A Guide to Plant Relationships

Why It Matters

Plants come in all shapes, sizes, and colors, but beneath that diversity lies a fascinating web of evolutionary relationships. When I began building my herbarium, I wanted it to reflect not just what plants look like, but how they’re connected through time. This post is your guide to understanding that structure.

The Tree of Life (and Plants)

In biology, we often use a phylogenetic tree to represent how organisms are related. Think of it like a family tree, but instead of people, it shows plant groups branching off from common ancestors.

How My Herbarium Is Organized

Rather than sorting plants alphabetically or by region, I’ve grouped them based on these evolutionary relationships. Each plant family in my herbarium is placed according to where it fits on the phylogenetic tree of plants.

To help with this, I use a simple color-coding system:

• 🟩 Green – Pteridophytes (ferns and relatives)

• 🟫 Brown – Gymnosperms (cone-bearing plants)

• 🟨 Yellow – Basal Angiosperms (early-diverging flowering plants)

• 🟪 Purple – Angiosperms; Monocots (like grasses and lilies)

• 🟦 Blue – Angiosperms; Eudicots (a large group including roses, oaks, and sunflowers)

You’ll see these colors used throughout the herbarium to make it easier to navigate and understand where each family belongs.

What Is a Plant Family, Anyway?

A plant family is a group of genera (plural of genus) that share key characteristics. These families are grouped into larger categories, like monocots and eudicots, based on shared ancestry, which is what the phylogenetic tree reveals.

A Simplified, Accurate Approach

I’ve used scientific terminology carefully so the information stays accurate but approachable. You don’t need a degree in botany to explore the herbarium, and I hope you’ll feel at home even if this is your first time thinking about plant evolution.