Seeing the Trees of the Forest

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Constance Preston
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1 Seeing the Trees of the Forest Essential Questions What trees are common in Pennsylvania? How can these trees be identified? How do trees grow and reproduce? Name Period

2 Types of Leaf Arrangement Simple Compound 1

3 Trees of Pennsylvania Leaf Collection Requirements 1. Collect leaves that represent ten species of Pennsylvania trees. Determine whether the tree has leaves that are arranged alternately or oppositely on the tree and whether the leaves are simple or compound. Then, using these characteristics and others that we learn about in class, identify the tree by its common name and scientific name. 2. When you turn in your leaf collection, each page should include the information shown below. A single species of tree should be represented on each page. At least one entire leaf should be used, but at times you may wish to use as many as three or four per page. Each page should include all of the following in this order: A. Common name B. Scientific name C. Alternate or Opposite leaves D. Simple or compound leaves An example: A. Red Maple B. Acer rubrum C. Opposite leaves D. Simple leaf 3. All species must appear on the list of approved trees. 4. The collection should be submitted in a 3- ring binder or photo album. The appearance of the collection will be graded according to the rubric on one of the following pages. 5. The Leaf Collection Grade Sheet MUST be included, with the index on the back completed, as the FIRST PAGE of your leaf collection. 2

4 Grading This project is worth 150 points. Grades will be determined as follows: points for the correct identification of common names. (6 points per leaf) points for the correct information for your answers to B, C, and D from above (2 points for the scientific name, 2 points for the leaf type, 2 points for the leaf arrangement) points for the general appearance of your collection. 4. The grading sheet, with the index of your leaves completed on the back, must be included as the first page in your collection. (10 points) Leaf Collection Appearance Rubric 20 points Leaves are neatly displayed and are flat on the page. All leaves are whole with no pieces missing. 18 points Leaves are neatly displayed and with most flat on the page. Most leaves are whole with few pieces missing. 15 points Leaves are somewhat neatly displayed, only some are flat on page or some leaves have pieces missing. 12 points Leaves are not neatly displayed. Most are not flat on page or most leaves are torn and/or have pieces missing. 10 points Leaves are not neatly displayed. No leaves are flat on the page. All leaves are torn and/or have pieces missing. 3

5 List of Trees Allowed for the Leaf Collection 1. Black Ash 2. White Ash 3. Bigtooth Aspen 4. Quaking Aspen 5. American Beech 6. Paper Birch 7. Sweet Birch 8. Yellow Birch 9. Buckeyes 10. Butternut 11. Catalpa 12. Black Cherry 13. Choke Cherry 14. Fire Cherry 15. American Chestnut 16. Cucumber Magnolia 17. Flowering Dogwood 18. American Elm 19. Slippery Elm 20. Black Gum 21. Witch Hazel 22. Honeylocust 23. Bitternut Hickory 24. Mockernut Hickory 25. Pignut Hickory 26. Shagbark Hickory 27. Shellbark Hickory 28. American Linden 29. Black Locust 30. Norway Maple 31. Red Maple 32. Silver Maple 33. Striped Maple 34. Sugar Maple 35. Red Mulberry 36. Black Oak 37. Chestnut Oak 38. Northern Red Oak 39. Pin Oak 40. Scarlet Oak 41. White Oak 42. Redbud 43. Sassafras 44. Sycamore 45. Tree-of-Heaven 46. Tuliptree 47. Black Walnut 48. Black Willow All the trees used in the collection MUST be on this list 4

6 LEAF COLLECTION GRADE Name: Period: Date Turned In: Common Name /60 Scientific Name /20 Leaf Type /20 Leaf Arrangement /20 Appearance /20 Grade Sheet /10 Total /150 You must complete the index chart on the back of this sheet. A check will be placed in the appropriate location if points were missed for that leaf. This form MUST be placed as the first page in your collection. 5

7 Index of Trees in the Collection 6

BACKGROUND INFORMATION: SCIENTIFIC NAMES Scientific names are all written in Latin. This method of naming organisms is called binomial nomenclature.

This helps to reduce two problems. First, it allows scientists who speak different languages to communicate. Second it reduces confusion that arises when an organism has more than one common name.

8 BACKGROUND INFORMATION: SCIENTIFIC NAMES Scientific names are all written in Latin. This method of naming organisms is called binomial nomenclature. It was developed by an eighteenth century Swedish scientist Carolus Linnaeus. We will learn more about him later. These names provide a common language for scientists. This helps to reduce two problems. First, it allows scientists who speak different languages to communicate. Second it reduces confusion that arises when an organism has more than one common name. Tips for Writing Scientific Names 1. Each scientific name has two parts. They are the genus and species. Always write both of these. 2. The first name is the genus. Only the first letter of the genus should be capitalized. 3. The second name is the species. All letters in the species name should remain in small case. 4. Both the genus and species names should be underlined if they are written by hand or typed in italics. 7

American Linden (Basswood) 4. Witch Hazel 5. Black Oak 6. Red Maple 7. Paper Birch 8.

9 PRACTICE PROBLEMS Using a Common Trees of Pennsylvania book, write the scientific name for each of the following common names. 1. Black Walnut 2. Common Honeylocust 3. American Linden (Basswood) 4. Witch Hazel 5. Black Oak 6. Red Maple 7. Paper Birch 8. Black Cherry 9. Sycamore 10. Shagbark Hickory 11. American Chestnut 12. Quaking Aspen 13. Red Pine 14. Eastern White Pine 8

10 Classification Reading and Notes (Chapter 1, section 2) Define the term classification. How are things organized in a classification system? How does using a classification system help people? What is taxonomy? What is binomial nomenclature? What 3 rules must be followed for writing scientific names? Correctly write an example of a scientific name. How is the example you wrote different from the example in the textbook? What are the 7 levels of classification commonly used for living things?

11 Why do you think the genus and species names are used for naming an organism in binomial nomenclature rather than using the phylum and class? What scientific developments have had an influence on the way we classify organisms? According to the book, what is a taxonomic key? Other classification notes: 10

12 Wacky People Dichotomous Key Practice The purpose of using the key is to name the creature shown. Stick with one character until the name is reached, then go to the next. A dichotomous key gives instructions in pairs of statements. For each character, start with the first pair of statements. Decide which description describes your chosen character best and follow the line to the right. There will either be a number or a name. If it is a number, go to the pair of steps with that number, for example, if the number is 3, go to steps 3a and 3b. If the line ends in a name you have identified your character, so write it down by the creature. Continue until each creature has a name. There is only one creature per name, and no creature has two names. Wacky People Key 1a Two feet 2 1b Some other number of feet 3 2a Does not look at all human 4 2b Looks a lot like a human 5 3a One leg 6 3b Three or four legs 7 4a Fly-like Mosk Cara 4b Not fly-like 8 5a Seems to be a girl Rita Nita 5b Not a girl 9 6a Leg is curled, two feet 6b Leg is straight, one foot Ru-ela.Brella Giggles 11

13 7a Three legs 10 7b Four legs 11 8a Has webbed feet Hex Oculate 8b Clawed feet 12 9a Curly hair, no toes 9b Wiggly looking mouth, three toes on feet Lugio Wirum C. Nile 10a Very long nose, open mouth Elle E. Funk 10b Some other appearance 13 11a Has duck bill, two pinchers Tri D. Duckt 11b No arms or pinchers 14 12a Has ears, tail, and beak 12b Four eyes on stalks 13a One eye, webbed feet 13b Four stalked eyes, four pinchers 14a Three toed feet, nose like a flower 14b Spider-like, has spots Grif Leon Eggur Ondy Cue Kide Quadrumenox Tunia petalos Patterned mulywumpus 12

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18 Norits Classification Worksheet Organism Key Pathway Organism Name A B C D E F G H I J What characteristics do all Norits seem to have in common? What characteristic do biologists seem to feel is most important when classifying Norits? Why do you think this? 17

19 Why might the key used to classify Norits ever change? How might observing Norits change the way they might be classified? Draw a picture of what a Rossi multiops might look like. 18

20 Name Period Date THE KINGDOM OF PASTA You and your lab partners are scientists who have been hired by the Kingdom of Pasta. You have been charged with developing a classification system for all the different kinds of organisms in the kingdom. Your system must include scientific names for each of the groups and your final product must include a classification key so the residents of the Kingdom of Pasta will be able to classify the organisms after you have left. Your bag contains one member of each kind of organism. Develop a dichotomous classification key which can be used to classify the organisms of the Kingdom of Pasta. Be sure to test your key to make sure that it works for all organisms. Hand in one neat and error free copy of your key for evaluation (one key per team). Suggested procedure: 1. Sort your individuals into related groups. These groups may be members of the same genus. 2. Give the individuals tentative scientific names. Try to make the names descriptive and Latin sounding. 3. Construct a key so that someone else can identify your individuals. 4. Test your key by having another team try it while you try their key. 19

21 Use this page to draft your dichotomous key 20

22 Name of Key Designers: Name of Key Evaluator: Scientific Name Sketch of the Species

23 Do your answers match the key? If they do not explain why they do not match. Is the scientific name written in the correct form? If not, explain what should be done to correct the error. Do members of the same genus have common traits? Explain your answer. What are the common traits for each genus? What did this group feel was the most important characteristic when classifying pasta? 22

Why Do Leaves Change Color in the Fall? (http://www.sciencemadesimple.com/leaves.html) We all enjoy the beautiful show of colors as leaves change each autumn.

24 Why Do Leaves Change Color in the Fall? ( We all enjoy the beautiful show of colors as leaves change each autumn. Did you ever wonder how and why this happens? To answer that question, we first have to understand what leaves are and what they do. Leaves are nature's food factories. Plants take water from the ground through their roots. They take a gas called carbon dioxide from the air. Plants use sunlight to turn water and carbon dioxide into glucose. Glucose is a kind of sugar. Plants use glucose as food for energy and as a building block for growing. The way plants turn water and carbon dioxide into sugar is called photosynthesis. That means "putting together with light." A chemical called chlorophyll helps make photosynthesis happen. Chlorophyll is what gives plants their green color. As summer ends and autumn comes, the days get shorter and shorter. This is how the trees "know" to begin getting ready for winter. During winter, there is not enough light or water for photosynthesis. The trees will rest, and live off the food they stored during the summer. They begin to shut down their food-making factories. The green chlorophyll disappears from the leaves. As the bright green fades away, we begin to see yellow and orange colors. Small amounts of these colors have been in the leaves all along. We just can't see them in the summer, because they are covered up by the green chlorophyll. 23

25 The bright reds and purples we see in leaves are made mostly in the fall. In some trees, like maples, glucose is trapped in the leaves after photosynthesis stops. Sunlight and the cool nights of autumn turn this glucose into a red color. The brown color of trees like oaks is made from wastes left in the leaves. It is the combination of all these things that make the beautiful colors we enjoy in the fall. 1. What purpose do leaves serve for a tree? 2. What gas do leaves take from the air? 3. Plants turn break apart water and carbon dioxide and reassemble the atoms into molecules of which is a type of. 4. Why do plants use glucose? 5. Why are plants green in color? 6. What triggers trees to start getting ready for winter? 7. Photosynthesis doesn t happen in the winter because there isn t enough or. 24

26 8. Why do leaves of some trees turn yellow or orange in the fall? 9. Why do the leaves of some trees, like maples, turn red in the fall? 10. Why do the leaves of oak trees turn brown in the fall? 25

27 Some trees to be identified by their leaves A B C D E If the tree has 1a. Leaves needle or scale-like 2 1b. Leaves broad and flat 12 2a. Leaves scale-like 3 2b. Leaves needles 4 go to 3a. Scales pointed, twigs not flat redcedar 3b. Scales blunt, twigs flat white cedar 4a. Needles (leaves) single on twigs 5 4b. Needles (leaves) in bundles, tufts, or rosettes 7 5a. Needles flat, blunt 6 5b. Needles four-sided and sharp-pointed spruce 6a. Needles with small stalks (attaches needle to twig) 6b. Needles without stalks fir 7a. Needles in bundles with sheaths at base 8 hemlock 7b. Needles in tufts or rosettes larch 8a. Needles in bundles of 5 white pine 8b. Needles not in bundles of 5 9 9a. Needles in bundles of 3 pitch pine 9b. Needles in bundles of a. Needles about 4 inches long 11 10b. Needles 1.5 to 3 inches long Virginia pine 11a. Needles sharp-pointed and flexible Austrian pine 11b. Needles stiff, snap apart when bent red pine 12a. Leaves opposite or whorled on stem 13 12b. Leaves alternate on stem 18 13a. Leaves opposite on stem 14 13b. Leaves whorled on stem catalpa 14a. Leaves simple 15 14b. Leaves compound (leaf made up of leaflets) 16 15a. Margins entire dogwood 15b. Margins lobed maples 16a. Pinnately-compound 17 16b. Palmately-compound horse chestnut 17a. Leaf divided into 3 to 5 leaflets box-elder 17b. Leaf divided into 7 leaflets ash 18a. Leaves simple 19 18b. Leaves compound (leaf made up of leaflets) 39 F A 26

28 Some trees to be identified by their leaves G H I J K O O O A A If the tree has 19a. Margins entire 20 19b. Margins deeply cut, lobed, or toothed 22 go to 20a. Leaf base heart-shaped redbud 20b. Leaf base tapering 21 21a. Leaves 2 to 5 inches long, leathery black gum 21b. Leaves 5 to 10 inches long, thin cucumber 22a. Margins deeply cut or lobed 23 22b. Margins coarsely or finely toothed 28 23a. Leaves with five deeply cut lobes, star-shaped leaf sweet gum 23b. Leaves not star-shaped 24 24a. Leaves square or notched at top tulip poplar 24b. Leaves not square or notched 25 25a. Leaves from same tree may be entire, or with one or two lobes; aromatic 25b. Leaves with more than two lobes 26 26a. Leaf veins pinnate 27 sassafras 26b. Leaf veins fan-like mulberry 27a. Lobes rounded white oak group 27b. Lobes sharp-pointed with a hair-like bristle on end of each lobe 28a. Teeth coarse, one at end of each lateral vein 29 28b. Teeth fine, several for each main lateral vein 30 red oak group 29a. Leaves slender, 3 times as long as broad chestnut 29b. Leaves not more than 2 times as long as wide beech 30a. Leaves very narrow, 4 or 5 times as long as wide willow 30b. Leaves broad 31 31a. Leaves not over 1.5 times as long as broad 32 31b. Leaves about twice as long as broad 33 32a. Unequal heart-shaped leaf base, round stem basswood 32b. Leaf base not heart-shaped, sides equal at base, stem tends to be flattened 33a. Leaves smooth, single serrate, fine teeth 34 33b. Leaves rough or hairy 35 34a. Leaf stalk with one or two glands (small bumps on stem); has a sour odor when twig is broken 34b. Leaf stalk without glands (serviceberry) aspen cherry juneberry L A 27

29 Some trees to be identified by their leaves M N O A A A If the tree has 35a. Rough leaves 36 35b. Soft, hairy leaves 37 36a. Leaf margins double-serrate from base, pinnately veined 36b. Leaf margins single-serrate from above base, tips long-pointed, fan-veined 37a. Leaf margins double-serrate, base blunt to slightly heart-shaped, some aromatic 37b. Leaf margins double-serrate, base tapered or rounded 38 go to elm hackberry birch 38a. Leaves nearly as broad as long alder 38b. Leaves narrow and pointed hop hornbeam (ironwood) 39a. Sap milky (in stems) sumac 39b. Sap not milky 40 40a. Terminal leaflet usually larger than other leaflets hickories 40b. Terminal leaflet as large or smaller than other leaflets, or it may be lacking 41 41a. Leaflet round-tipped black locust 41b. Leaflet pointed 42 42a. Leaves smooth 43 42b. Leaves hairy 44 43a. Leaves not over 7 inches long mountain ash 43b. Leaves over 12 inches long ailanthus 44a. Terminal leaflet as large as other leaflets butternut 44b. Terminal leaflet small or lacking black walnut P A Answers Q A A. white pine B. pitch pine C. Virginia pine D. red pine E. hemlock F. catalpa G. dogwood H. maple I. horse chestnut J. black gum K. tulip poplar L. sassafras M. red oak N. white oak O. beech P. elm Q. willow R. aspen S. cherry T. birch U. hickory V. black locust W. black walnut A Alternate R A O Opposite 28

Dichotomous Key Biology Lab

Dichotomous Key Biology Lab Over 60,000 different tree species exist in out world. Identifying one species from another is as easy as answering a list of yes/no questions, called a dichotomous key. Answering