Labeling the plants in our teaching gardens (around our offices at Kirby House and on the Woodland Discovery Path) helps visitors to recognize native plants in cultivated and more naturalized places–plants that they might then find on the trails or in their backyards.
Long-time friend of the Westport Land Trust Elizabeth Hubert produced a terrific catalog of the plants in the new native garden at Kirby House this summer, as partial fulfilment of her certification in the Native Plant Trust’s Basic Botany certificate program. She reflects on her experience.
Learning in Community
The Native Plant Trust’s certificate programs all have a volunteerism requirement. For Basic Botany, students must apply their newly learned skills in the field by completing a volunteer project with a plant conservation organization. The project should be beneficial to the community in some way, and help spread important scientific information regarding native plants in Massachusetts and across New England.
I chose the work with the Westport Land Conservation Trust because of my long association with the organization. Cataloguing and creating a visual learning tool (labels) for the gardens at Westport Woods would allow me to work with and learn from Land Steward Nate McCullin, a native plant horticulturalist. Accomplishing this project involved the extensive use of plant identification and classification knowledge, which was heavily emphasized in the “entry-level” Basic Botany program. It’s also a valuable skill to have as a Citizen Scientist!
Creating a Catalogue
Cataloging (and then associating the correct label with the in situ plant) was a wonderful project for a novice botanist with a great interest in plant taxonomy, and will hopefully be a neat tool for the community to learn more about native plants and why they are important in conservation efforts.
Taxonomy–identifying a plant through it’s features (bark, foliage, flower)–may seem mundane at face value, but it’s actually quite interesting due to the information learned from seemingly benign plant names. That is to say, plant nomenclature utilizes Latin as a universal language, and is broken down into two parts (genus and species), which can describe the plant’s family, distinguishing characteristics, discovering scientist’s name, location the specimen was first described (not necessarily its native habitat), and even whether or not the plan is cultivated. All of that packed into just two words!
- Examples of Taxonomic Names Explained:
- New England Aster, Aster novae-angliae, is clearly a member of the Asteraceae family (sunflowers, daisies, zinnias, and even lettuce!), and is found in North America (i.e. Novae-angliae)
- American Beech, Fagus grandifolia, exhibits a large, grand canopy while Pagoda Dogwood, Cornus alternifolia, is the only native dogwood with an alternating leaf growth habit.
- Linnaea borealis is named after the Father of Modern Taxonomy, Carl Linnaeus, and the boreal habitat it grows in (e.g. higher altitudes with colder climates)
- American Witch-Hazel, Hammamelis virginiana, was first described in Virginia, USA even though it has a range from Nova Scotia to Minnesota. Likewise, Eastern Hemlock, Tsuga canadensis, was first described in Canada, but grows in a large area across Appalachia and the Northeastern United States.
- Daucus carota sativa is the cultivated counterpart to Queen Anne’s Lace, Daucus carota, commonly known as Wild Carrot. Sativa will always denote a cultivated crop!
- New England Aster, Aster novae-angliae, is clearly a member of the Asteraceae family (sunflowers, daisies, zinnias, and even lettuce!), and is found in North America (i.e. Novae-angliae)
What’s Next?
Now that this project is completed and can be enjoyed by the community, the next step is to create an Herbarium of Flora for Westport and Surrounding Communities. This step would be like creating a library of plants in the Westport Woods study for local students, teachers, and other Citizen Scientists to observe and learn from. Plants provide us with so many amazing and vital resources, from clean air, food and simple happiness to biomass, fuel, and medicine. Having a basic understanding of their biological processes is just another way of understanding the beautiful mystery of our shared existence on this planet, and is a fun immersive way to connect with the land.
For more about Elizabeth’s project, click here to view her project presentation to the Native Plant Trust’s Basic Botany program.
For more information about Native Plant Trust’s certificate programs, click here.