RHS Level 2 Certificate

Year 1 Week 1Introduction, Plant taxonomy and classification

Housekeeping

Register Student information sheets – please

complete and return next week Personal Learning Plan – what is it and how

is it used? Fire drill and fire exits

Welcome to the Course

Vikki Sargent – tutor Course covers 2 years Equivalent to a GCSE but much broader in scope Teaching methods – some talking from me, student

discussion, group exercises and some practical exercises. Supplemented by the on-line Moodle site for more information, student discussion forum and self marking quizzes.

What’s in this year

Plant names and taxonomy Basic plant botany and physiology Plant propagation Environmental and safety issues in

gardening Outdoor food production – vegetables and

fruit Introduction to garden planning and design

Icebreaker

Speed dating – talk to as many people as possible and ask the questions on the sheet.

Learning objectives

Demonstrate a knowledge of the classification and taxonomic hierarchy of seed bearing plants

State the major divisions found in the plant kingdom.

Identify the basic differences between gymnosperms and angiosperms.

Describe differences between the monocotyledon and dicotyledon divisions of the angiosperms, including the external features of root type, leaf shape and venation, and internal differences in the distribution of vascular bundles.

Plant classification – why?

Need a common ‘language’ and structure to enable clear discussion and identification.

Classification is based on physical structure Understanding classification allows

identification of plants and prediction of various characteristics, including whether cross breeding is possible.

Main divisions of plant family

Seed producing plants are the focus of this course (Superdivision: spermatophyta); ferns, mosses and horsetails have their own divisions (fungi and algae are not in the plant family at all).

Spermatophyta is divided into two Phyla (singular: Phylum): Coniferophyta (all conifers) and Angiospermophyta (all other seed producing flowering plants).

Gymnosperms and angiosperms

Angiosperms Gymnosperms

Flowers; seed in ovary Cones; naked seed

Many insect pollinated Usually wind pollinated

Evergreen or deciduous Mostly evergreen

All life cycles and habitats Mostly perennial shrubs or trees; often dry habitats.

Non-resinous Resinous

Xylem vessels Xylem tracheids

Monocotyledons and dicotyledons

A ‘cotyledon’ is a seed leaf; the first leaf produced by a plant. Monocots have one seed leaf, dicots have two.

Dicots have broad leaves with veins in a network, branching roots, regular arrangements of vascular tissue and are insect pollinated.

Monocots have narrow leaves with parallel veins, fibrous roots that grow from a single root plate, scattered vascular bundles and are usually (not always) wind pollinated.

Which is which?

Monocot or dicot?

Learning outcomes

Demonstrate a knowledge of the classification and taxonomic hierarchy of seed bearing plants

State the major divisions found in the plant kingdom. Identify the basic differences between gymnosperms

and angiosperms. Describe differences between the monocotyledon

and dicotyledon divisions of the angiosperms, including the external features of root type, leaf shape and venation, and internal differences in the distribution of vascular bundles.