Tree Leaf Collection
Name ____________________per____date____
This assignment consists of you hand collecting at least 25 plant specimens. Be careful while
collecting; MOST plants in Utah are harmless, however some plants like poison ivy and stinging
nettle can cause some major discomfort – others, like nightshade and jimson weed, can be toxic
if ingested. Be sure to wash your hands after collecting. In your collection, you must personally
collect all but 5 specimens from a neighborhood, park, campus, etc. Therefore you can trade
up to 5 specimens with other students or collect those 5 from a nursery (with permission of
course). Your family can help you find them but you must be the one to collect.
Your collection should include different species of the following plant phylum, family, and
genera. Write the final number of each genus you collected in the “# collected” column – you
must collect at least one species from each genus listed and can collect a maximum of 3
species per genus. Four points will be deducted for each missing required specimen and any
specimen beyond 3 for one genera will not be counted. The last 2 spaces are for any other you
add to reach your total of 25 specimen.
Collections must be pressed, preserved, mounted, classified, and organized in a binder. Thirty
of the total points will be for the collection display and organization. The display must be
creative, attractive, and well organized.
Division
Angiosperm
Family
Araliaceae
Betulaceae
Buxaceae
Celastraceae
Elaeagnaceae
Fabaceae
Fagaceae
Juglandaceae
Platanaceae
Rosaceae
Salicaceae
Gymnosperm
Sapindaceae
Tiliaceae
Cupressaceae
Ginkgoaceae
Pinaceae
Total Specimen Score
Creativity
/15
TOTAL SCORE
Genus
Hedera
Betula
Buxus
Euonymus
Elaeagnus
Gleditsia
Quercus
Juglans
Platanus
Malus
Prunus
Pyrus
Rosa
Populus
Salix
Acer
Tilia
Juniperus
Ginkgo
Abies
Cedrus
Picea
Pinus
Common Name
#
Collected
Points
Condition
ID
Labeling
Ivy
Birch
Boxwood
Euonymus
Russian Olive
Honeylocust
Oak
Walnut
Sycamore
Apple
Plum
Pear
Rose
Aspen/Cottonwood
Willow
Maple
Linden
Juniper
Ginkgo
Fir
Cedar
Spruce
Pine
(25)
/75
Organization
/15
Overall Presentation
/30
/105
Grading:
Each specimen will receive:
1 point:
specimen condition (neat, complete, attractive, etc)
1 point:
correct identification
1 point:
correct labeling
30 points: Overall Presentation (15 for display creativity and 15 for
organization/classification)
Please organize your collection by grouping Families together in a large 3-ring binder.
Remember you must classify and identify these on your own.
Specimen Preservation (Pressing and Mounting): Leaves, flowers, and branches have hard
structural components that if held in one position while drying will cause them to be preserved
for years to come. After collecting your plant specimens place them inside a large book or
anything that will keep them flat and pressed while drying. Any moving, bending, or folding
while drying or after dried will cause the plants to break, so you must be very careful. For clear
instructions on how to press and preserve plant specimens use the following online link:
http://bit.ly/PlantPressInstructions (these instructions are written to be used with children, but
they were the easiest to understand).
Labeling: Each specimen should be labeled with the following information on the bottom left
corner of each plant mount. Type the information in Times New Roman or Arial 12-point font.
Family - Genus species
Common Name
Location where collected
Date when collected (NOT MOUNTED)
Collector’s First Initial and Last name
Sapindaceae - Acer platanoides
Norway Maple
Antelope Island, Syracuse, Utah
Jul. 19, 2012
A. Stewart
Classification: Once your plant has been mounted it is your job to do the identifying and
classifying for each specimen! You must classify them by Family, Genus and Species. Please
organize your collection by division, family, and genus in your binder(s). Use the information at
the following link to classify your plant specimens: http://forestry.usu.edu/htm/treeid.
Pinning and Classification Help: If you need help or tools to mount and classify your leaves,
you can come see Mrs. Stewart thirty minutes before or after school Monday-Thursday.
Online Help: Here are a few websites I like using to help me find and collect plant specimen:
USU Tree Identification: http://forestry.usu.edu/htm/treeid
BYU Tree Tour: treetour.byu.edu
Virginia Tech Leaf Key: http://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/syllabus/key/location.htm
Virginia Tech Angiosperms: http://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/syllabus/biglist_frame.cfm
Virginia Tech Gymnosperms:
http://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/syllabus/biglist_framegymno.cfm
Extra Help and Ideas: The fastest way to complete this assignment would be to use one of the
two links above. Students that have done this assignment gave the suggestion that when
collecting make sure to get 3-4 leaves for each plant because while pressing them sometimes
they break and it’s good to have a few backups – better safe than sorry.