HERBOLOGY I
Plant Identification & Classification
Lesson 1
Lesson 1
Plant Identification and
Classification
Dandelion
Line drawing
Dandelion
(Taraxacum officinale)
Carolus Linnaeus: Eighteenth century Swedish botanist, who initiated the system of plant
Classification used worldwide today.
The knowledge of plant identification is a valuable tool for an
herbalist, however not always necessary if you are working in a
dispensory, clinic or herb shop. The products they use most often
come in labelled bottles. The need for these people to have a
sophisticated knowledge of plant identification is nowhere as
important as it is for the wildcrafters. We want you to take this
lesson as far as you feel your needs suggest. Remember, you can
always come back and study it further in the future, if the need
arises. If you want to delve deeper into this subject you can find
books in your local library, maybe courses from a community
college, university or even a horticulture club.
Fig 1.0 Botanical terminology
The best book we have found for Herbalists is: Botany in a Day:
Herbal Field Guide to Plant Families by Thomas J. Elpel (ISBN 1892784-02-5) www.hollotop.com
We feel it is very important that a herbalist at least know the basis of
botany, which is grounded in plant identification and classification.
Wild Rose College of Natural Healing ©2010
Terry Willard Cl.H PhD. v.2010.01
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HERBOLOGY I
Plant Identification & Classification
Lesson 1
THE BASICS (PRINCIPAL PARTS OF A PLANT)
The basic parts of all plants are the roots, stem, leaves, flower and
fruit. When a person is not trained in field botany, they often walk
along in the woods and see one big sea of green with the odd splash
of colour saying “look at me”. These colourful flowers are often the
ones we identify first. Looking the flowers up in a colour key, we can
find the flowers that match. Even though this can be expedient and
helpful, it often shows us the plant when it is past its herbal prime,
or maybe even before it is ready to harvest. Once you have identified
a plant, get used to what its leaves look like. For practical purposes,
the most important parts to get to know are the leaves. To formally
identify a plant, you often need the flower and maybe the fruit, to
'key' out the plant in a botanical guide. In field botany for herbalists,
you have to be able recognize a plant at almost any stage of growth.
Once you get intimate with a particular plant, this is quite easy.
There is an important rule to remember - plants are like humans,
they do not always look alike. In Nature you will have great
variation in a species of a plant from one region to another and even
within a specific habitat. It is also useful to get to know the type of
area that a specific plant prefers. Knowing the ecology of a plant's
environment will help you find it again in the future. Let’s get down
to our lesson.
Roots
The roots have the primary functions of:
1. Anchoring
2. Absorbing water and nutrients
3. Transporting water and nutrients
4. Storage of nutrients
They also often have the function of asexual reproduction. In the
diagram you will see the root tip, root cap and root hairs as seen in
Fig 1.1.
Read pages 37- 41
(to "The Vascular System")
Types of Roots
The primary root is the first one, which then produces secondary
roots (root hairs). These can form two basic root structures, the
fibrous roots and tap roots. All plants that are monocots (grasses,
bamboo and the like) have fibrous roots. Some dicots have fibrous
roots. Only dicots have tap roots. Adventitious roots grow from a
“non-root” place as seen in the diagram Fig 1.5-1.7. We also find
have aerial roots and root parasites.
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Terry Willard Cl.H PhD. v.2010.01
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HERBOLOGY I
Plant Identification & Classification
Lesson 1
The Vascular system
Fig 1.1
The next section to look at is the plant stem.
The stem helps support other parts of the plant, while conducting
water and nutrients between its parts. The shape and strength of the
stem often helps determine how the plant can compete in the local
environment. Can it get the leaves above the other plants? Will it be
easy for animals to get the berries and therefore distribute its
offspring? Will it give enough support in the rain and wind? All of
these things help determine the shape of the stem.
Fig 1.3
**Match up the various diagrams
with your reading in the text**
Fig 1.2
Fig 1.4
Fig 1.5
Fig 1.6
Fig 1.7
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Terry Willard Cl.H PhD. v.2010.01
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HERBOLOGY I
Plant Identification & Classification
Lesson 1
Fig 1.8
Fig 1.9
Fig 1.10
Fig 1.11
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Terry Willard Cl.H PhD. v.2010.01
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HERBOLOGY I
Plant Identification & Classification
Lesson 1
The classification of plants into herbs, shrubs and
trees can be very useful, but sometimes a bit
arbitrary. A plant that might be a shrub in the North
country can easily be a tree in the South. From a
botanist’s point of view, an herb is defined as a
herbaceous plant.
The herbaceous aerial portion is relatively shortlived, having a comparatively soft tissue. In
temperate climates the aerial parts usually live for
only one growing season.
From a herbalist’s point of view, a herb is a
medicinal plant. This can be any plant, or part of a
plant, whether it comes from a woody plant or not.
A rose hip coming from a woody shrub is still an herb.
In some cultures (such as Chinese and Ayurvedic, the word herb is
expanded to include mineral and animal parts.)
Fig 1.12
Direction of stems
The following diagrams will give you a better look at a few of the
directions of stems.
Fig 1.13
Fig 1.14
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HERBOLOGY I
Plant Identification & Classification
Lesson 1
Thorns, prickles and spines
Fig 1.15
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HERBOLOGY I
Plant Identification & Classification
Lesson 1
Leaves
The leaves are where the “factory workers” are. This is where the
nutrients and water combine with the energy from the sun to drive
the engines.
Fig 1.16
A typical Leaf
(shown below)
This process is extremely important as this is the energy capturing
system of our planet. All biological processes depend ultimately on
the strength of plants to capture the sun’s energy. The leaves are
where plants manufacture nutrients for other species to live on,
either as a primary or secondary consumer.
Fig 1.17
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HERBOLOGY I
Plant Identification & Classification
Lesson 1
Fig 1.18
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HERBOLOGY I
Plant Identification & Classification
Lesson 1
Fig 1.19
Fig 1.20
Read pages 41 - 44 in
The text
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Terry Willard Cl.H PhD. v.2010.01
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HERBOLOGY I
Plant Identification & Classification
Lesson 1
Flowers
The sexiest part of the plant is, of course, the flower. It is often the
most attractive part of the plant and where the mechanism of
reproduction goes on. Let’s read about the parts of the flower.
Read pages 44-49 in the text
Fig 1.21
FLOWER PARTS
Fig 1.22
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Terry Willard Cl.H PhD. v.2010.01
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HERBOLOGY I
Plant Identification & Classification
Lesson 1
TYPES OF INFLORESENCES
Fig 1.23
TYPES OF FLOWERS
Fig 1.24
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HERBOLOGY I
Plant Identification & Classification
Lesson 1
TYPES OF FLOWERS
Fig 1.25
TYPES OF FRUIT
Fig 1.26
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HERBOLOGY I
Plant Identification & Classification
Lesson 1
TYPES OF FRUIT
Fig 1.27
Plant Classification
Read Pages 49 – 53
in the text
The purpose of plant classification is to help define one species from
another. Plant classification builds on the material we have already
learned in this lesson, allowing us to see the difference between
species. This process is called taxonomy.
Think of plant classification like Russian dolls. There is a big one,
with a smaller one inside it, and a smaller one inside it, and so on
and so on. Practically speaking as a herbalist, we usually only deal
with the names of Genus and species. Sometimes knowing the
family is quite important. This helps us know related plants, while
easing identification. For the most part, we deal with scientific
names like Arctostaphylus uva-ursi (Bearberry) though.
Most of the plants we will deal with are in the phyla Spermatophyta,
but we will look for a few minutes at the other three major phyla.
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HERBOLOGY I
Plant Identification & Classification
Lesson 1
Thallophyta
Read pages 55 - 59 in the text
There are a few plants in this phylla that are used by mainstream
herbalists.
They are:
1. Algae
a) Green Algae(s) (Chlorella)
b) Blue Green Algae(s)

Green Algae
In this section, match up the
plant pictures with your
reading in the text
Fig 1.29
Fig 1.28

A
Blue Green Algae
Fig 1.31
Fig 1.30
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HERBOLOGY I
Lesson 1
Plant Identification & Classification
Fungi
Herbal examples: Reishi, Shiitake and many others
Fig 1.32
Reishi
(Ganoderma Lucidum)
Fig 1.33
Fig 1.34
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Terry Willard Cl.H PhD. v.2010.01
Shiitake
(Lentinula edodes)
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HERBOLOGY I
Plant Identification & Classification
Lesson 1
Bryophyta
Mosses & Liverworts
Fig 1.35
Liverwort
Fig 1.36
Moss
Pteridophyta
1. Ferns
2. Horsetails (Equisetum)
Fig 1.37
Fern line drawing
Fig 1.38
Fern life cycle
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HERBOLOGY I
Plant Identification & Classification
Lesson 1
Fig 1.39
Fig 1.40
Horsetails (Equisetum)
Read pages 60-69 in the
text
Spermatophyta
The seed-bearing plants have most of the medicinal plants. In this
section we will look at gymnosperms and angiosperms. In the
angiosperm section we will be discussing some of the major families
from an herbalist's point of view.
Gymnospermae
Fig 1.41
Female cone
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Male cone
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HERBOLOGY I
Plant Identification & Classification
Lesson 1
Gnetophyta Family
Fig 1.42
Fig 1.43
Ephedra sp.
Ephedra sp.
line drawing
Ginkgophyta
Fig 1.44
Fig 1.45
Ginkgo biloba
Ginkgo biloba line drawing
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Terry Willard Cl.H PhD. v.2010.01
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HERBOLOGY I
Plant Identification & Classification
Lesson 1
Coniferophyta
Fig 1.46
Fig 1.47
Pine Tree
Pinus sp.
Fig 1.48
Fig 1.50
Fig 1.49
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HERBOLOGY I
Lesson 1
Plant Identification & Classification
Angiospermae
The flower plants are a widespread group made up of various land
plants; although still members of the seed plants, Angiosperms are
identified by the following distinctive characteristics.
 Flowers
 Stamens with two pairs of pollen sacs
 Reduced male parts (Pollen) - (The smaller pollen decreases the time from
pollination to fertilization of the ovary)
 Closed carpel enclosing the ovules (carpel or carpels and accessory parts
may become the fruit)
 Endosperm
Grasses
Fig 1.51
Common botany among grasses
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HERBOLOGY I
Plant Identification & Classification
Lesson 1
(Gramineae) Grass Family
Fig 1.52
Sweet Grass
(Hierochloe odorata)
Fig 1.53
(Cyperaceae) Sedge Family
Fig 1.54
Fig 1.55
Carex sp.
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Carex sp.
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HERBOLOGY I
Plant Identification & Classification
Lesson 1
Lily Family (Liliaceae)
Tiger Lily
(Lilium montanum)
Fig 1.56
Madonna Lily
(Lilium candidum L.)
Fig 1.57
Canada Lily
(Lilium canadense)
Fig 1.58
Wood Lily
(Lilium philadelphicum)
Fig 1.59
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HERBOLOGY I
Plant Identification & Classification
Lesson 1
DICOTYLEDONS
Fig 1.61
Willow Family (Salicaceae)
Fig 1.60
Willow
(Salix sp.)
Fig 1.62
White Willow
(Salix alba)
Fig 1.63
Alder
(Alnus sp.)
Black alder
(Alnus glutinosa)
Fig 1.64
Black alder
(Alnus glutinosa)
Fig 1.65
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HERBOLOGY I
Plant Identification & Classification
Lesson 1
Balsam Poplar
(Populus balsamifera)
Fig 1.66
Fig 1.67
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HERBOLOGY I
Plant Identification & Classification
Lesson 1
Carnation Family (Caryophyllaceae)
Fig 1.68
Chickweed
(Stellaria media)
Fig 1.69
Fig 1.70
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HERBOLOGY I
Plant Identification & Classification
Lesson 1
Mustard Family (Cruciferae)
Fig 1.71
Fig 1.72
Radish
(Raphanus sativus)
Brassica oleracea
(Wild Cabbage)
Buttercup Family (Ranunculaceae)
Fig 1.74
Fig 1.73
Clematis
(Clematis tangutica)
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HERBOLOGY I
Lesson 1
Plant Identification & Classification
Currant Family (Saxifragaceae)
Gooseberry
(Ribes sp.)
Fig 1.76
Fig 1.75
Fig 1.77
Rose (Rosaceae)
Fig 1.78
Wild Rose
(Rosaacicularis)
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HERBOLOGY I
Plant Identification & Classification
Lesson 1
Pea Family (Leguminoseae)
Fig 1.79
Fig 1.80
Milk vetch
(Astragulus americanus)
Evening Primrose Family (Onagraceae)
Fig 1.81
Fig 1.82
Fireweed
(Epilobium angustifolium)
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HERBOLOGY I
Plant Identification & Classification
Lesson 1
Carrot Family (Umbelliferae)
Angelica
(Angelica archangelica)
Fig 1.84
Fig 1.83
Heath Family (Ericaeae)
Fig 1.86
Fig 1.85
Bearberry
(Arctostaphylos uva-ursi)
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HERBOLOGY I
Lesson 1
Plant Identification & Classification
Sunflower Family (Compositae/Asteraceae)
Fig 1.87
Echinacea sp.
Fig 1.88
Fig 1.89
Mint Family (Labiatae)
Fig 1.91
WildMint
(Mentha arvenis)
Fig 1.90
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HERBOLOGY I
Plant Identification & Classification
Lesson 1
COMPARISON OF MONOCOTS & DICOTS
MONOCOT
1. One cotyledons
2. Scattered vascular bundles
3. Fibrous roots
4. Parallel leaf veins
5. Floral parts arranged in multiples of
three
DICOT
1. Two cotyledons. by vascular bundles
2. Central core (pith) wrapped
3. Taproots
4. Branching leaf veins
5. Floral parts arranged in multiples of 4 or 5
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