Plant Taxonomy Practical: Geraniales to Dipsacales

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering plant taxa, morphological structures, diagnostic traits, and ecological characteristics presented in the Geraniales-Dipsacales botany practical.

Geranium phaeum (Fodros gólyaorr)

An erect, unbranched perennial ($30\text{--}70\,\text{cm}$ tall) of mesic forests, covered with dense short and sparse longer patent hairs, glandular hairs on upper parts, 7-parted lower leaves, and reflexed, $10\text{--}15\,\text{mm}$ brownish-red or purplish-black petals.

Geranium sanguineum (Piros gólyaorr)

A perennial forest-steppe species reaching up to $50\,\text{cm}$, characterized by long spreading shaggy hairs, leaves dissected almost to the base into 6–7 narrow segments that turn red in autumn, and large carmine-red petals ($1.3\text{--}2\,\text{cm}$ long) that are roughly twice as long as the calyx.

Geranium robertianum (Nehézszagú gólyaorr)

A common herbaceous member of Geraniaceae featuring glandular, often reddish stems, pinnately divided leaves, distinct strong scent, and small pink flowers with five striped petals.

Erodium cicutarium (Bürök gémorr)

An annual or biennial spreading ruderal plant ($5\text{--}50(-100)\,\text{cm}$) with 1–2-pinnatisect leaves and umbels of reddish-pink flowers; its fruit splits into 5 one-seeded mericarps with $3\text{--}6\,\text{cm}$ beaks that coil spirally on drying to hygroscopically drill into the soil.

Myriophyllum spicatum (Füzéres süllőhínár)

A submerged aquatic macrophyte featuring reddish stems, whorled finely pectinate (feather-like) leaves, and emergent terminal spikes bearing small reduced flowers.

Lythrum salicaria (Vesszős füzény)

A tall wetland perennial herb belonging to Lythraceae with erect stems, lanceolate opposite or whorled leaves, and dense terminal spike-like inflorescences of vibrant purple flowers.

Epilobium hirsutum (Borzas füzike)

A robust perennial ($0.5\text{--}1.5(-2)\,\text{m}$) with round or weakly angled stems bearing spreading and glandular hairs, opposite dentate leaves with semi-amplexicaul lower bases, and deep pink to purplish-red petals ($12\text{--}18\,\text{mm}$ long).

Chamaenerion angustifolium (Erdei deréce)

A tall, rhizomatous perennial in Onagraceae characterized by spirally arranged narrow-lanceolate leaves and elongate terminal racemes of showy magenta-pink flowers; commonly colonizes woodland clearings and burn sites.

Oenothera biennis (Parlagi ligetszépe)

An erect biennial ($50\text{--}100\,\text{cm}$) with a basal leaf rosette, sessile ovate-lanceolate stem leaves, and evening-blooming 4-merous yellow flowers ($4\text{--}5\,\text{cm}$ across); part of an American-origin group producing stable hybridogenic taxa via self-pollination.

Circaea lutetiana (Erdei varázslófű)

A woodland perennial ($30\text{--}60\,\text{cm}$) with matte leaves densely pubescent on the veins, an elongate ebracteate raceme, and 2-locular, $3\text{--}4\,\text{mm}$ long pear-shaped fruits covered in hooked bristles adapted for epizoochorous dispersal.

Trapa natans (Csemegesulyom)

An annual aquatic plant that forms floating rosettes of rhombic dentate leaves with inflated petioles, alongside submerged root-like dissected leaves; produces small 4-merous white flowers and hard nut-like fruits bearing 2–4 sharp horns and an apical crown.

Tribulus terrestris (Királydinnye)

A prostrate annual ($10\text{--}60\,\text{cm}$) native to pioneer sandy grasslands (and recently spreading along railway track ballast) with even-pinnate leaves, solitary yellow 5-merous axillary flowers, and schizocarps splitting into 5 triangular mericarps armed with rigid, puncture-causing spines.

Linum usitatissimum (Házi len)

A glabrous, erect annual crop with pale blue flowers and capsules that remain closed (indehiscent) at maturity; traditionally cultivated for linen fiber and linseed oil, though acreage has sharply declined.

Linum austriacum (Hegyi len)

A perennial blue flax species of dry grasslands with slender stems, linear leaves, nodding flower buds, and open, soft-blue petals.

Oxalis acetosella (Erdei madársóska)

A delicate, stemless forest perennial with creeping rhizomes, trifoliate obcordate leaves that fold downwards when disturbed, and solitary white flowers marked with lilac or purplish veins.

Impatiens noli-tangere (Erdei nebáncsvirág)

A shade- and moisture-loving native annual of damp woods bearing pendulous, bright yellow flowers with red markings and a sharply curved spur, producing fruit capsules that dehisce explosively upon contact.

Impatiens parviflora (Kisvirágú nebáncsvirág)

An introduced woodland annual with erect, small, pale yellow flowers bearing a straight nectar spur, and narrow, explosive capsules.

Gentiana pneumonanthe (Kornistárnics)

A protected perennial herb of wet meadows featuring linear-lanceolate leaves and intense deep blue, upright trumpet-shaped flowers marked with five greenish-spotted stripes inside.

Cruciata laevipes (Mezei keresztfű)

A hairy, yellow-green perennial of the madder family (Rubiaceae) with cross-like whorls of four elliptical leaves and small, 4-lobed yellow flowers clustered in the leaf axils.

Galium aparine (Ragadós galaj)

An annual scrambling weed with four-angled stems, leaves arranged in whorls of 6–8, tiny whitish 4-merous flowers, and spherical fruits covered in hooked bristles that adhere firmly to passing animals.

Galium odoratum (Szagos müge)

A $10\text{--}60\,\text{cm}$ tall perennial of beech and hornbeam woods with quadrangular stems hairy at nodes, leaves in whorls of 6–10, white 4-merous funnelform flowers in terminal cymes, and hooked-hairy spherical fruits ($\approx 3\,\text{mm}$); becomes aromatic with coumarin scent upon drying.

Galium verum (Tejoltó galaj)

A common dry grassland perennial with whorled, needle-thin leaves with inrolled margins, and dense terminal panicles of tiny, golden-yellow, honey-scented flowers historically utilized as rennet in cheese-making.

Eryngium campestre (Mezei iringó)

A rigid, greyish-green spiny perennial umbellifer with deeply lobed, leathery, spine-tipped leaves and compact hemispherical flower heads; dries into a stiff ball that detaches as a tumbleweed across dry pastures.

Eryngium planum (Kék iringó)

An umbellifer noticeable for the striking metallic blue-violet color of its upper branching stem, spiny involucral bracts, and dense cylindrical or subglobose flower heads.

Anthriscus cerefolium (Zamatos turbolya)

A $40\text{--}70\,\text{cm}$ tall, strongly anise-scented annual of ruderal Robinia forests; features stems with white hairs above the nodes, soft leaves, compound umbels lacking true involucral bracts (gallérlevelek), and 1–4 linear-lanceolate involucels (gallérkalevelek).

Conium maculatum (Foltos bürök)

A tall, highly poisonous apiaceous biennial identifiable by its glabrous, pruinose stems distinctly dotted with reddish-purple spots (maculae), finely dissected leaves, and musty rodent-like odor.

Falcaria vulgaris (Sarlófű)

A grey-green (glaucous) perennial umbellifer characterized by stiff leaves with narrow, sickle-shaped (falcate), cartilaginous-serrate segments, and diffuse umbels with numerous thin rays.

Aegopodium podagraria (Podagrafű)

A creeping, rhizomatous perennial ($30\text{--}100\,\text{cm}$) of moist woodlands and alder groves, having grooved hollow stems, 3-parted leaves with obliquely ovate serrate leaflets, and 12–20-rayed compound umbels that typically lack both involucres and involucels.

Peucedanum officinale (Sziki kocsord)

A $60\text{--}150(-200)\,\text{cm}$ tall perennial of alkali steppes and dry slopes with a turnip-like rootstock, 2–6-times ternate leaves with linear segments ($1\text{--}3\,\text{mm}$ wide), and a 10–40-rayed umbel of yellow flowers primarily pollinated by Hymenoptera.

Pastinaca sativa (Pasztinák)

A robust biennial umbelliferous plant with deeply grooved, angular stems, pinnately compound leaves with broadly ovate toothed leaflets, and compound umbels of yellow flowers without involucral bracts.

Daucus carota (Vadmurok)

A $40\text{--}100\,\text{cm}$ tall biennial taprooted ancestor of the cultivated carrot; possesses 2–3-pinnate leaves, pinnatifid involucral bracts, flat compound umbels (frequently with a single dark red sterile central floret), and outer rays that curve inward post-flowering to resemble a bird's nest.

Valeriana officinalis (Közönséges macskagyökér)

A tall perennial herb with pinnate leaves and branched, terminal corymbose inflorescences of small, sweetly scented pale pink to white tubular flowers and a characteristically aromatic rhizome.

Dipsacus laciniatus (Héjakút mácsonya)

A stout, prickly biennial ($0.5\text{--}1.2(-2)\,\text{m}$) with pinnatifid leaves whose bases fuse around the stem into cups that accumulate rainwater ('héjakút'), producing dense cylindrical heads with pale pink or white corollas.

Scabiosa ochroleuca (Vajszínű ördögszem)

A dry grassland perennial in Caprifoliaceae/Dipsacaceae with dissected foliage and dense flattened-hemispherical heads of pale creamy-yellow (ochroleucous) flowers, featuring radiating outer florets.