{"id":42,"date":"2019-12-17T20:58:02","date_gmt":"2019-12-18T01:58:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/plantidentification\/chapter\/key-to-plant-classification\/"},"modified":"2020-09-18T12:04:58","modified_gmt":"2020-09-18T16:04:58","slug":"key-to-plant-classification","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/plantidentification\/chapter\/key-to-plant-classification\/","title":{"raw":"Key to Plant Classification","rendered":"Key to Plant Classification"},"content":{"raw":"
\r\n

Learning Objectives<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/header>\r\n

\r\n
    \r\n \t
  • Use a dichotomous key for plant classification.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\nDichotomous keys help improve pattern recognition and understanding of the descriptive terminology used to classify important distinctions among plants. The following dichotomous key can be used outdoors to classify a range of plants by type, growth habit, and reproductive method.\r\n

    Practice<\/h2>\r\nUse a dichotomous key for plant classification.<\/strong>\r\n

    Key to Plant Classification<\/h3>\r\n
      \r\n \t
    • 1.a. Plants rely on their closeness to water and absorptive green tissues above ground............................................................... Non-vascular plant (go to 2)<\/li>\r\n \t
    • 1.b. Plants have a water conducting system that supplies above ground tissues with water and allows growth above ground \u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026.......................... Vascular plant (go to 2)<\/li>\r\n \t
    • 2.a. Plants, (conifers and flowering) that reproduce by seed ............................................................................. Spermatophyte (go to 3)<\/li>\r\n \t
    • 2.b. Plants that reproduce by spores .................................... Pteridophyte (go to 4)<\/li>\r\n \t
    • 3.a. Spermatophyte that flowers and develops seeds within ovaries that mature into fruits ................................................................................ Angiosperm (go to 4)<\/li>\r\n \t
    • 3.b. Spermatophyte that flowers and develops seeds \u2018naked\u2019 in cones (conifer) ............................................................................... Gymnosperm (go to 5)<\/li>\r\n \t
    • 4.a. Plants with primary growth tissue only, lacking woody tissue like bark .................................................................................... Herbaceous (go to 6)<\/li>\r\n \t
    • 4.b. Plants with secondary growth tissue, like bark ......................... Woody (go to 5)<\/li>\r\n \t
    • 5.a. Woody plants with one or few main stems \u2026\u2026............................ Tree (go to 7)<\/li>\r\n \t
    • 5.b. Woody plants with multiple stems emerging from base ................. Shrub (go to 7)<\/li>\r\n \t
    • 6.a. Non-woody tissue does not persist over one or more seasons; withers and dies back to fleshy crown, bulb, tuber, or rhizome ....................... Deciduous herbaceous (go to 8)<\/li>\r\n \t
    • 6.b. Non-woody tissue and leaves persist over one or more seasons of growth ..................................................................... Evergreen herbaceous (go to 8)<\/li>\r\n \t
    • 7.a. Trees or shrubs that lose their leaves every autumn................. Deciduous (go to 8)<\/li>\r\n \t
    • 7.b. Trees or shrubs that are never entirely leafless ............................................................. Evergreen or semi-evergreen (go to 8)<\/li>\r\n \t
    • 8.a. Herbaceous angiosperm that produces a single seed leaf; leaves have parallel venation; flower parts are in 3\u2019s ...................................................... Monocotyledon<\/li>\r\n \t
    • 8.b. Woody or herbaceous angiosperm that produces a pair of seed leaves; leaves have netted venation; flower parts are in 4\u2019s or 5\u2019s ................................... Eudicotyledon<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>","rendered":"
      \n
      \n

      Learning Objectives<\/p>\n<\/header>\n

      \n
        \n
      • Use a dichotomous key for plant classification.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

        Dichotomous keys help improve pattern recognition and understanding of the descriptive terminology used to classify important distinctions among plants. The following dichotomous key can be used outdoors to classify a range of plants by type, growth habit, and reproductive method.<\/p>\n

        Practice<\/h2>\n

        Use a dichotomous key for plant classification.<\/strong><\/p>\n

        Key to Plant Classification<\/h3>\n
          \n
        • 1.a. Plants rely on their closeness to water and absorptive green tissues above ground……………………………………………………… Non-vascular plant (go to 2)<\/li>\n
        • 1.b. Plants have a water conducting system that supplies above ground tissues with water and allows growth above ground \u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026…………………….. Vascular plant (go to 2)<\/li>\n
        • 2.a. Plants, (conifers and flowering) that reproduce by seed ………………………………………………………………….. Spermatophyte (go to 3)<\/li>\n
        • 2.b. Plants that reproduce by spores ……………………………… Pteridophyte (go to 4)<\/li>\n
        • 3.a. Spermatophyte that flowers and develops seeds within ovaries that mature into fruits …………………………………………………………………….. Angiosperm (go to 4)<\/li>\n
        • 3.b. Spermatophyte that flowers and develops seeds \u2018naked\u2019 in cones (conifer) ……………………………………………………………………. Gymnosperm (go to 5)<\/li>\n
        • 4.a. Plants with primary growth tissue only, lacking woody tissue like bark ………………………………………………………………………… Herbaceous (go to 6)<\/li>\n
        • 4.b. Plants with secondary growth tissue, like bark ……………………. Woody (go to 5)<\/li>\n
        • 5.a. Woody plants with one or few main stems \u2026\u2026………………………. Tree (go to 7)<\/li>\n
        • 5.b. Woody plants with multiple stems emerging from base …………….. Shrub (go to 7)<\/li>\n
        • 6.a. Non-woody tissue does not persist over one or more seasons; withers and dies back to fleshy crown, bulb, tuber, or rhizome ………………….. Deciduous herbaceous (go to 8)<\/li>\n
        • 6.b. Non-woody tissue and leaves persist over one or more seasons of growth …………………………………………………………… Evergreen herbaceous (go to 8)<\/li>\n
        • 7.a. Trees or shrubs that lose their leaves every autumn…………….. Deciduous (go to 8)<\/li>\n
        • 7.b. Trees or shrubs that are never entirely leafless ……………………………………………………. Evergreen or semi-evergreen (go to 8)<\/li>\n
        • 8.a. Herbaceous angiosperm that produces a single seed leaf; leaves have parallel venation; flower parts are in 3\u2019s ……………………………………………… Monocotyledon<\/li>\n
        • 8.b. Woody or herbaceous angiosperm that produces a pair of seed leaves; leaves have netted venation; flower parts are in 4\u2019s or 5\u2019s …………………………….. Eudicotyledon<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"author":90,"menu_order":12,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-42","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":19,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/plantidentification\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/42","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/plantidentification\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/plantidentification\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/plantidentification\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/90"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/plantidentification\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/42\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":354,"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/plantidentification\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/42\/revisions\/354"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/plantidentification\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/19"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/plantidentification\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/42\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/plantidentification\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/plantidentification\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=42"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/plantidentification\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=42"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/plantidentification\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=42"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}