BIOL 301 Extra Credit Assignment Name: Answer the following plant identification 'riddles' based on the species introduced in the course. Please write the common name on the line provided and scientific names (genus, species, family) underneath. Your field guide and the course species list are good references for this exercise good luck! 01. Shrub or small tree that has alternate, pinnately compound leaves that turn bright red in autumn; fruits are pubescent and red. Common species at low to mid-elevations in the Black Hills. 02. Taprooted biennial with highly dissected leaves and compound umbels of small white flowers. This Eurasian species is common on roadsides and waste areas across North America. 03. Native annual with tiny yellow flower heads that produces abundant pollen; this is a problem species for folks with pollen allergies. Common plant on roadsides and disturbed habitats across North America. 04. Vine with palmately compound leaves, often turning red in fall; stems woody and often developing tendrils. Purple fruits are poisonous. Common in low-elevation forests and stream-sides across South Dakota. 05. Perennial herb with distinctive basal, shallowly lobed, and heart- to kidney-shaped leaves; inflorescence of small flowers on naked stalks. Species of cliffs, rocky slopes, and gullies from low- to high elevations. 06. Herbaceous plant with high dissected, silvery pubescent leaves that are aromatic; flowers are arranged in small heads. Common on dry slopes and rocky habitats, this plant has many medicinal uses. 07. Common shrub (sometimes a small tree) that grows on slopes, gulches, and prairie margins of the Black Hills; has alternate leaves, extrafloral nectaries on the petiole, and red fruits with a pit. 1
08. Short perennial with basal, oval-shaped leaves and small greenish flowers arranged in a spike; this Eurasian species is a common weed of parking lots, gravel roads, gardens, and lawns of South Dakota. 09. Distinctive annual plant with whitish bracts on upper growth; leaves alternate and oval, fruit is a green capsule. Native, most common in lowelevation prairies in our region and sometimes cultivated. 10. Native tree with opposite, pinnately-compound leaves and serrate leaflet margins. Although common on slopes and ravines in our region, this species is threatened by an introduced species of beetle. 11. Flowering plant with broad, modified stems for water storage, numerous spines, and weak joints that break to enable dispersal of stem segments via passing animals. It is found in rocky areas and dry prairie. 12. Diminutive annual plant with small yellow flower heads and an unusual skunky odor. This native species is common in disturbed habitats, including two-tracks and dirt roads, across South Dakota. 13. Perennial wildflower with racemes of striking pink, bilaterally symmetric flowers; leaves opposite and somewhat waxy. Common in prairie in low- and mid-elevations across South Dakota. 14. A low-statured shrub with alternate, evergreen foliage. This species has urn-shaped flowers and red berries; common mid- to high-elevations in the Black Hills, especially on slopes and exposed ridges. 15. Native tree or large shrub with compound, opposite leaves and 'helicopter' fruits. This species was a traditional source of sugar for American Indians. Common at low elevations across South Dakota. 2
16. Introduced weed of lawns and waste areas; this species has basal leaves, milky sap, yellow flower heads born on naked stalks, and winddispersed seeds. Edible species that was widely consumed by pioneers. 17. Wildflower with beautiful large, bilaterally symmetric blue-purple flowers. This native perennial grows in wet places like stream margins and lakeshores. 18. Tall, wind-pollinated monocot of ponds and wet soils; flowers in dense spike that is characteristically large and brown-ish in color. This edible species was used for many purposes by American Indians. 19. Herb with rough hairs, basal leaves, and large purple ray flowers; old flowering heads are round and bristly; remain into the autumn. Common in prairie habitats, and widely used for medicinal purposes. 20. Coniferous shrub, evergreen, with short sharp leaves developing in whorls and much greener on the top than bottom. Very widespread, in the Black Hills it is common in pine and spruce forest. 21. Herbaceous plant with beautiful flowers (blue petals and yellow centers). Introduced species that forms dense growth on lakeshores and streams in Black Hills. 22. Woody species with trifoliate alternate leaves that grows at ground level and sometimes climbs trees and shrubs. Foliage turns bright red in the fall; non-edible fruits are white. 23. Non-native plant with yellow flowers and brown capsules. Leaves are dotted (can see when hold up to light). This plant is used to treat depression. It is a noxious weed in many western states. 3
24. Saprophytic plant with pink-colored stems and nodding flowers with fused petals; dried stems may persist for years in the field. Common, but not abundant, in Ponderosa forests in the Black Hills. 25. Large fern with reddish scaly rhizomes and frond stalks; leaves highly divided (twice pinnatifid). Widespread fern species that in the Black Hills favors wet, rocky substrates in forests. 26. Native perennial with stems that are slender and produce linear leaves. Attractive flowers are blue and bell-shaped, 5-merous, develop on tips of stems. Common from low to high elevations in Black Hills. 27. A tall purple-blue monocot with a branched turkey-foot shaped inflorescence. Extremely common in eastern tall-grass prairies; reasonably common in mixed-grass prairies of western South Dakota. 28. A small tree with simple, alternate leaves with toothed margins and stems with large thorns. Flowers are white; fruits are bright red and eaten by wildlife. Common native tree on hillsides and gulches. 29. A weakly-stemmed herb with whorls of 6-8 leaves, tiny white flowers, and curved hairs on stems and leaves that allow the entire plant to stick to clothes and fur. 30. Shrub with palmately-lobed leaves in an alternate arrangement; stems thick and lacking prickles. Fruit is soft, red, and edible. Common species in mid-elevation forests of the Black Hills. 31. A deciduous tree with whitish bark, pointy buds, and flattened petiole that causes leaves to shake in the wind; leaves turn yellow in autumn. This clonal species occurs at high elevations in the Black Hills. 4
32. Wildflower with pinnately compound leaves and an umbel inflorescence. Rare species found in shallow water, like streams and lakeshores, where it is increasingly out-competed by introduced species. 33. This perennial herb common around Spearfish has entire leaves and herbaceous stems that are covered by silvery-white pubescence; small flowers are in heads. The entire plant is aromatic and used medicinally. 34. Perennial with densely hairy leaves; produces white or pink-ish flower heads early in the season but leafy rosettes persist through summer and fall. Small plant that is especially common at high elevations. 35. Branched annual with beautiful orange flowers (often spotted) and exploding fruits. Native species that favors wet habitats like seeps and stream-sides, where it often flowers into the autumn. 36. Forage crop with compound (trifoliate) leaves and purple-pink flowers; widely planted in pastures and sometimes invasive to native prairie. This species fixes nitrogen. 37. Tall evergreen conifer with long needles (2-3 per fascicles), and orange-ish bark at maturity. This species can form dense stands and is the most common tree in the Black Hills region. 38. Native perennial with palmately compound leaves and purple-white flowers; fruit is a pubescent pod. Nitrogen fixing species that occurs in mid- to high-elevation grasslands and open forests of the Black Hills. 39. Armed shrub (two pickle sizes) and with multiple stems and mapleshaped leaves (alternate arrangement). Fruit is red-purple, sour but edible. Common throughout the Black Hills. 5
40. Perennial herb with very strong mint smell; leaves toothed, opposite, and exhibit glands while stems are four-sided. Flowers small and axillary. Native species found in wet areas like seeps and streams. 41. Native perennial, woody shrub with shedding bark common in dry prairies of western North America. Leaves grey-green, hairy, linear and entire; odiferous. Flower heads small and inconspicuous. 42. Tall perennial that often forms patches; flowers large, purple, intricate, developing in terminal racemes. Native species that is common in western North America, especially in burned areas. 43. A mid-sized shrub, this species has opposite, egg-shaped leaves and produces numerous white berries; it is common in low-elevation prairie through mid-elevation meadows in the Black Hills. 44. Diminutive herb with milky sap, linear leaves, and ornate white-ish colored flowers; native and common at low elevations in our region. Contains glycosides but larger relatives are edible if properly prepared. 45. Large fern with triangular blades (in outline) and general three-parted appearance; rhizomatous, often forming dense patches. Common and widespread fern, occurs in relatively dry and open habitats. 46. Wildflower with thin, white ray flowers and a tidy circle of yellow disc flowers; stem leaves are clasping and smaller than basal leaves. Frequently found in moist soils across South Dakota. 47. Attractive prairie wildflower with a spike of small purple flower heads. Leaves are narrow and covered in translucent dots that are visible when held up to light. 6
48. A native vine that produces edible purple fruits; leaves are simple, lobed; stems often develop tendrils. Common in low- to mid-elevation forests, especially along streams and rivers. 49. Rhizomatous perennial with aromatic leaves that are highly-divided (almost fernlike); small flower heads are white and arranged in a corymb. Native species that is widespread across western South Dakota. 50. Vine with opposite, pinnately compound leaves and small leaflets; axillary inflorescences, fruits are fluffy achenes. Native species found in ravines and along streams in the Black Hills. 51. Perennial herb with milky sap and opposite, egg-shaped leaves that are darker green on top than bottom and often somewhat droopy; whitishpink flowers. Common in forest and forest edge habitats in South Dakota. 52. Common drought-tolerant tree in the Black Hills region, especially on slopes and in gulches; leaves simple, alternate in arrangement and conspicuously lobed. Distinctive fruits are large and have a 'cap'. 53. Short but stout herb with large pinnately-compound leaves (up to five leaflets) and flowers in umbels; fleshy fruits are purple. Common in forests across South Dakota at low and mid-elevations. 54. Perennial wildflower with distinctive leaves (palmately 5-lobed blades) and large pink 5-merous flowers that develop a long-beaked fruit. Common species at mid- and high elevations of the Black Hills. 55. Very spiny noxious weed with simple lobed leaves and large purple flower heads exhibiting a solitary arrangement; involucre is prominent and very bristly. Eurasian species now common in pastures and prairies. 7
56. Perennial wildflower with yellow flowers and pinnately compound leaves with variable numbers of toothed leaflets. Fruits are bristly and annoyingly sticky. Common species of forest edges and openings. 57. Nightshade relative with yellow flowers (fused petals) and a very spiny calyx and stem. Native plant that is sometimes weedy in disturbed habitats, including pasturelands. 58. Short, drought tolerant grass with spikelets that are characteristically clustered onto one side of the stem. Native species that persists in many dry prairies of western South Dakota. 59. Branched perennial with sessile leaves that develops abundant whitecolored flower heads (all disc flowers) in dense clusters in the fall; native and common in prairies and dry hillsides of South Dakota. 60. Unusual evergreen herb with pinnately compound leaves and spinous leaflet margins; blue-purple fruits are edible. Common native species in forest understory of the Black Hills region. 61. Coniferous tree with scale-like, evergreen foliage; dioecious and producing berry-like cones on female plants. Often planted in shelter belts and invasive into prairies but nonetheless native to western South Dakota. 62. Tall perennial monocot with triangular stems and terminal clusters of spikelets. This native species favors wet places like streams and ponds, and is found across South Dakota. 63. Small tree with distinctive silvery foliage (elliptic leaves with an alternate arrangement) and thorny stems; fruits round, silvery, somewhat fleshy. Planted in shelterbelts and often becoming invasive. 8
64. Tall perennial with thick stems, an umbel inflorescences, and very large fruits. Leaves and stem ooze photo-toxic chemicals when cut but the species is nonetheless edible; occurs in wet soils in South Dakota. 65. Armed shrub with compound leaves, weak prickles on its stem, and juicy red fruits; rhizomatous and often forming patches. This species is common in forests and forest margins throughout the Black Hills. 66. Distinctive weed with opposite leaves and swollen nodes. Flowers have notched white petals; sepals are ridged and inflated. This European species occurs in roadsides and disturbed areas across South Dakota. 67. Short evergreen shrub with alternate leaves, grey-green in color and often scurfy; flowers are small and fruits ugly. Occurs in dry prairie and alkaline soils in our region. 68. Small tree with scaly bark; simple, alternate leaves that are doubly serrate, ovate in shape and develop accuminate tips; this deciduous species is common in low- to mid-elevation forests of the Black Hills. 69. Tall herb with lanceolate leaves and pink, cross-shaped flowers (four sepals and four petals); fruits are siliques. Native to Eurasia but widely cultivated and sometimes naturalized across South Dakota. 70. Attractive wildflower with thin purple ray flowers and an untidy circle of yellow disc flowers; leaves are highly variable in size and shape. Common in meadows at low to and mid-elevations in the Black Hills. 71. Non-native shrubs with opposite simple leaves and pink flowers that develop in pairs at leaf axils; fleshy fruits usually orange. Cultivated in hedges and sometimes invasive at low-elevations in our region. 9
72. Shrub with simple opposite leaves exhibiting entire margins and a 'latex' that connects leaf pieces that are pulled apart; fleshy white fruits are inedible. Native, low to mid-elevations forests in the Black Hills. 73. Unusual, short-statured wildflower with small succulent leaves and yellow flowers. Ecological specialist favoring rocky habitats and cliffs at mid- to high-elevations of the Black Hills. 74. Short, early-flowering monocot that often forms dense stands in South Dakota prairies. Unusual roots (tough and black-colored) and leaves (folded and thin) help identify this drought-resistant species. 75. Invasive perennial with palmately compound leaves and sharply toothed leaflets; flowers are five-merous with bright yellow petals. Common weed at mid- and high elevations in western South Dakota. 76. Evergreen fern-ally with coarsely-textured and jointed stems that grow 2-3' in height. Stem is 'naked' (lacking whorls of branches). This species is common in wet areas (streamsides, ponds, etc.) in South Dakota. 77. Unusual, highly branched plant that is almost entirely prostrate; 4- sided stem develops opposite leaves and very small purple flowers in an inflorescence with conspicuous bracts. Native species of disturbed areas. 78. A noxious weed that forms large patches by rhizomes, this plant has spiny lobed leaves and flower heads that are pink-purple. This species is a common invader in our region and difficult to eliminate. 79. Late-flowering perennial wildflower with milky sap; flower heads are large, solitary, and have bright yellow florets. A native species found in meadows of the Black Hills region. 10
80. Shrub with small, simple and alternate leaves paler below than above that are hairy on the blade and petiole; flowers in catkins. Very common species by streams and in wet soils across the Black Hills 81. Shrub with long, armed stems (two prickle types) and alternate, pinnately compound leaves (up to 9 leaflets). Flowers are large, pink and 5-merous, developing into a red fruit. Common on forest edges. 82. Perennial wildflower with cordate leaves and long petiole; flowers are axillary, yellow with purple markings and a nectar spur. This species favors moist, shady forest habitats. 83. Tall wildflower with sessile leaves, this species has golden yellow flowers arranged in a dense array of small heads at the top of its stems. Common fall-flowering species of meadows and forest margins. 84. Tree with simple, alternate leaves that are serrated and often oriented in one plane; unusual buds that are round and dark-colored. Asian species that is widely planted and sometimes weedy in our area. 85. Perennial with opposite leaves and hairy petioles, the flowers are axillary, 5-merous and have bright yellow petals. This species occurs in wet habitats (stream margins, ponds, etc.) throughout the Black Hills 86. Perennial wildflower with densely hairy ('wooly') leaves at the base and lower parts of the stem; flowers small, pinkish-white, in dense balllike clusters. This species occurs in low elevation dry prairies in our area. 87. Perennial wildflower with stout, cup-shaped, resinous involucre bracts and yellow ray flowers. Flowers in the fall; very common along roadsides and in prairies across western South Dakota. 11
88. Monocot with unusual vegetative (single lf) and reproductive (multiple lvs with inflorescence) growth forms. Leaves range from egg to heart shaped; 4-meous flower become red fleshy fruit. Forest species. 89. Poisonous plant with finely divided leaves, spotted stems, and large umbels. This tall-statured invasive species is common in disturbed areas of South Dakota, where it prefers wet soils. 90. Monocot with round, filled stems and a terminal inflorescence of small, wind-pollinated flowers subtended by several bracts. Common species of wet soils (stream margins, ponds, etc.) in the Black Hills. 91. Tall branchy herb with small leaves and numerous tiny yellow flowers in racemes. This nitrogen-fixer is cultivated as a forage plant and a common invader of prairies and meadows across western South Dakota. 92. A vine with simple, alternate leaves with acuminate tips, this species climbs trees and may cause constriction to the trunk bark. Non-edible fruits are bright orange and split open. 93. Low-growing plant with elliptical, evergreen leaves that have an opposite or whorled arrangement. Pink flowers mature into pumpkinshaped fruits. Rare plant of moist forests of the Black Hills. 94. Short-statured, densely pubescent wildflower that has small leaves and attractive golden yellow flower heads arranged in a corymb. Native plant that is common in prairies and grasslands of South Dakota. 95. Perennial monocot with pointed, sharp, long leaves; flowers large, white, and developing on lengthy raceme that towers above leaves. Native plant of low elevation prairies and rocky slopes in western South Dakota. 12
96. Noxious weed from Europe that has attractive purple flower heads and pubescent (but unarmed) stems (often branched) and divided leaves. Possible up-and-coming weed in the Black Hills region. 97. Distinctive perennial of low-elevation prairies, this plant has red stems, pinnately compound leaves, and white-ish flowers. This nitrogenfixer is tolerant of selenium and thus an indicator species for unusual soils. 98. A coniferous tree with short, sharply pointed needles found at middle and high-elevation in the Black Hills; this species usually occurs further north and has a taxonomic variety endemic to our region. 99. Annual goosefoot with unarmed reddish stems and hairy linear leaves; stem often breaks and becomes a tumbleweed. European species that is weedy but sometimes cultivated as forage. 100. Evergreen herb generally prostrate with thick and leathery, longpetioled, round leaves and pink, 5-merous flowers in a short inflorescence. This species favors moist and cool forests of the Black Hills. 13