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Lesson One
In this activity you will explore the variety of plants on campus by following the directions below.
1. Be sure to visit each site, read the information, and answer the question before moving on.
2. Room C-8 has lots of reference information to help you answer the questions.
3. When you have completed the treasure hunt, turn your assignment into your folder.
Botany / Horticulture
Lesson 1
Name _______________________
1. Start at the flag pole in front of the school. Observe the plants in the immediate area. Plants are roughly divided into 3 groups; herbaceous plants (those plants with a green stem such as grasses, wildflowers, and ivy), shrubs (woody bark, multiple stems, 2-10 feet tall), and trees (bark, single stem, tall).
In the space below write a description of 1 herbaceous plant, 1 shrub, and 1 tree in the immediate area. Include what the stems look like, whether it has leaves or needles, approximate size, shape, color, smell.
2. Walk directly west (toward where the sun sets) into the courtyard to the second tree. Trees are divided into 2 groups; deciduous (leaves that generally drop in the fall), and coniferous (needle-like leaves that stay on the tree year round). The tree you're looking for is the coniferous one with scale like needles. This is an Incense cedar (Calocedrus decurrens), and is a very rot-resistant wood commonly used to make pencils.
Find a cone and make a quick sketch. What is the main difference between this tree and the first tree you passed?
3. Continue west (towards the 'Rock') and go up the wheelchair ramp and walk straight ahead to the third concrete pillar (just outside the counselor's office door). The plant closest to the pillar is Oregon's state flower. In certain seasons, it will have nice yellow flowers and purplish berries that are edible but tart.
What is the name of this plant?
4. Walk over to the area behind 'The Rock' and check out the 4 trees arranged along the front of the gym area. These are all deciduous trees.
Draw what one of the buds at the tip of a branch looks like. What is an obvious difference between these trees and the conifer you visited in #1?
5. Go south towards the steps leading to the outdoor picnic tables. Stop and look at the tree just to the left of the steps. This tree is partially covered with moss and lichen.
Examine the organisms growing on the trunk of this tree. Try to determine the difference between the moss which is a plant and the lichen which is not. Use resources available to you and write a description of a typical moss and a typical lichen, what are the main differences?
6. Go in one of the doors leading into the student lounge area (pop machines). Go over to either of the 2 indoor atriums that have numerous plants.
Sketch two different plants in the box and identify them as an herbaceous plant, a shrub, or a tree.
7. Exit the building down the hallway labeled F43-F58. Go out the door at the end of the hallway, turn left and walk down the sidewalk to the next set of stairs. The shrubs on both sides of the stairs are all rhododendrons (Rhododendron macrophyllum) . They are 'evergreen', the state flower of Washington, and a common native shrub in Pacific Northwest forests.
A. What does evergreen mean? B. What is happening at the tips of each of the branches? C. What is the purpose of the structures that are developing there?
8. Continue walking north along the sidewalk to the birch trees with white bark.
A. How would you describe these unusual trees? B. What are the fuzzy things hanging down from the branches?
9. Go back to the flag pole, look west until you see a small coniferous tree right next to the building by the windows into the art room. It's right behind the light post. Go over to this tree, it's a Port Orford Cedar and is fast disappearing from its habitat due to a root fungus spread through the ground water.
What is different about this tree when compared to the incense cedar?
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