the beak falls off and twists spirally. This is thought to aid the seeds being anchored into the ground.

Environmental activity

Pick one of the ‘beaks’ of the storksbill and lie it in your hand. Be patient and watch it start to twist and spiral … it is pretty cool to see!

Cuckoopint (Arum maculatum)

The many common names of this perennial plant allude either to some of its morphological features, or its poisonous nature. For example, names such as ‘Lords and Ladies’ or ‘Adam and Eve’ refer to the shape of the flowering parts of the plant that look like male and female genitalia. Other names such as ‘devils and angels’, ‘snakeshead’, and ‘adder’s root’ and all refer to the extremely poisonous nature of this plant.

Identification:

  • 30-40cm tall.
  • Leaves 7-20cm long and arrow-shaped to triangular
  • Leaves very shiny bright green, often purple spotted on long stalks.
  • Leaves appear February to March.
  • Flowers on a purple-violet central spike called a spadix
  • Flowers encased in a 10 -25cm light green leaf-like bract structure called a spathe.
  • Fruit are bright red berries clustered on the spike.

Ecology

Cuckoopint attracts pollinators by putting out a faecal odour and temperatures up to 15 degrees Celsius warmer than the ambient temperature. They also have hairs just above the male flower parts that trap species such as owl-midges, which are then dusted with their pollen while they try to get free. The second part of this plant’s scientific name ‘maculatum’ is Latin for ‘spotted’ which refers to the purple spots on the young leaves of this plant.

Enthnobotany

Even though this plant is known for being highly toxic, the root tuber of Cukoopint has in the past been made into a type of starchy food called Portland sago, as well as a type of coffee. However, this is only after extremely careful preparation due to the risk of poisoning if processed incorrectly.

The red to orange berries of this plant are extremely poisonous. They contain oxalates of saponins which have needle-shaped crystals which irritate the skin, mouth, tongue, and throat, and result in swelling of throat, difficulty breathing, burning pain, and upset stomach. However, their acrid taste coupled with the almost immediate tingling sensation in the mouth when consumed mean that large amounts are rarely taken and serious harm is unusual. According to hospital A&E attendance records cuckoopint is the most common cause of accidental plant poisoning. All parts of the plant can produce allergic reactions in many people and the plant should be handled with care. (www.thepoisongarden.co.uk)

Heather (Ling) (Calluna vulgaris)

Identification:

  • Ling is one of six species heathers to be found in the UK, and one of the three most common, alongside bell heather and crossed leaved heath.
  • It is an evergreen plant with many tangled stems that are profusely branched.
  • The tiny leaves on the flowering stems are stalk-less and in pairs.
  • The flowers are purple and grow in loose spikes on the end of the stems and branches.
  • Sometimes you might find white flowers on ling plants;
    these are considered lucky.

Ecology

Heather has had various uses for humans such as fuel, baskets, beer, dyes and thatching. It is also an important food source for many different types of wildlife.

  • Young heather shoots, flowers and seeds are the main food source for grouse. Other birds also eat the seed.
  • In Scotland, capercaillie feed on moth larvae that are found on heather.
  • Older shoots are an important food source for sheep and deer, particularly in the winter.
  • Flowers provide nectar for bees and other insects.
  • Certain beetles and their larvae feed on the leaves.
  • The leaves of heather are wrapped in on themselves. This is one method by which the plant avoids too much moisture loss through its leaves.
  • Heather flowers are pollinated by a process called ‘buzz-pollination’ which involves an insect vibrating the flower at a certain frequency that causes pollen to be shaken from the anthers onto the stigma.

Environmental activity

Flowers or empty seed capsule? Have a look with your hand lens at what looks like a heather flower in winter. Can you see petals, a stigma or a style? In winter you will be looking at a flower look-a-like, which is in fact the empty capsule seed of the plant.

Over 100 species of moth caterpillars have been found feeding on heather. How many species can be found on a bug hunt in spring or summer on one plant?

Scots broom (Cytisus scoparius)

Identification:

  • Scots broom is a similar plant to gorse but does not have any thorns.
  • A deciduous shrub that grows fast
  • Plant can grow to 2m with green, strong, angled twigs.
  • Golden yellow pea flowers that are typical of the pea family.
  • Flower has spirally-coiled styles and stamen.
  • Seeds are inside long black podswhich are 2.5 – 4cm long.

Ecology

  • The flowers support a lot of feeding invertebrates.
  • The plant has nitrogen fixing nodules on its roots.
  • The flower has its style and stigma ‘spring loaded’ which are then released upon the weight of an insect putting pressure on the keel petals.
  • Scots broom is a colonising plant and makes the most of deforested habitats to establish itself. It is also an effective sand and soil binder.

Environmental activity: Looking at ingenious ways for pollination.

In late spring or early summer pretend to be an insect landing on the keel of the petals of broom flowers. Dig your proboscis (fingernail) into the flower, pretending to look for nectar. Watch the spring loaded stigma and stamen jump out of the keel and whack you on the back of your head (your nail), taking pollen from your previously visited flower onto its stigma and putting pollen on your ‘back’ to carry to the next flower.