Plant families

[Dixana]

I was going to wait for fall to post this when everyone is bored but I have no patience! (shocking right? ) I've researched online but my phone is slow going amd I never find much anyway

What plants are in what families? I know cucumbers and melons are curcubits and I think tomatoes and peppers are nightshades or something?
Any info and/or book recommendations are appreciated!

[applestar]

We were talking about this in the Crop Rotating thread I started in the Tomato Forum. Check it out.

[Dixana]

It's funny you say that AS seeing as that post was part of what spurned this one.
Brassiacs? Mescluns? It's like reading latin to me. Legumes is beans! But does that include soybeans? Bleh! I'll drive myself crazy, is there a fruit/veggie encyclopedia?

[DoubleDogFarm]

Hope this helps. It's a PDF file on Vegetable Crop Classification.

http://skagit.wsu.edu/countrylivingexpo ... milies.pdf

Eric

[edited to replace the super long link with a more manageable one -- applestar]

[jal_ut]

I have quite enjoyed Wikipedia. Just type in the name of the plant in question and you get lots of neat info including the classification.

[Dixana]

I LOVE wikipedia! Unfortunatly, 8 out of 10 times the site will make my phone completely lock up to the point I have to hold the power button down like manually shutting off a computer
No wiki from my phone

[cynthia_h]

Maybe make a list of things you need to look up (worm box, plant families, etc.) and then reserve some time on a **computer** at the library?

If the information is otherwise easily available, very few members will be motivated to type it in here....

Although, if you happen to own Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew (the 2005 edition), there's a grouping of veggies by family in the back.

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

[Dixana]

AHA! A book to reference and a website That's why I love you guys.

[TWC015]

I find it interesting that some vegetables are variations of one species.

Specifically, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, collards, kale, and kohlrabi are all Brassica oleracea.

I also like wikipedia for plant information.

The PlantFiles at Dave's Garden also has some plant family information and has a pronunciation for each plant's scientific name.

[Dixana]

Rainbow just recently introduced me to Daves Garden. It's an excellent site but it either has a lot of ads or flash or something as the pages are very slow to load.
That's another reason I love this site, no ads so the pages load in seconds.

[TWC015]

Rainbow just recently introduced me to Daves Garden. It's an excellent site but it either has a lot of ads or flash or something as the pages are very slow to load.
That's another reason I love this site, no ads so the pages load in seconds.

I use the Opera browser for windows mobile on my phone and it has the option to disable flash based ads. Does your phone browser have such an option? It really is a pain to deal with many websites on a phone without this option.

On the subject of plant families, okra and cotton are related; both are in the Malvaceae family. I like the flowers of plants in this family.

[cynthia_h]

The oddest relationship (well, I thought it was odd when I first learned it) is that of the plants in the Polygonaceae family: rhubarb, sorrel, and...buckwheat.

Rhubarb and buckwheat. *That* was a kick in the...ah...pants!

Cynthia

[rainbowgardener]

Yeah polygonacea (buckwheat family) is 30 genera and over 1000 species. The common ones in my garden (besides the rhubarb I planted) are knotweed and smartweed. There's something called longjohn that is a tree!

And then of course Legumes, the largest plant family, which includes peas and beans ... AND redbud trees

other legumes -- sweet peas, lupine, locoweed, smoke tree, mesquite.

[DoubleDogFarm]

and don't forget the Cashew, the best legume of all. IMHO.

Eric

[lorax]

But Cashews aren't legumes - they're members of the Anacardiaceae! Just like Mangoes, Pepper trees, Sumac, and Poison Ivy. (That's one that always blows my mind )

Dixana, to answer your initial question for common food crops:

* Tomatoes, Potatoes, Eggplant and Peppers are Solanums/Solanaceae (aka the Nightshade family, a fairly large one).
* Broccoli, Cauliflower, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Mustard, and Kale are Brassicas / Cruciferous veggies (aka the Cabbage family.)
* Beets, Chard, Spinach, Quinoa, Strawberry Goosefoot, and Epazote are Chenopodiums/Chenopodiaceae (aka the Quinoa or Goosefoot family)
* Carrots, Dill, Anise, Sweet Cicely, Queen Anne's Lace, Parsely, Hemlock and Celery are Apiums/Apiaceae (aka the Celery family, which is very large.)
* Cucumbers, Squashes, Zucchinis, and Melons are Curcubits/Curcubitaceae (Cucumber family)
* Thyme, Oregano, Mint, Basil, Lavender, Sage, Catnip, Heal-All, a plethora of others, including almost all major kitchen herbs, and the hardwood tree Teak, are Lamiales (Mint family, which is gigantic.)
* Lettuce is from the Aster family, like Daisies, Chrysanthemums, and a whole truckload more - the Asteraceae is only marginally smaller that the Fabiaceae - ie the legumes.)
* Peas, Beans, Peanuts/Groundnuts/Goobers, Soy, Liquorice, Redbud, Sweet Peas, Acacia, and Locust trees are all Legumes (Fabaceae, the bean family - as commented above, one of the largest families out there.)
* Apples, Pears, Quince, Plums, Cherries, Peaches, Apricots, and other stone fruit, Pomegranites, Almonds, Stawberries, Raspberries, Blackberries, Rowanberry, and Roses are all members of the Rosaceae (aka the Rose family, another big one.)
* Corn, Wheat, Barley, Rye, Spelt, Oats, Bamboo, Papyrus, Sedge, and your lawn, all belong to the Poaceae (aka the Grass family.)
* Hops and Cannabis belong to the Hemp family.
* Coffee, Cinchona (Quinine bark), Gardenia, and Noni are in the Coffee family.
* Cacao, Hibiscus, Cotton, Durian, Okra, Marshmallow, and Kapok are all part of the Mallow family.
* Bananas, Ginger, Turmeric, Shellflowers, Maranta (Prayer plants), Arrowroots, Ctenanthe, and Ensete are in the Ginger family.

I think that covers what most of us grow.

[Dixana]

And perhaps a few more considering I've never heard of several of those.
The longer I'm on this site the more I feel like a gardening/plant noob. We're going to the library this afternoon (I've been putting off due to a bad experience with this one many years ago. Maybe I'll share that story elsewhere...) and I'm going to check out every book I can get my hands on about gardening.
I have to be honest though, given my inquisitive nature reading will more than likely bring on more questions than less Maybe they just won't be such naive questions.

[rainbowgardener]

We are all helping each other advance our knowledge, increasing the knowledge and wisdom of the community, a wonderful thing! I had been gardening and reading about gardening for twenty years when I came here and I have still learned a ton in my year and a half here!

[garden5]

We are all helping each other advance our knowledge, increasing the knowledge and wisdom of the community, a wonderful thing! I had been gardening and reading about gardening for twenty years when I came here and I have still learned a ton in my year and a half here!

I have to agree. I've learned more in several months on this forum than I have from several garden books. It's just hard to beat first-hand knowledge .

[rainbowgardener]

I have to agree. I've learned more in several months on this forum than I have from several garden books. It's just hard to beat first-hand knowledge .

NOT several months-- a YEAR; you've been hanging around here a year now! HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

We need to have something like (virtual) one year pins, two years, five years..... to hand out!

[garden5]

I have to agree. I've learned more in several months on this forum than I have from several garden books. It's just hard to beat first-hand knowledge .

NOT several months-- a YEAR; you've been hanging around here a year now! HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

We need to have something like (virtual) one year pins, two years, five years..... to hand out!

Thanks for noticing, RG; I just looked and realized it myself . Time sure flies when you're talking about gardening, doesn't it?

I like the idea of a pin, maybe a little crop icon near your avatar. There could be a different one for each year.

Anyway, to get back on topic, here is a helpful table.