Plant Identification Lab

For this lab we walked around campus and Tatnall square park identifying different plants, trees, and shrubs.

Plants:

Mexican Petunia(Ruellia Brittonianiana)- The Mexican petunia is a tender evergreen perennial that forms colonies of stemmy stalks standing 3 ft (0.9 m) in height and of indeterminate width. The strong semi-woody stalks are distinctly vertical in aspect and hold attractive dark green, leaves oppositely at the nodes.

Poison Ivey(Toxicodendron radicans)- better known as poison ivy (older synonyms are Rhus toxicodendron and Rhus radicans), is a poisonous North American plant that is well known for its production of urushiol, a clear liquid compound found within the sap of the plant that causes an itching rash in most people who touch it. The plant is not a true ivy (Hedera).

 Aloe(aloe vera)-The species is frequently cited as being used in herbal medicine. Many scientific studies on the use of extracts of Aloe vera have been undertaken, some of them conflicting.

Trees:

Ginkgo Tree(Ginkgo Biloba)-The tree is widely cultivated and introduced, since an early period in human history, and has various uses as a food and traditional medicine.

Sycamore(Platanus Occidentalis)- An American sycamore tree can often be easily distinguished from other trees by its mottled exfoliating bark, which flakes off in great irregular masses, leaving the surface mottled, and greenish-white, gray and brown.

Crape Myrtle(Lagerstroemia)-Most species of Lagerstroemia have sinewy, fluted stems and branches with a mottled appearance that arises from having bark that sheds throughout the year. 

Shrubs:

Rhododendron ( Rhododendron maximum)-R. maximum is an evergreen shrub growing to 4 m (13 ft), rarely 10 m (33 ft), tall. The leaves are 9-19 cm (3-8 in) long and 2-4 cm (0.75-1.5 in) broad. The flowers are 2.5-3 cm (1 in) diameter, white, pink or pale purple, often with small greenish-yellow spots.

Angel's Trumpet(Brugmansia)-Brugmansia are long-lived, woody trees or bushes, with pendulous, not erect, flowers, that have no spines on their fruit

Hydrangea(Hydrangea Macriohylla)- In climates where hydrangea flowers, place in a mixed shrub border or at the back of a flower bed. Its rich foliage and large size make it a wonderful background for white or light colored flowers, even tall growing perennials and annuals.