Rose Motif

The Rose Motif is a collection of plant characteristics utilized for diagnosing plant families in Dr. J. Richard Abbott's field botany course at Murray State University's Hancock Biological Station. These characteristics primarily identify the Rosaceae family and then with the addition of other characteristics can be used to identify Betulaceae, Cannabaceae, Fagaceae, and Ulmaceae. This approach is not meant to be comprehensive nor exhaustive, but is focused on vegetative features, especially for common plants in eastern North America. Rosaceae mostly have relatively showy, perfect flowers with a hypanthium and are often herbaceous, whereas the other families have relatively inconspicuous, unisexual flowers without an obvious hypanthium and are all woody (except for Cannabis & Humulus in the Cannabaceae).

The Rose Motif is recognized by Herbaceous or Woody, simple or sometimes compound leaves, alternate leaf phyllotaxy, toothed leaves, with stipules. These character by themselves represent the Rosaceae family and with the addition of other characters the separation of the other related plant families can be obtained with the understanding that there are exceptions to most of these norms.

Roses, cherries, plums, and apples trees are part of this family. Usually in the eastern US, when the rose motif is present with compound leaves and no representatives characteristics of the other families in this group, it is probably a member of Rosaceae. The members of the genus Prunus (wild black cherry, American plum) have simple leaves and petiole glands.

Members of this family include the birch and alder trees. These trees exhibit the rose motif as well as having doubly serrate leaves with veins that are fairly straight, even, and parallel, and/or peeling bark and horizontal lenticels.

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