Activity 19.2.5 – Classification / taxonomy
Plants provide us with food, wood, paper, medicines, oxygen, and many other essential or useful products. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) maintains an online Plants Database [plants.usda.gov] from which one can find the distribution, classification, and use of plants found in North America.
(1) Using this online database, obtain a picture and record the classification (kingdom, division, class, order, family, genus, species) and distribution (states in which they grow) of the following record-holding tree species. (a) Giant redwood (Sequoiadendron giganteum), the largest living thing; (b) Bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva), the oldest living thing; (c) Coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens), the tallest living thing. What similarities, if any, exist in the classification and distribution of these species? Include photographs and distribution maps of each.
(2) Using the Pants Database, obtain a picture and record the classification (kingdom, division, class, order, family, genus, species) and distribution (states in which they grow) of your state flower and tree.