Answer and describe the following five plants: habit, habitat, life span, throns, spines or prickles, infloresences, leaves (complexity, attachment to stem, arrangement, blade shape, margin, apex, base, venation and trichomes). Other interesting facts. 1. Isomeris arboea (Bladderpod) - Drought tolerant plant 2. Sinningia macrostachya 3. Ceropegia dichotoma 4. Lilium longiflorum 5. Peperomia verticiliata Solution I. Isomeris arboea Also known as Bladderpod, Burrofat and California cleome.This plant is a fast-growing evergreen dicot shrub from the family Capparaceae. It is a dense shrub with profuse branching and small hairs/trichomes. It normally grows in well-draining rocky areas with good exposure to sunlight. It is found in Southern Sierra Nevada Foothills, Tehachapi Mountain area, San Joaquin Valley,Central Coast, South Coast, Channel Islands, Deserts, and Baja,CA Habitat - Coastal bluffs, hills, desert washes, flats below 3,900\' Height by Width: 3-4\' H x 4\' W Stems - profusely branched; glabrate or puberulent (bark corky, twigs smooth) inflorescence: The plant produces abundant inflorescences at the ends of the stem branches, each a cluster of bright yellow flowers. Each flower has usually four petals and six whiskery protruding stamens with curling tips holding the anthers. The fruit is an inflated capsule about 4 centimeters long and usually oval in shape. It is smooth and green when new, aging to light brown. Fruits when dry, resemble a paper lantern that rattles (the seeds inside the dried fruit rattle around). The flowers are dense terminal racemes. The calyx is four-cleft and the sepals are fused in the basal half. It has four petals ½” long, 6 yellow stamens that are long and a pistil with a short style. Sepals persistent, connate ca. 1/2 of length, green, lanceolate, 4–7 × 2.2–4 mm, margins entire, glabrous; petals yellow, ovate-elliptic, 8–14 × 4.2–5 mm, (apex acute); stamens yellow, 15–25 mm; anthers 2–2.5 mm; gynophore (reflexed), 10–20 mm in fruit; ovary 3–6 mm (often aborting in bud); style 0.9–1.2 mm. Capsules (tardily dehiscent), usually inflated ,(valves sometimes 3), 20–30 × 6–12 mm, smooth. Seeds 5–25, dark brown, obovoid, 6–7 × 5–6 mm, smooth. Leaves: Its leaves are made up of three equal leaflike leaflets, each a long, pointed oval 1-4 cm long. The leaves are alternate, entire, petiolate and trifoliate with leaflets that are oblong-elliptic with small pointed tips. petiole 1–3 cm; leaflets 3, blade oblong-elliptic, 1.5–4.5 × 0.4–1.3 cm, margins serrate, apex acuminate to obtuse, surfaces glaucous. Racemes 1–3 cm (6–40 cm in fruit); bracts unifoliate, obovate to spatulate, 2–15 mm. Pedicels 7–15 mm (thickened in fruit). extra information: II. Sinningia macrostachya Family: Gesneriaceae Popular names – leather leaf, Gloxinia Sinningia macrostachya has a perennial stem base, very stiff leaves, and numerous small orange flowers. Its fleshy stems are joined to the woody trunk. Each year, the woody part of the stems exten.

1. Answer and describe the following five plants: habit, habitat, life span, throns, spines or prickles,
infloresences, leaves (complexity, attachment to stem, arrangement, blade shape, margin, apex,
base, venation and trichomes). Other interesting facts.
1. Isomeris arboea (Bladderpod) - Drought tolerant plant
2. Sinningia macrostachya
3. Ceropegia dichotoma
4. Lilium longiflorum
5. Peperomia verticiliata
Solution
I. Isomeris arboea
Also known as Bladderpod, Burrofat and California cleome.This plant is a fast-growing
evergreen dicot shrub from the family Capparaceae. It is a dense shrub with profuse branching
and small hairs/trichomes. It normally grows in well-draining rocky areas with good exposure to
sunlight. It is found in Southern Sierra Nevada Foothills, Tehachapi Mountain area, San Joaquin
Valley,Central Coast, South Coast, Channel Islands, Deserts, and Baja,CA
Habitat - Coastal bluffs, hills, desert washes, flats below 3,900'
Height by Width: 3-4' H x 4' W
Stems - profusely branched; glabrate or puberulent (bark corky, twigs smooth)
inflorescence: The plant produces abundant inflorescences at the ends of the stem branches, each
a cluster of bright yellow flowers. Each flower has usually four petals and six whiskery
protruding stamens with curling tips holding the anthers. The fruit is an inflated capsule about 4
centimeters long and usually oval in shape. It is smooth and green when new, aging to light
brown. Fruits when dry, resemble a paper lantern that rattles (the seeds inside the dried fruit
rattle around). The flowers are dense terminal racemes. The calyx is four-cleft and the sepals are
fused in the basal half. It has four petals ½” long, 6 yellow stamens that are long and a pistil with
a short style. Sepals persistent, connate ca. 1/2 of length, green, lanceolate, 4–7 × 2.2–4 mm,
margins entire, glabrous; petals yellow, ovate-elliptic, 8–14 × 4.2–5 mm, (apex acute); stamens
yellow, 15–25 mm; anthers 2–2.5 mm; gynophore (reflexed), 10–20 mm in fruit; ovary 3–6 mm
(often aborting in bud); style 0.9–1.2 mm. Capsules (tardily dehiscent), usually inflated ,(valves
sometimes 3), 20–30 × 6–12 mm, smooth. Seeds 5–25, dark brown, obovoid, 6–7 × 5–6 mm,
smooth.
Leaves: Its leaves are made up of three equal leaflike leaflets, each a long, pointed oval 1-4 cm
long. The leaves are alternate, entire, petiolate and trifoliate with leaflets that are oblong-elliptic

2. with small pointed tips. petiole 1–3 cm; leaflets 3, blade oblong-elliptic, 1.5–4.5 × 0.4–1.3 cm,
margins serrate, apex acuminate to obtuse, surfaces glaucous. Racemes 1–3 cm (6–40 cm in
fruit); bracts unifoliate, obovate to spatulate, 2–15 mm. Pedicels 7–15 mm (thickened in fruit).
extra information:
II. Sinningia macrostachya
Family: Gesneriaceae
Popular names – leather leaf, Gloxinia
Sinningia macrostachya has a perennial stem base, very stiff leaves, and numerous small orange
flowers. Its fleshy stems are joined to the woody trunk. Each year, the woody part of the stems
extends a little. It grows in mixed soil and needs medium level of sun exposure and watering.
The caudex can grow up to 40 centimetres in diameter and the whole plant will raise for up to
130 centimetres. Stems are fully deciduous and dormancy is obligate.
habitat – Brazil, Uruguay. The species is almost endemic to Rio Grande do Sul, extending into
small neighbouring areas in southern Santa Catarina and northern Uruguay. In the state it has a
rather wide distribution in the Atlantic (eastern) half, where it occurs mostly in sunny and
shadowy rocky outcrops, from sea level up to 1000 msm.
inflorescence: flowering season is late summer and flowers are short, tubular and red in color.
The flowers are in terminal cluster, but also axillary cymes in the lower leaf axils. Inflorescence
terminal, racemiform, composed of paired-flower cymes; peduncles up 1 cm long, green with
reddish streaks, hirsute; pedicels ascending 0.5-2 cm long, green, hirsute. Calyx subcampanulate,
tube 2-3 mm long, hoary-tomentose, lobes linear-lanceolate, 4-6 mm long, acuminate, margin
entire, green, pilose. Corolla erect within calyx, tubular, 2.8-3 cm long, orange to red,
puberulent, base with 5 gibbosities between the calyx lobes, tube constricted above base, 2-3 mm
wide, then expanding gradually to 5-6 mm at throat, limb spreading, lobes 5, with few vinose
dots mostly on ventral and lateral lobes, unequal, ca. 2 × 3 mm. Stamens 4, included, filaments
2.6 cm long, glabrous, anthers coherent, rectangular, pollen white, nectary consisting of two
separate dorsal glands. Ovary 4 mm long, 1 mm wide, hispid, style 2 cm long, green, pubescent.
Fruit a dry two-valved capsule, 0.8-1.0 cm long, 0.3-0.6 cm wide, acuminate, reddish brown,
pubescent; seeds narrowly ellipsoid, brown.
leaves: It has thick leathery leaves, and a big round exposed tuber, when grown in full sun. The
leaves are stiff and have silvery hair on them. eaves decussate, inserted along 4-7 nodes, petiole
2.5 cm long, subequal, tomentose; blade ovate to elliptic, 8-15 × 5-9.5 cm, acute to obtuse at the
apex, cordate or sometimes unequal at the base, margin crenate, 4-7 pairs of veins, adaxial
surface green, pubescent, abaxial surface pale green to whitish, tomentose.
III. Ceropegia dichotoma
Family: Apocynaceae

3. This is a succulent shrubby flowering plant native to the Canary islands. It can grow up to 1.2 m
in height, and is abundant in terrains with good drainage in grainy soil and plenty of sun and
prolonged dry climate. It is drought tolerant.
habitat - this species occours abundantly in nature in the Tabaibal-Cardonal zone at up to about
600 m altitude where it forms large upright open shrubs. It is found preferably on white or
cream-colored older grainy soils or rock crevices with good drainage, in sun exposed spots and
prolonged dry climate Ceropegia dichotoma is endemic to the Canary Islands archipelago.
Tenerife (in the East: Anaga region, e.g. in the ridge above Faro de Anaga and on the West parts:
Teno region, e.g. Barranco de los Cochinos), La Palma, La Gomera, Hierro, Lanzarote)
life span
Stems: Highly succulent, smooth with some constrictions which make them look like a row of
small long sausages, 30-120 cm tall (but usually no higher than 60 centimetres and practically
without leaves for most of the year), mainly erect, partly prostrate or decumbent. Terete 5-20 mm
in diameter, green, olive-green or light-brown to whitish-green due to a wax layer.
inflorescence: The flowers are grouped from two to seven at the end of the trunk; each flower 3
cm long, tubular, pale yellow, with five narrow lobes joined at the tip; flowering is in autumn
and winter. The fruit is a pair of large horn-shaped capsules up to 12 cm long. The inflorescence
is a terminal (sometimes in axillary) and almost sessile pseudo-umbels on upper stem section,
bearing 1-15 florets (But usually 2 to 6). The individual flowers are lantern-shaped, yellow.
Corolla 3-4 cm long, corolla tube 10-16 mm long, Corolla lobes, 5, yellow, narrowly triangular,
fused to form a conical to ovoid cage, they are characteristically rolled outward, so that the
windows are open wide. Pedicel 2-6 mm long, Sepals triangular 1-2 mm long acute.
Leaves: Sessile, linear-elliptic, 2-120 mm long, 3-8 mm wide slightly succulent, green, vein
paler, mergins revolute. Leaves appear in the winter at each node and on the tip of the stem and
are approx 5 cm long arranged in opposite pairs, they are deciduous and wilt quickly if there
isn't enough water.
Cultivation and Propagation: Full to part sun, moderate water in warm season, drier in winter. It
requires hot conditions and how much sun as possible to grow well. Can be grown outdoor in
mild climate where it proves to grow well semi-neglected. It is also very resistant and is very rare
to see an aphid or a sick part, be only aware of mealy bugs.
IV. Lilium longiflorum
Also known as Easter lily or trumpet lily, this plant is endemic to Ryuku island in Japan. It is a
stem rooting lily, growing up to 1 m (3 ft 3 in) high. It bears a number of trumpet shaped, white,
fragrant, and outward facing flowers. The stem has a cylindrical shape, with a diameter of about
5 cm (2.0 in). It requires medium watering and partly shady areas
Family: Liliaceae

4. habitat: Southern Japan, Taiwan
inflorescence: From April to June, the plant's flowering season, it produces pure white flowers
on top of the stem. The flowers are fragrant and down facing. Easter lilies grow from bulbs that
are around an inch and a half (3.75 cm) in diameter. The bulbs have roots on their bottoms and
also develop roots on the below ground part of the stem. The trumpet shaped flowers are pure
white with six tepals and six stamens topped with bright yellow anthers. They are around 7 in (18
cm) long, and held horizontally, often in clusters (racemes) of two to six. The flowers are very
fragrant, blooming in summer unless forced intentionally to bloom earlier
leaves: They have long oval leaves and the vein enters the horizontal direction. Above ground,
Easter lilies have an unbranched, erect stem 16-38 in (40-100 cm) tall, with numerous lance
shaped glossy dark green leaves scattered along its length. The leaves are around 7 in (18 cm)
long and 1 in (2.5 cm) wide.
V. Peperomia verticiliata
Common name – Belly button peperomia
Family: Piperaceae
Peperomia verticillata is a succulent plant found in Cuba. Growing to around 1 foot tall, when
flowering, this odd species makes rosettas of leaves along the petioles as it grows. The plant can
grow in moist tropical settings to partially dry settings. The look of the plant can change
dramatically depending on the conditions it is growing in. It is a Crawling climbing plant or
Epiphyte
inflorescence: Peperomia verticillata bears green flowers in spikes, 1" long. Spiral and whorled
phyllotactic patterns present. Whorled phyllotaxis present that is either decussate or tricussate.
Thin spadix like flower spike
leaves- Peperomia verticillata is an erect, fleshy perennial with rounded to obovate leaves
(variable on the same plant), pale green above, red-pink beneath, 3/8 - 1 1/4" long and borne in
whorls of 5 at the nodes. Leaves and the lower parts of stems are softly white-hairy. Rosetta of
leaves along a pink petiole