DECIDUOUS/EVERGREEN
Feb-March
DECIDUOUS
= the leaves all fall off at the end of the growing
In the spring it will have all fresh, new leaves.
EVERGREEN
= leaves last more than one season; the plant always
Leaves do fall off, but not all at one time.
With younger students:
Walk as a group around the Arb, pointing
out trees and shrubs and asking them
"deciduous or evergreen?"
You may be surprised how much practice
this requires.
With older students:
Ask, "Which is more common in the
Arboretum, deciduous or evergreen
species?" Have each student
tally each woody plant species he
encounters in the Arb as
evergreen or deciduous.
Reminder: Just look at woody plants.
Tally each species once, not every
individual you come across.
In coastal California you will find
a high percentage of
species are evergreen.
If you go to Minnesota, you will find a
different picture. Think why this might be.
To add another variable, introduce
BROADLEAF
NEEDLE-LEAF
as another way to categorize trees
and shrubs.
"Broadleaf"
plants have a leaf blade, a flat,
green surface.
"Needleleaved"
trees have tough, narrow,
toothpick-shaped or scale-like leaves.
Each student makes a 2 by 2 table:
decid. |
evergreen
broadleaf
|
--------+--------
needleleaf |
|
The
student looks at each woody plant species
he encounters, asks
"broadleaf or needleleaf?"
to decide which row to tally in, and
asks "deciduous or
evergreen" to decide which column. When all
is tallied, you can ask, "Are
broadleafs usually deciduous or
evergreen?"
"Are needleleafs usually deciduous or
evergreen?"
"Which category is most common
in the Arb?" "Do you think
this
is representative of coastal
California?" If you need to
practice percentages, here is a
chance! "What percent of
needleleafs are deciduous?"
I was surprised how difficult this
tallying assignment was,
They need more practice!
"Answers": 23 deciduous-broadleaf, 13 evergreen-broadleaf,
0