Identifiable characteristics

describing plants

Identifiable characteristics

• Identifiable characteristics are the features that describe a plant - in other words, they tell you what the plant looks like

• Identifiable characteristics are used to describe, identify and name plants.

Identifiable characteristics include

• colour of plant parts - such as leaves, flowers and stems

• texture of plant parts - are they rough or smooth? • presence or absence of hairs and type of hairs • presence or absence of spikes and type of spikes • type of stem - is it round, square, smooth, hairy

or spiky? • seed type - are they hard, papery, small or large

Identifiable characteristics also include:

• habit • significant features

Habit- Tree

• How a plant grows is called its habit or growth habit, for example, is it:

• a tree • a shrub • a creeper/climber? • Annual • Fern • Palm • cactus

Habit- Shrub

Habit-creeper/ Climber

Habit-creeper/ Climber

Habit-creeper/ Climber

Habit-creeper/ Climber

Habit

• Evergreen climbers • To 8m + • Vigorous climber for any vertical surface,

also used as a ground cover.

Foliage

• Juvenile foliage is simple, lobed, ivy shape, 6 – 10cm wide, attractive foliage with long reddish petioles

• Adult foliage is unlobed, dark green, 120mm across.

• new growth is lighter shade of green.

Cultivars • Main one grown is:

Hedera canariensis ‘Variegata’ creamy white margin with irregular patches of dark green and grey/green. New growth has a touch of pink.

Flowers/ Fruit

• Flowers: on arborescent (adult tree like) growth only, small, greenish and in a terminal umbels noticeable but not particularly attractive.

• Fruit: on (adult tree like) growth only, black berry.

Uses in Garden

• Wall plantings • Tropical effect plant • Shaded garden/ shaded walls • Ground cover • Spillover planting • Wire topiary (only smaller cultivars)

Uses in Floristry

• Corsages • Button Hole • Trail bouquets

Trees

• Trees are usually tall woody plants with a trunk.

• Branches arise from the trunk to form a distinct canopy

Significant features

• Significant features are usually characteristics that are easily seen or obvious.

• large showy flowers • large gumnuts. • Aroma or smell can also be a significant

feature - some Grevillias smell like dirty socks!

Plant descriptions

• Plant descriptions provide useful information in recognising and identifying plants

Now let's look at an example. Below is a description of Callistemon viminalis.

Its description is as follows:

• 'A graceful weeping bottlebrush which will grow to about 4 metres and a width of about 2 metres. Growth will vary depending on the growing conditions. The foliage is light green and the new growth is bronze. It has a greyish scaly bark. It has large red bottlebrush-like flowers.’

• All of the features mentioned above are examples of identifiable characteristics.

• The significant features include: • large red bottlebrush-like flowers • 'graceful weeping' appearance • The growth habit is determined by its size (4

metres) - it is either a small tree or a large shrub

References

• http://tle.tafevc.com.au/toolbox/file/ecdff337-53f7-1400-2b37-13782f37bd95/1/507_recognise_plants.zip/html/pages/website/webhome.htm?f_guide/fg_16.htm