Reference no: EM133153243

ASSESSMENT ITEM: PLANT COLLECTION

Acquire a knowledge of the basic techniques of plant identification, both traditional and computer interactive

DESCRIPTION
Students are required to make a plant collection in order to learn identification skills and techniques, particularly as these are required in many environmental studies. They will also gain an understanding of features associated with common plant families as they practice the skill of observation .

This assignment is to test your identification skills.

You are to collect a minimum of 20 specimens representing 20 different species of non-cultivated plants, i.e., plants that HAVE NOT OBVIOUSLY BEEN PLANTED IN A GARDEN OR AS A STREET OR PARK TREE/SHRUB/HERB. The specimens must represent at least 10 ten different families. All material must be in a reproductive state i.e., flowering and/or fruiting.

These specimens should be mounted on white paper of uniform size such as a small drawing block or A4. (Makes it easier to post even if internally, PLEASE DO NOT PUT ON A3 size). Specimens may be attached with thin strips of tape or, a white glue such as Aquadhere, may be used. There should only be one specimen per sheet unless small and from the one locality. Photographs to be used as supplementary material if possible.

NOTE: If you are out of Australia then all material must be photographed to show detail and then submitted as a word document or you may set up Dropbox or send by powerpoint or some other digital means.

Each specimen is to be accompanied by a label which includes the following information: Each specimen is marked out of 18 initially, marks indicated in brackets

Family name and binomial - name to include the authority (this will all become clear after the third week). The authority can be located using various sources, particularly Atlas of Living Australia (ALA), Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), Australian Virtual Herbarium (AVH) or TROPICOS at Missouri Botanical Gardens and many other sources.
Locality and habitat - Be precise eg Cairns campus plus latitude and longitude , along creek in shade.
Collector's name and date of collection
Description of plant and habit when fresh e.g., tree with yellow flowers etc., leaves simple or compound etc.
Source of identification and steps taken to reach answer, in case you have made a mistake I need to be able to determine where you went wrong and why.
Presentation, if specimens are mouldy or scrappy in relation to size of paper then marks will be deducted. Photographs can be of assistance.
A floral formula this is a shorthand method of describing the features of a flower - the symbols used vary according to the country of origin of the botanist - usual in Australia is K=calyx, C = corolla, A = androecium, G = gynoecium, various brackets are used to indicate degrees of fusion etc. details in lecture notes, Unit 7 .(Hint: refer to Virtual Herbarium, Charles Sturt University for a good tutorial on this - Google). (6) The Floral Formula must be from your specimen, a formula from literature is only for comparison.