{"id":854,"date":"2020-07-16T03:17:21","date_gmt":"2020-07-16T10:17:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/biol223\/?page_id=854"},"modified":"2021-08-19T13:34:46","modified_gmt":"2021-08-19T20:34:46","slug":"species-overview","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/biol223\/species-overview\/","title":{"rendered":"The five category overview"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

To help our memory, we attach a label to each plant in the list, placing it in one of five categories. Its group is chosen according to whether the plant is considered a tree<\/a>, shrub<\/a>, vine<\/a>, forb<\/a>, or the last category, fern<\/a> and fern ally<\/a>. The grouping is not based on evolutionary relationships and so is called artificial<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Commonly used to catalogue plants, but because a plant can be in more than one category, this organization becomes unclear when more plants are considered. For example Dicksonia antarctica<\/strong><\/a><\/em> is a tree fern<\/u>, a f<\/a>e<\/a>rn<\/a> that grows with a trunk, elevating its fronds above ground level, and so is a tree<\/a> too!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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These are the five categories:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

________________________________________________________________<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(1) Tree: tall, woody plant<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

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Tall, woody plants with single, or few dominant central trunks. Usually no leaves along trunk on mature specimens. The eight <\/strong>trees can be further categorized into broadleaved trees<\/a> and conifers<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Broadleaved trees <\/strong><\/em>have flat leaves and belong to the angiosperm<\/a> lineage (you’ll learn about the angiosperm lineage in class). These four are broadleaved trees:<\/p>\n\n\n\n