BIO 406D - Native Plants Spring 2005 Packet #10 – St. Edwards Park – April 12 and 13, 2005 Page 1 of 9

Summary of Plants learned in this lab: Family___________________Genus _______Species

ACERACEAE Acer negundo

APIACEAE Hydrocotyle umbellata

ASTERACEAE Engelmannia peristenia

CONVOLVULACEAE Dichondra carolinensis

CUPRESSACEAE Taxodium distichum

EUPHORBIACEAE Euphorbia roemeriana

LAMIACEAE Salvia farinacea

LAMIACEAE Salvia roemeriana

MORACEAE Morus rubra

POACEAE Buchloe dactyloides

RANUNCULACEAE Aquilegia chrysantha

RUBIACEAE Sherardia arvensis

SALICACEAE Salix nigra

ULMACEAE Celtis laevigata (var. laevigata)

ULMACEAE Ulmus americana

Other interesting plants seen at St. Eds:

ARECEAE Arisaema dracontium “Green Monster”

SMILACACEAE Smilax tamnoides “Devil Greenbrier”

SAPOTACEAE Sideroxylon lanuginosum (obligate Dodo-bird relationship)

BIO 406D - Native Plants Spring 2005 Packet #10 – St. Edwards Park – April 12 and 13, 2005 Page 2 of 9

RANUNCULACEAE (Buttercup family) Aquilegia chrysantha Yellow Columbine

Aqua=water legere=to collect; possibly referring to the water-collecting properties of the long spurs

Chrys=gold

The long petal spurs (containing nectar?) give the flowers a shooting-star appearance

Distinctive leaf complexity and shape – 2 or 3 times palmately compound with segments rather fan-shaped

_______________________________________________________________________________

LAMIACEAE (Mint family) Salvia farinacea Mealy Blue Sage

Salvare=to save or heal, from healing properties farina=mealy, powdery, as in flour

calyx and flower color distinct

BIO 406D - Native Plants Spring 2005 Packet #10 – St. Edwards Park – April 12 and 13, 2005 Page 3 of 9

ULMACEAE (Elm family) Celtis laevigata (var. laevigata) Sugar Hackberry

Laevigata=smooth

how does Celtis differ from Ulmus? (3 main veins, curved veins) some leaf bases are asymmetrical

fruits mature to red color in the fall- very sweet and tasty! Hackberries often have galls

_______________________________________________________________________________

POACEAE (Grass family) Buchloe dactyloides Buffalo Grass

Bous= buffalo or cow chloë=grass dactyl=finger

plants dioecious (occasionally monoecious) with male flowers taller and more evident. Stamens are peach-colored

staminate spikelets usually 6-12 per branch, sessile and pectinately arranged

good grass for xeriscaping – native and requiring only 12 inches of rain/year!

BIO 406D - Native Plants Spring 2005 Packet #10 – St. Edwards Park – April 12 and 13, 2005 Page 4 of 9

CONVOLVULACEAE (Morning Glory family) Dichondra carolinensis Pony-foot

Convolvere=to entwine di=two chondros=grain (from deeply lobed fruit)

trailing habit, with stems prostrate on the ground petioles? what leaf shape (kidney?)

_______________________________________________________________________________

EUPHORBIACEAE (Spurge/Poinsettia family) Euphorbia roemeriana Roemer’s Spurge

Named for Euphorbus, a 1st century AD physician **endemic**

inflorescence trichotomously branched leafy bracts subtending inflorescence appear fused

unique Euphorb flower consists of a cyathium – a small cup-like involucre containing unisexual flowers – one pistillate (female) flower and several staminate (male) flowers

In this species, the yellow cyathium has fleshy, petal-like glands along the rim – sometimes called a pseudanthium

Euphorbia is a huge genus – over 2000 species. Poinsettia is also a Euphorbia species! Milky sap!

BIO 406D - Native Plants Spring 2005 Packet #10 – St. Edwards Park – April 12 and 13, 2005 Page 5 of 9

LAMIACEAE (Mint family) Salvia roemeriana Cedar Sage

Associated with Edwards Plateau habitats – limestone, juniper woodlands pubescent foliage

Leaf shape(s)? petiole color? Flower symmetry?

______________________________________________________________________________

ULMACEAE (Elm family) Ulmus americana American Elm

leaves usually doubly-serrate samara fruit type – flattened with a side wing

how does this Elm differ from Ulmus crassifolia?

BIO 406D - Native Plants Spring 2005 Packet #10 – St. Edwards Park – April 12 and 13, 2005 Page 6 of 9

MORACEAE (Mulberry or Fig family) Morus rubra Red Mulberry

Rubra=red

flowers unisexual, each in separate catkins common in stream bottoms

leaf shape is variable, often with asymmetrical lobes milky sap! (Can cause dermatitis)

_______________________________________________________________________________

ACERACEAE (Maple family) Acer negundo Box Elder

Box Elder saplings can look remarkably like poison ivy – however there is an easy way to tell them apart – what is it?

Unlike most other maples, this species has pinnately compound leaves – usually 3-5 leaflets

*woody opposite* fall fruits are samaras – act like helicopters when dispersing

BIO 406D - Native Plants Spring 2005 Packet #10 – St. Edwards Park – April 12 and 13, 2005 Page 7 of 9

APIACEAE (Carrot family) Hydrocotyle umbellata Umbrella Water-Pennywort

Hydro=water cotyle=cup umbellata=with umbels

leaf shape/texture? Notice the petiole joins the leaf blade in the center – this is called peltate and is reminiscent of an umbrella

Hydrocotyle is common in wet areas

_______________________________________________________________________________

RUBIACEAE (Coffee family) Sherardia arvensis Sherard, Spurwort

Arvensis=pertaining to cultivated fields

flower color? Leaves in whorls of 4-6 per whorl

How can you differentiate this species from Galium?

BIO 406D - Native Plants Spring 2005 Packet #10 – St. Edwards Park – April 12 and 13, 2005 Page 8 of 9

ASTERACEAE (Sunflower family) Engelmannia peristenia Cut-leaf Daisy

George Engelmann – a botanist and physician from the 1800’s

densely hispid-pubescent distinct pinnatifid foliage with white midrib

_______________________________________________________________________________

SALICACEAE (Willow family) Salix nigra Black Willow

leaf shape? Unisexual catkins Like cottonwoods in the same family, willows like to have their feet wet

contains salicylic acid (precursor to aspirin) and Salix twigs have been widely chewed on for pain relief

BIO 406D - Native Plants Spring 2005 Packet #10 – St. Edwards Park – April 12 and 13, 2005 Page 9 of 9

CUPRESSACEAE (Cypress/Redwood family) Taxodium distichum Bald Cypress

Distichum=in 2 ranks

monoecious, deciduous trees that can get very large – there is a huge ~1400 year old Bald Cypress along Town Lake!

Bald cypress leaves are arranged in short branches that resemble compound leaves

Growing by water, bald cypresses often put up “knees” that are probably used for aeration in anaerobic swamps