SHSG May 2020: Basic Botany for Plant ID

Hi everyone and welcome to our second Syracuse Herbal Study Group Zoom conference meeting! May's class will be taught by myself and local community herbalist Amanda Wells! 

This month, in preparation for Summer plant walks that we will (hopefully) do as a group, we will review concepts that are crucial for the proper identification of plants in the wild. Whether or not you choose to join us this Summer, I know many of us are already venturing outside and wondering which plants are which, if they are useful and encountering "look-alike" plants that can be confusing. So, with the goals of safe, sustainable and successful wildcrafting and walking in mind, we will hit on the following topics:

*Basic botanical terms focusing on plant parts necessary for identification, such as sepals vs. petals, toothed leaves vs. lobed leaves and leaf alignment on the stem

*Ways to distinguish "look alike" plants from one another

*Trends in Plant ID, including plant family commonalities and where to expect certain types of plants to grow and when they are in season

*Responsible harvesting, with an emphasis on clean plant gathering and the sustainable treatment of at-risk plant populations

We will be using excerpt's from Newcomb's Wildflower Guide during this class. Amanda and I are still discussing how we will present this over Zoom, but we do recommend this book for anyone taking on the challenge of identifying wild plants and using them medicinally. 

A ticket purchase includes the Zoom link to the live class and any handouts/notes that Amanda and I generate, all of which will be emailed to participants before class. Folks who want to attend class but cannot make the date and time are welcome to buy a recording which will be emailed along with notes after class ends. The Zoom video will also be archived to the "videos" tab of this website for purchase with or without emailed notes. 

Please message or email with any questions or concerns, syracusehsg@gmail.com. See you all there!