NWFFS Inspector Training2021

Book Written by:

• Dr. James Woolf and his wife Melinda• Dr. Woolf is a Botany Professor at Utah Valley

University, Orem, Utah

Items Needed for to get the most out of today’s Training

• Plant Identification and Terminology book (PIT)

• Weeds of the West• Weeds of California• Plastic Noxious Weeds

– Spotted knapweed– Dalmatian toadflax

If you don’t all of the above, don’t worry, I have scanned all of it, so

you will still learn a lot

What is this book about?

• It is a book of phytography, meaning, a book of botanical terms with illustrations

• If you want to get better at plant identification, you have to learn a new language, Steve Hines, Jerome County Extension Agent

• This book is the language

Why the book was written

• Dr. Harris teaches plant taxonomy

Plant Taxonomy• Plant taxonomy is a branch of taxonomy and

it has two main goals:– 1. Identification – 2. Classification of plants

Vipers bugloss Small bugloss

These three (3) plants were arranged in what family?

Borage

Fiddleneck

Pop Quiz• Who was the first person(s) to study and

record written records of Idaho plants?

Lewis and Clark

Bonus Question, name the person that guided and made sure the expedition didn’t starve to death or get lost?

• Sacajawea

Why the book was written, cont.

• It was written to fill a need for a comprehensive illustrated guide to the terminology of systematic botany

Why the book was written, cont.

• Translation: every plant reference book has a glossary, however, most have limited value because they are small and they don’t any illustrations, a picture is worth a thousand words!

Why the book was written, cont.

• Often all that is needed to quickly convey the meaning of a botanical term is a simple illustration

Instant mental images:

• Taproot

Bunch grass (fibrous) & Spotted knapweed

Instant mental images:

Petiole and Stem

Instant mental images:

• Sessile

Plumeless thistle

Instant mental images:• Raceme A Noxious Weed that exhibit this type of

inflorescence?Which is consistent with this family?

Whitetop (Hoary cress), Mustard Family

Why line drawing instead of color pictures in this book?

• Subtle or certain complex images can be illustrated much better with line drawings

How do I use this book?

• This book is divided into two parts• Part 1, Illustrated (Alphabetically) Glossary of

Terms, page 3 to 136• This is the most useful when trying to

identify an unknown plant in conjunction with a weed reference book

• Part 2 Terminology by Category, page 139 to 206

How do I use this book? Cont.

• Part 2, Group related terms, beginning with roots and moving upward ie. stem, leaves and fruits. They are grouped together so a person can make side by side comparisons, like XID does.

• You can’t identify plants with this book by itself. Think of it as super glossary that can be used with any weed reference book

Unknown #1 , Weeds of the West (WOW)

• What we know? That it is a dicotIt has the attributes of the Sunflower family (Asteraceae)

Sunflower family (Asteraceae)

• Leaves alternate, sometimes opposite• Flowers in heads with numerous small

flowers in each head• Inflorescence composed of either all disk

flowers, all ray flowers, or combination of disk and ray flowers.

• Fruit a seed-like achene, usually bearing a pappus

Types of Sunflower (Asteraceae) family flowers• Hawkweeds, Rush skeleton weed,

& Perennial sowthistle

• Knapweeds, Thistles, & Common crupina

• Oxeye daisy & Tansy ragwort

Unknown #1

Using the Plant Identification and Terminology book (PIT and) a weed reference book ie. Weeds of the West (WOW) we will confirm an unknown plant

In this scenario, we have a flowering plant, that we think is Spotted knapweed, and we want to confirm it attributes with WOW, however, we are not certain of the meaning of each attribute given in WOW, so we use PIT to learn each attribute and then we are able to confirm each attribute

Unknown #1 , Weeds of the West (WOW)

• What we know? specimen is in Sunflower family

• WOW is arranged alphabetically by scientific family names with species within families arranged alphabetically by scientific name

• Sunflower family =Asteraceae, starts on page 42

Unknown #1 , Weeds of the West (WOW) cont.

• What we know?• We think it is a knapweed• We know that most knapweeds are in the

Centaurea genus, go to page 86 • We then compare the specimen all of the examples

in the Centaurea genus (8), and decide it may be Spotted knapweed, page 92

• To confirm, we compare the attributes in WOW with the specimen (visible attributes)

Unknown #1 , Spotted knapweedWeeds of the West, page 93

• Principal stem leaves pinnately divided (PIT page 86)

Unknown #1 , Spotted knapweedWeeds of the West, page 93

• PIT, Page 86: Pinnate: Resembling a feather, as in a compound leaf with leaflets arranged on opposite sides of an elongated axis

Unknown #1 , Spotted knapweedWeeds of the West, page 93

• Involucral bracts stiff and tipped with a dark comblike fringe (PIT page 61)

Unknown #1 , Spotted knapweedWeeds of the West, page 93

• PIT, Page 61: Involucre: A whorl of bracts subtending (below) a flower or flower cluster.

Spotted knapweed

Diffuse knapweed

Squarrose knapweed

C031-23

Unknown #1 , Spotted knapweedWeeds of the West, page 93

• The ray disk flowers are pinkish-purple or rarely cream-colored (PIT page 39)

Unknown #1 , Spotted knapweedWeeds of the West, page 93

• PIT, Page 39: Disk flower: a regular flower of the Compositae (Asteraceace). Figure 396. (compare ray flower)

Spotted knapweed (Centaurea stoebe)Sunflower family (Asteraceae)

• Plant perennial• Disk flowers pink to purple• Flowerheads are solitary at the end of branches• Bract has comb-like fringe with a brown triangular tip• Leaves are deeply divided

Unknown #2

Using the Plant Identification and Terminology book (PIT and) a weed reference book ie. Weeds of California (WOC) we will confirm an unknown plant

In this scenario, we have a flowering plant, that we think is Dalmatian toadflax, and we want to confirm it attributes with WOC, however, we are not certain of the meaning of each attribute given in WOC, so we use PIT to learn each attribute and then we are able to confirm each attribute

Unknown #2 , Weeds of California (WOC)

• What we know? It has the attributes of the Figwort family (Scrophulariaceae)

Figwort (Snapdragon) family

(Scrophulariaceae)

Leaves opposite or alternate• Flowers formed in a tube and

irregular; or sometimes flat and circular

• Fruit a capsule; divides into 2 parts; bears many seeds

Unknown #2 , Weeds of California

• We know that WOC is organized the same as WOW, by scientific family name

• We go to that family (Scrophulariaceae), Volume 2, page 1463

• We compare the specimen to all figworts, and decide it might be Dalmatian toadflax, page 1463

• We compare the attributes in WOC with the specimen

Dalmatian toadflax, Mature Plant,Weeds of California, page 1465

• Mature plant, page 1465: Stems erect , glabrous (PIT page 50). Leaves sessile (PIT page 107)

Dalmatian toadflax, Mature Plant,Weeds of California, page 1465

• PIT page 50: Glabrous: smooth; hairless (no drawing)

• PIT page 107: Sessile: Attached directly, without a supporting stalk, as a leaf without a petiole.

Dalmatian toadflax, Mature Plant,Weeds of California, page 1465

• Leaves stiff, typically ascending, ovate to lanceolate (PIT page 78, 63 or go to page 151 & 152, side by side comparison for all simple leaf shapes)

Dalmatian toadflax, Mature Plant,Weeds of California, page 1465

• Ovate: Egg-shaped in outline and attached at the broad end (applied to plane surfaces)

• Lanceolate: Lance-shaped much longer than wide, with the widest point below the middle.

Dalmatian toadflax, FlowersWeeds of California, page 1466

• Flowers, page 1466: Racemes (PIT page 96, or go to page 172, side by side comparison for all inflorescences) elongate, dense or open erect or dropping at the tips. Corollas (PIT page 31) bright yellow including spur

Dalmatian toadflax, FlowersWeeds of California, page 1466

• Raceme: an unbranched, elongated inflorescence (How the flowers are arranged on the plant) with pedicellate flowers maturing from the bottom upwards

All plants that have a raceme inflorescence, bloom from the bottom

up, ie. mustards

Hoary alyssum

Dalmatian toadflax, FlowersWeeds of California, page 1466

• Corolla: The collective name for all of the petals of a flower; the inner perianth whorl.

Dalmatian toadflax (Linaria dalmatica)Figwort family (Scrophulariaceae)

• Plant perennial• Yellow snapdragon-like flowers• Bluish-green heart-shaped leaves clasp the stem

Part Two of the BookTerminology by Category, Page 139

• Roots• Stems• Leaves• Inflorescence (How the flowers are arranged

on the plant)• Flowers• Fruits

Terminology by Category

• These are most of the same terms and images from Part 1, however, they are grouped by type, so if you are trying to figure out ie. what type of leaf of an unknown plant, you could turn to this section and see leaf shapes defined and illustrated as a group for easy comparison and contrast.

Leaves, Page 148

• Parts• Shape (simple leaf)• Bases• Apices (tips)• Division (Compound)• Venation• Margin• Attachment• Arrangement

Leaf Parts, Page 148

• The glossary and images of leaf parts

Leaf Shape, Simple, Page 151-152: HASTATE (Arrowshape)

Field Bindweed, can be Hastate or Sagittate

Leaf Shape, Simple, Page 151-152: LANCEOLATE

Whitetop (Hoary cress)

Leaf Shape, Simple, Page 151-152: OVAL

Common St. Johnswort

Leaf Division, page 155:BIFOLIOLATE (With 2 leaves or 2 Leaflets)

Syrian bean caper

Leaf Division, page 156:EVEN PINNATE

Puncturevine

Leaf Division, page 156:Odd Pinnate

Poison hemlock- pinnate, rightWestern water hemlock, odd pinnate- left

Leaf Arrangement, page 162: BASAL

Other ExamplesRush skeletonweed

Orange hawkweed

Leaf Arrangement Type, Page 162: ALTERNATE

Examples• Many in Mustard family- ie. Hoary

alyssum• Many in Sunflower family

Russian knapweed

Leaf Arrangement Type, Page 162: OPPOSITE

Other Examples• Dalmatian and Yellow

Toadflax• Mediterranean Sage

Purple loosestrife

Leaf Arrangement Type, Page 162: WHORLED

Other Examples• Brazilian Elodea• Parrotfeather

Catchweed bedstraw

March 2013

2013 Poisonous Plant Training, Logan, UT

L to R1st row: Dr. Stegelmeier, Brad Gammett, Aaron Hull, Howard Sevy, Matt Kriezenbeck, ? Reid Smith, Curtis Munk, Kali Sherrill, Denise Helsey

2nd Row: Mark Wheeler, Gordon Edwards, Craig Whitted, Daniel Bertram, Valerie Vail?, Mike Ottely, George Hamilton, Mark Bryngelson, Aaron Greenwell

3rd row: Jeffrey Pettengill,, Dr. Scott Leisble, Todd Transtrum, Mitch Whitmill, Bryce Fowler

4th row: Jeremy Varley

Break Time