Featured Resource

Anderson
Anderson's Larkspur
[Photo: Sheri Hagwood, Bureau of Land Management]

The NBII Botany Node provides access to botany resources and data maintained by federal, state, and non-governmental partners. The site is divided into ten catagories relating to the study of botany with accompanying lists of resources.

Featured Pollinators Resource

Animated Hummingbird

Thanks to the wonderful work of bees, butterflies, birds, and other animal pollinators, the world's flowering plants are able to reproduce and bear fruit, providing many of the foods we eat, the plant materials we and other organisms use, and the beauty we see around us. Yet today, there is evidence indicating alarming pollinator population declines worldwide.

The NBII Pollinators Project coordinates efforts to address the need for information and technology to support monitoring, management, and conservation of pollinators and pollinator habitats.

Plants of the Pacific Northwest Region

Gentner's fritillaria
Gentner's fritillaria
[Photo: Oregon.gov]





Plants include all organisms found within the taxonomic kingdom Plantae, which produce their food by photosynthesis. Kingdom Plantae is further organized into taxonomic divisions, with a major separation being whether or not the plant has a vascular system. The vascular system transports water and plant nutrients via vascular tissues throughout the plant. Non vascular plants include plants such as algae, fungi, liverworts and mosses. Vascular plants are members of the subkingdom Tracheobionta.  These include ferns, club mosses, angiosperms (flowering plants) and gymnosperms(non-flowering plants).

Sixty vascular plant species have been identified in state wildlife action plans as Species of Greatest Conservation Need (GCN) for the Pacific Northwest Region, which includes Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. The Pacific Northwest Species of Greatest Conservation Need interactive application brings together resources on these 60 GCN plant species and other GCN taxa from multiple authoritative sources including the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) and NatureServe.










Vascular Plants

  • Angiosperms ( Magnoliophyta )
    Angiosperms reproduce by flowers, which are modified shoots that surround immature seeds inside.

  • Ferns and Fern Allies ( Pteridophyta )
    Ferns are nonflowering plants that reproduce by spores, which are produced on the underside of the green leafy structures called fronds. Fern allies are similar to ferns in that they also reproduces by spores, but differ from true ferns in that they do not have the same leaf structure.

  • Gymnosperms ( Coniferophyta )
    Gymnosperms are nonflowering plants that reproduce by seeds that are enclosed in cones. Some of the largest and longest living organisims in the world are cone-bearing gymnosperms such as pines, firs and redwoods.


Nonvascular Plants

  • Algae
    Algae and photosynthetic microorganisms are ecologically important, especially considering they make up half of the photosynthetic production of global organic matter. The microflaura are important food sources, but when there is a high concentration of nitrogen or phosphorous they can cause the water body to become eutrophic. This can lead to low levels of oxygen that are harmful to fish.

  • Fungi and Lichens
    Fungi function as an extensive network of threads existing in organic matter. They secrete enzymes that decompose organic material, which results in a recycling of materials that other organisms can use. Lichens are symbiotic organisms that are a combination of a green algae or cyanobacteria and filamentous fungi.

  • Liverworts and Mosses ( Bryophyta )
    These are primitive photosynthetic plants that reproduce by means of spores instead of seeds.  They are often found growing on rocks and trees, with the ability to absorb nutrients directly into their leaves and stems.



Ecological Importance of Plants

The Earth is home to over 400,00 documented species of plant life. Plants are vital to ecosystems, playing a critical role in the food web. They are primary producers, meaning they make their own energy by using light energy from the sun and converting it into starches and sugars that other animals consume for energy. In addition to generating energy, plants convert raw materials such as carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and nitrogen and phosphorous from the soil into more available forms for other organisims. Plants offer a variety of habitats from the canopies of old growth forests to grasslands and wetlands.


Featured Plant Resource

Plants Database logo

"The PLANTS Database provides standardized information about the vascular plants, mosses, liverworts, hornworts, and lichens of the U.S. and its territories. It includes names, plant symbols, checklists, distributional data, species abstracts, characteristics, images, crop information, automated tools, onward Web links, and references."

Browse the site, see a list of plants in any state, or learn about noxious and invasive plants.

Species Spotlight

Prairie Crocus
[Copyright: Chris Grondahl]

Prairie Crocus or Pasque Flower
(Anemone patens)

Description: A small flowering plant that approaches 4-8 inches tall. Flowers have 5-7 veined petals that are typically pale blue or mauve in color, but are occasionally white or light yellow. Dakota Indians believed this wildflower's song encouraged other plants to awaken. This wildflower is also called the pasque flower, wild crocus, wind flower, and may flower.

Life History: Blooms from mid-April to mid-May, the earliest prairie flower

Habitat: Undisturbed prairies; well-drained, sandy, gravelly soils and roadsides.

Distribution: Found on southward facing slopes throughout the Northwestern United States and up to Northern Alaska. It is the state flower of South Dakota.

Resources:

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