Hints on using Plant Identification DVDs

The Plant Walk Series

Mors Kochanski

Reviews and Exams: Generally, after about seven plants are covered there is a short review. The paperwork accompanying the video provides a list that can be matched to the letters on the video. A series of questions that are based on what is covered in the videos have been compiled to be used after each seven plant segment or in other ways. The answers are provided for your convenience.

In spite of any good intentions to learn how to identify the plants, few of us have the opportunity to be in the right place at the right time to work with them in the out of doors. Hopefully, these plant videos will help solve this problem by allowing you to master their identification at your convenience so that you will know their names the next time you see them in their natural setting

Expect that your identification skills will pick up: As you progress through the videos you will likely find that the accumulation of knowledge may seem laborious at first, especially mastering the Latin names; then it should begin to snowball as more and more plants are covered. In the end when you really get rolling you may experience a profound disappointment that in reality there are so few plants. It may help to know that most of the plants have at least one definite feature establishing their identification which is usually clearly seen in the videos of the plants.

Name differences: Occasionally, the written name flashed on the screen is different from that used by the instructor. Both names are valid, except the one flashed on the screen comes from reliant, more readily available books. Expect some variation in the plants: When you encounter plants from the same species, keep in mind that they are not all cast from the same mold. Expect some variation within a given species and weigh the evidence provided by the other features.

When you plan to use a plant as a medicine or a food be absolutely sure you have identified it correctly. Latin names are important: Mastering the Latin names of the plants may be a great challenge, but if you persist they will grow on you. The names may be incorporated into Language Arts by studying the origin and derivation of the names. It can be a very effective way of extending one’s grasp of the English language.