Plant Profile: Silver Lady’s Mantle (Alchemilla conjuncta)
Karen Silver lady’s mantle is an herbaceous perennial native to the southwest Alps and Jura Mountains in France and Switzerland and is a member of the rose family (Rosaceae). The blue-green…
Botany for Gardeners: Taxonomy of Pteriodophytes-Club Moss Family (Lycopodiaceae)
Club mosses are not true mosses and are in a different division of the plant kingdom. Unlike true mosses, club mosses have vascular tissue to absorb water and nutrients. They…
Botany for Gardeners: Taxonomy of Pteriodophytes-Horsetail Family (Equisetaceae)
As a member of the Pteriodophyte Divison of plants, the horsetail family has vascular tissue to conduct water and nutrients like flowering plants but reproduces by means of spores rather…
Botany for Gardeners: Taxonomy of Pteriodophytes-Spike Moss Family (Selaginellaceae)
Like other members of the Pteriodophytes division, spike mosses have vascular tissue to conduct water and nutrients and reproduce by means of spores rather than seeds. They are dwarf annuals…
Botany for Gardeners: Taxonomy of Dicots-Identifying the St. John’s Wort Family ( Hypericaceae)
The St. John’s Wort family is small and consists of trees, shrubs, and herbaceous annuals and perennials that live in temperate and warm climates. The most famous member of the…
Botany for Gardeners: Taxonomy of Gymnosperms – Identifying the Pine Family (Pinaceae)
The Pine Family includes the gymnosperms that are most familiar to everyone; pine, spruce, fir, and hemlock plus the not so familiar larch. It also includes Douglas fir which is…
Botany for Gardeners: Plant Classification-Divisions of the Plant Kingdom
As members of the Plant Kingdom plants generally share three characteristics: they are multicelluar, their cell walls are composed of cellulose, and the cells contain chlorophyll that can trap light…
Botany for Gardeners: Taxonomy of Dicots-Identifying the Water Lily Family (Nymphaeaceae)
Known from ancient Egyptian times, members of the water lily family, Nymphaceae, were made famous by Claude Monet’s series of water lily paintings and have become a water garden favorite.…
Botany for Gardeners: Taxonomy of Dicots-Identifying the Mallow Family (Malvaceae)
The mallow family is best known for cotton, cocao, okra, hibiscus, and hollyhock, but includes other plants with showy flowers such as sidalcea, globe mallow, and lavatera, as well as…
Botany for Gardeners: Taxonomy of Dicots-Identifying the Laurel Family (Lauraceae)
Most of the members of the Laurel Family are evergreen tropical trees and shrubs. Some, such as spice bush (Lindera benzoin), and red bay (Persea borbonia) are found in the…