Rural School Leaflet 



1321 



PLANTS TO BE RECOGNIZED IN 1915-1916 



The Editors 



From a study of the syllabus topic " Plants to be recognized," the pupils 

 should become familiar with some of the important characteristics of each 

 plant that can be learned in the field. A few suggestions as to such char- 

 acteristics, are made here, and, if the teacher wishes to give further work, 

 additional material can be found in any good botany. 



\ 'iolet. — Violet family. How many varieties of violets are there in the 

 neighborhood? Have the children ever seen any that are neither yellow, 

 white, blue, nor purple? Let the pupils find 

 out whether some violets are stemless, and 

 ^^'hether some have leafy stems. Call atten- 

 tion to the Httlc spur, or nectarv^ which is 

 visited by the bees and the butterflies. When 

 seen through a lens, the stamens and the 

 pistils will be interesting to the children. 

 \Vhat plants are found growing with violets? 

 Call attention to the fact that the pansy 

 belongs to the violet family. In what ways 'p 

 does it resemble the violet, and in what ways ^ 

 does it difi^er? How many children have seen 

 the wild pansy as well as the cultivated 

 variety ? 



Aster. Composite family, to which the 

 daisy, the dandehon, and many well-known 

 plants belong. The children should be sent 

 on a quest for asters, since doubtless there 

 will be many varieties in the neighborhood. 

 With a little help they will see the differences 

 in many of the species, and this will be a 

 valuable preparation for the study of varia- 

 tion in plants. They should note the color 

 of the blossoms, how they are arranged, whether all of them are at the top 

 of the stem, or whether some are along the side. They should note whether 

 the leaves are close to the stalk, whether some have petioles, whether some 

 arc clasping, whether they are thin or thick, harsh or smooth, long or broad. 



Milkweed. Milkweed family. Milkweed is one of the most attractive 

 plants in the autumn. The children are familiar with the milky juice and 

 with the heavy pendulous flower cluster, which has many insect \asitors. 

 They should notice the broad leaves and that both stem and leaves are 

 often downy. Are any smooth kinds found? The boys and girls are 

 familiar w4th the seed pod, full of white down that carries the flat seeds 

 sometimes long distances from the parent plant. 







Violet 



