Lab #3 Plant Identification

Last Wednesday on a very hot day in Macon, GA also known as Maconga, our lab group set forth to discover the plants, trees and shrubberies that inherit our dear campus at Mercer University.
quick side note:

The fact that we were looking at shrubberies took me back to Monty Python and the Holy Grail soo......Ni!!!

I just couldn't help myself. So without further ado here is an incomplete list of the entire walk, but one that is sufficient for this lab report, which requires 5 trees that cannot be cut down with a herring, 5 shrubberies from Roger the shrubber, and 5 plants that currently do not have a potential Monty Python reference. 

Trees

1. Ginkgo Biloba

Besides having a super awesome name, this handy dandy tree is dioecious which means that there are male trees and female trees. They cannot reproduce on their own. This tree is also the national tree of China.

2. Water Oak -Quercus Nigra

This is the type of oak tree that was in my backyard growing up. I always think of this type of oak tree when I hear "Oak".

3. Crepe Myrtle - Lagerstroemia

This beautiful tree is all over the South. I think that it's beautiful and almost a crime to cut them down to stumps. They're too pretty for that.

4. Magnolia Grandiflora or Magnolia Trees

These are great climbing trees...great ones to fall out of too. They are beautiful especially when they bloom with there large white flowers. It's just a beautiful scene that is associated with the South and it's elegance.

5. Dogwoods- Cornus Florida

This tree also known as the flowering dogwood is one of my favorite trees of all time! It's so pretty when it blooms, especially if there is more than one color of blossoms around. 

Plants

1. Aloe

From wikipedia I learned that Aloe is actually a genus which has over 400 species, the super cool plant we have here is actually Aloe Vera or true aloe. It has medicinal qualities and is awesome on a sunburn.

2. Phlox 

This pretty flower grows around Tarver Library, and there are 67 species of it. I think the kind we have here is the moss phlox.

3.Hostas

This is the Hosta plant, it loves sunlight which is probably why it is not thriving next to the administration building. There may be as many as 45 species of hosta plants, and on a side note these are my mom's favorite.

4. Mexican Petunia

The Mexican Petunia, or Ruellia angustifolia is also known as Britton's Wild Petunia and the Mexican Bluebell. It is a native to Mexico, is drought resistant, and has a long bloom period. 

5. Monkey Grass

This common hedging grass is also known as mondo grass, fountain plant, and Ophiopogon japonicus. In Chinese medicine the tuber can be used for hacking coughs, dry tongue and mouth, and constipation.

Shrubs (That were not designed, arranged, or sold by Roger the shrubber)

1. Holly Ilex

This pokey holiday oriented bush, is formally called Holly Ilex, and the berries are actually called drupes.

2. Azaleas

These beautiful plants are a big deal in the South and have two sub-genera of Rhododendron, Pentanthera and Tsutsuji. At Callaway Gardens, every year they have an Azalea bowl when their azaleas bloom. It is gorgeous.

3. Oakleaf Hydrangeas

 The Oakleaf Hydrangea is one of two species of hydrangea that are native to the Southeast, the other being the silver leaf hydrangea. It's proper name is hydrangea quercifolia.

4. Rusty Blackhaw

This is the Rusty Blackhaw or Viburnum rufidulum. It's fall color is a burgundy red, and it has good drought and cold tolerance. 

5. Southern Highbush Blueberry

 This delicious shrub is known in the scientific realm as Vaccinium corymbosum. I know it as a blueberry bush.  The berries ripen during the summer months and they delicious!

Hooray for nature walks!