L.A. County Arboretum & Botanic Garden Plant Info: March 2015

Thursday, March 12, 2015

California Landscape Contractors Fund Polyphagous Shot Hole Borer Research

As the grave nature of the consequences of the current Polyphagous Shot Hole Borer infestation become clearer another organization with a stake in plants the pest attacks are donating money for research into methods to control it. Up until now the California Avocado Commission has been the biggest donor, but recently another organization that might have much more to lose, the California Landscape Contractors Association, is funding research. With the majority of the plants being attacked by this pest being important elements in landscape design here, this funding makes good sense for the organization whose members rely on them as the fundamental building blocks of their industry.

Plant Identification Class Tomorrow, March 13th at 1:30pm.

Here is a post to the Plant Identification Blog that talks about tomorrow's lesson.

Thursday, March 5, 2015

Plant Identification Class (With Emphasis on Non-Native Ornamental Plants) Syllabus

This is the syllabus for tomorrow's plant identification class. The class runs for four Fridays this month, 3/6, 3/13, 3/20 and 3/27. There's still time to register for this class, or you can register at the door. Hope to see you there.

Instructor Information

Frank McDonough, L.A. Arboretum Botanical Information Consultant

Office phone: 626 821-3236

E-mail: frank(dot)mcdonough (ahhhhhttttt) arborertum (dot) org

Office hours: Tuesday-Thursday 9:00-10:00 a.m.; 3:00-4:30 p.m. Please call or e-mail me as sometimes I am out in the field (a common botanist’s excuse).

Website: http://laarboretumplantid.blogspot.com/ Course materials will be posted online.

Course information

Prerequisites: A willingness to stare at very small things for more than a minute.

Meeting time and place: Lecture/Lab Friday 1:30-4:00 p.m. Education Greenhouse Classroom

Course Description: Key and description driven plant classification and taxonomy with emphasis on identifying orders and families, and using web resources in able to identify non-native horticultural plants with or without knowledge of their origin or provenance.

Goals of course:

· To familiarize you with the Arboretum collection in terms of the identification of plants in it and the relationship of those plants to other plants in the same family and order.

· To give you an introduction to the terminology of plant organs and structures, and how you can use this knowledge to identify unknown plants.

· When you are finished with this course you will never look at plants the same way ever again.

Required texts: How to Identify Plants, H.D. Harrington and W. Durrell

Required Equipment: Lighted 10-15x hand lens, or non-lighted lens and a bright headlamp, scalpel (will have one to share first class), gloves if needed (may be provided), wipes, dissecting needle (nice to have but not necessary)

Date	Subjects Covered	Taxon Covered
May 6th	Introduction to Taxonomy, Plant Classification Hierarchy, Flower and Inflorescence Terms	Mint family, Acanthus family, Magnolia family, Poppy family, Grass tree family and possibly others TBD
May 13th	Leaves and Surfaces Terms	TBD
May 20th	Roots and Stems Terms	TBD
May 27th	Using Order to ID Unknown Families, Using the Internet to ID Plants	TBD