An Introduction to the Identification of Higher Plants

The course will be run as a practical workshop where you will become familiar with the terminology and gain the skills needed to use floras and keys to identify flowering plants. We will focus on the commoner species utilizing the habitats at the Centre for Alternative Technology. By the end of the course you should be able to tackle the identification of unknown specimens and confidently name a good range of common species.

No prior knowledge is required to tackle the course. Whether you are a complete beginner or have some previous knowledge you will benefit greatly from the course (students with a prior interest in wild or garden plants will be at an advantage). There will be 20 contact hours with the tutor but additional study time during the day or evening will be required to gain full benefit from the course and gain the qualification. You will be encouraged to ask questions and share ideas, to learn not only from the tutor but also from other members of the group.

The course is fully accredited by the University of Wales Aberystwyth giving you the opportunity to study at Higher Education level 1, giving 10 credits, which are fully transferable between institutions. Assessment work is embedded in the course and consists of: keeping a lab/field notebook as a running record of your observations and samples, producing a key, identify unfamiliar species together with your contribution to general informal discussion, questioning and responses during the course.

The lab/field notebook included in the course fee. Reference materials and equipment will be provided for use during the course. A flora will be essential the one we recommend is The Wild Flower Key by Francis Rose Publishers Warne ISBN0-7232-2419-6 but some copies of this Flora will be available for use on the course.

Further details (reading material, references, web sites and useful thing to bring along) will be sent to you approximately 4 weeks before the course starts.

For further details or enquiries about of the course content please contact Margaret Howells (Assistant Science Coordinator School of Education and Lifelong Learning University of Wales Aberystwyth) on 01970622682 (Mon, Tues only) or mth@aber.ac.uk For booking and payments etc please contact CAT

Outline of the programme for Plant Identification

June 29^th/30^th July 1st June

The following is an outline only and will depend upon the rate of progress and requirements of the group. There will be a flexible approach to timing and breaks, also to the amount of work carried out indoor and outside around the site at CAT, depending on the weather. The length of each day is to give you a total of 20 contact hours with the tutor.

Day 1
11-12am	Gather, coffee, with informal introductions
12-1pm	Introduction to the course - Basic plant and floral structure
1pm-2pm	Lunch
2-6pm	Detail of life cycle with DVD animation Walk around the site at CAT to collect a range of leaves and flowers Tea break . Examination of the collection to become aware of the diversity in form and structure and to become familiar with the terminology required for identification of plants.
6pm	Evening meal followed by informal workshop
Day 2
9.30am-1pm	Introductions to keys and their use in plant identification. Producing our ownsimple key from our specimens Coffee break Use the flora by Francis Rose to identify specimens.
1-2pm	Lunch
2-6pm	Walk around the site at CAT to identify flowering plants together, (using the flora by Francis Rose). Tea break Continue to examine and identify specimens.
6pm	Evening meal followed by informal workshop.
Day 3
9.30am-1pm	Examination of a range of specimens to recognise similarities and start to become familiar with the important and common flowering plant families Coffee break Identification of a new range of specimens. Continuation of work
1-2pm	Lunch
2-4pm	Continue to examine and identify specimens. End of course and hand in of lab/field notebook for assessment.