Hints on using Plant Identification DVDs.
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 mould. 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.