The Wildflower Project was done by the class of Biology in SSFS, and consisted of

students finding and identifying flowers using the code giving to us by the book we used,
“Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide” by Lawrence Newcomb. One opens their eyes to the beauty of
nature and learns the wildflower’s name, what family it belongs to, its habitat, the city it is in, and
the county. Most of my collecting, was done in Sandy Spring Friends School, in the woods,
where there were plenty of flowers. The purpose of this project was to teach how there are so
many other ecomorphs or environments around us, and how to identify a flower using the code
of the book we are told to use.

Materials:

- “Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide” to identify the flowers using the code at the begging of
the book
- Paper towels to press the flowers and make them dry
- Laminated paper to mount the flowers
- Labels to put inside the laminated paper
- Binder to put my laminated flower in
- Folder to put my regular flowers in a secure place
- Markers
- Scissors

1.) I would identify the flower before I pick it by using the three identifications at the
beginning of “Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide”. The first identification is to identify its parts,
or how many petals it has. If it is irregular it means the petals are not equal length, or it is
not symmetrical, and if indistinguishable, the flowers parts are hard to determine. Not
every flower is indistinguishable. The second identification is to determine how the
leaves are arranged on the flowers stalk. If it's alternate the flowers change location
around the stalk. If it is opposite or whorled the leaves are located on opposite sides of
the stalk. If there are only leaves at the bottom of the flower, then it has only basal
leaves. The third identification is to determine how the leaves on the flower look like. If
they are entire there are no cuts or dents on the leaf. If they are toothed or lobed there
are dents and cuts on the flower. If they are divided there are many leaves off of one
leaf.
2.) Next, I would press the flower in my book, on its page number, or I would press it with
paper towel and put the name, code, and page number on the paper towel with a
marker. I used paper towel so it could dry the flower. Then, I would put it in my database
and list in order: the scientific name, family name, city, county, state, habitat, date
collected, the code, page number, and the collector.
3.) I always had a scissor with me so I could cut the flower easily without taking the risk of
taking out the roots. When I successfully cut it, I would make sure that I did not leave
any basal leaves behind, and if I did, I would take a basal leaf with me.
4.) To mount the flower, I would make sure it’s dry and I would put it in laminated paper,
with the label. To create the labels, I would use my database information and put it
 inside the laminated paper, with the flower. When finished, I put it into a binder to mount
it.
5.) I usually put the labels at the bottom of the flower or the right hand corner when I went
through the lamination process. The labels of the flower included scientific name,
common name, family name, city, county, state, habitat, date collected, ID book, page
number, and the collector.

Discussion

Based on my information, I learned that the prevalent families in SSFS are the Mustard
family, Purslane family, and the Viola family, who are usually found in the dry woods on SSFS
campus. The most common flower at SSFS would be the Spring Beauty as when I went looking
in the woods for flowers the Spring Beauty was everywhere you looked. I also learned that there
are so many different families at SSFS, and when there is a change in temperature the families
would die out, and allow another family to grow. In addition, I learned how to identify a flower,
not just by using the identification code giving by “Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide”, but trying to
assume what family the flower is in by looking at the traits it had. I made mistakes by pressing
my flower in “Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide” instead of pressing it in paper towel. “Newcomb's
Wildflower Guide” was not a good place to press it in because it either destroyed the flower
parts, or pressed it in the wrong way. Another mistake I made was that I would pick the flower
before I identified it. This is inefficient because it can come with the risk of picking a rare flower.
Identifying the flowers was fun as it allowed communication with others, and posed challenges
in the project. I developed the habit of comparing flowers to one another, so then I could know
what family they are in. My favorite part of this project was exploring the nature I usually do not.

Conclusions
I noticed that the Purple Dead Nettle and the Henbit, members of the Mint family, died
when the temperature rose, and the Ground Ivy would act as a substitute to the Mint family
because it still survived when the temperature rose.

I noticed that members of the Mint, Pea, and Pink families grow in grassy places and are
usually hard to find in the woods near Sandy Spring Friends School. In addition, some members
die out when the climate changes.

I noticed that the Mustard and the Buttercup families grow everywhere and they survive
changes in their environment.

Why do members of the Mint, Pea, and Pink families grow in grassy places, and
members of the Mustard and Buttercup families are able to grow in almost every environment?

Why are members of the Rose, Arum, and Composite family found near my town, but
are rare in SSFS?