Study Suggestions:

No method of learning plant information works equally well for all people. For that reason, a variety of study methods and materials are encouraged. Try as many as you can and develop your own effective combination. Most important, start early in the week. Short frequent study periods are significantly more effective than cramming all the information the night before the exam.

2. Bring a clipboard to weekly plant walks and recitations. A clipboard for supporting 8.5" X 11" paper will be needed for taking notes during the plant walks, and for taking ID quizzes during recitation periods.

3. Study the fresh plant samples. Plant samples will be available for study each week in the entrance hallway of the Horticulture Greenhouse Complex. A new group of samples will be set up representing the coming week's plant group on Friday, the preceding week. Material may progressively lose freshness over time so view them at your earliest opportunity.

4. Revisit the plants on the plant walks. Taking your notes with you, travel the plant maps again to get a second first hand look at the whole plants covered each week. It helps not just recognition but creates associations that improve memory of plant characteristics.

5. Use a digital camera. Students are asked not to take living plant samples from the campus as it leads to serious destruction of plant material. Rather, take digital images to preserve what you see.

6. Sketching to improve recognition. Making detailed sketches of the shoot (including leaves, buds, and stems) and of the entire plant form is an excellent way to become more familiar with the plants. Sketching requires attention to the details of a plant's morphology which are key to recognition.

7. Utilize Internet Resources. The Woody Plant Images and Plant Resource pages are good places to begin. The Internet provides a resource for supplementary material that will undoubtedly prove useful in preparing you for HORT 217 exams and quizzes. A little surfing may help you discover useful woody plants sites not linked to HORT217's. Be careful though! It's important to cross reference your plants using different sources to be sure the information you've found is accurate for Indiana. Keep in mind that the performance of a plant in one part of the world may be quite different than in another.

8. Use alternative texts or CD ROM resources to cross-reference new information. (See recommended texts list)

9. Pocket magnifier. Although not critical for this course, some students benefit from the added observational capabilities provided by pocket magnifiers. Pick up an inexpensive pocket magnifier at one of the local bookstores. These should be about 10X to 15X magnification, although 4X would be satisfactory.