Royal Botanical Gardens offers botanical identification workshops for conservation and environmental professionals, ecologists, and horticulturists. Courses are also suitable for graduate students, amateur botanists and master gardeners. Through illustrated lectures and hands-on practical sessions, RBG’s botanists demonstrate key identification characters for tricky plant groups and share their expert tips for identication. Participants study plants in the field and in the classroom using herbarium specimens and RBG’s extensive botanical resources.
Visit this site regularly for details on our identification workshops.
Upcoming Workshops
Wetland Graminoid Identification (grasses, sedges, rushes), June 20-21, 2013
Grass Identification Workshop, July 11-12, 2013
Fern and Allies Identification Workshop, July 25-26, 2013
Aster and Goldenrod Identification Workshop, September 12-13, 2013
June 20-21, 2013
Whether you’re in a marsh, swamp, fen, bog, or pond you’ll be guaranteed to come across graminoids. Wetlands are often dominated by graminoids, and it’s in wetland habitats were graminoid diversity is often highest.
Join us for an intensive two-day, hands-on identification workshop to learn how to identify wetland grasses, sedges, rushes, and other wetland graminoids. Over the two days, the unique botanical morphology and associated terminology specific to the major graminoid groups – grasses, sedges, and rushes – will be introduced. Work over the two days will be divided between a classroom setting and field visits to RBG’s nature sanctuaries and nearby natural areas. Participants will have the opportunity to practice keying out species in the classroom and will gain valuable field identification skills.
Be prepared to go out in all weather conditions. Bring along your hand lenses, field guides or botanical keys, and even your mystery specimens (fresh or pressed and dried)! Prior experience in plant taxonomy and botany would be beneficial.
Our Instructors
Natalie Iwanycki, RBG’s field botanist & herbarium curator, has a particular fondness for graminoids and has been working with this tricky group for close to fifteen years. At least two teaching assistants will also be available to enhance both the individual and group learning experience.
Wetland Graminoid Identification Workshop Agenda (subject to change)
Day 1 (RBG Centre)
• Introduction to wetland graminoid families
- - Morphology, anatomy & specific terminology for each
- - Representative genera in each
• Exercise 1: Differentiating grasses, sedges, rushes and other graminoids
• Overview of references & resources used in identifying graminoids
• A closer look at Poaceae
- - Review of wetland grass genera and species
• A closer look at Cyperaceae
- - Review of wetland sedge genera and species
• A closer look at Juncaceae
- - Review of wetland rush species
• Exercise 2: Dichotomous keys
• Afternoon field trip to ID wetland graminoids
Day 2 (RBG Centre & Field Outings)
• Review of Day 1
• Field trip to ID wetland graminoids, and collect specimens
• Exercise 3: Dichotomous keys to identify ‘mystery’ specimens, in classroom
• Review other identification resources
• Tour of Herbarium (optional)
• Quiz
Non-members: $275, RBG Members: $250 and Students: $200, call 905-527-1158 ext. 270 to verify student status and receive student pricing. Lunch not included.
Click here to register on-line now.
July 11-12, 2013
The grass family – the Poaceae – is the fifth largest family of plants, with over 700 genera and more than 11,000 species worldwide. The Poaceae family is arguably one of the most economically and ecologically important families – from food crops like rice, corn, wheat, and barley, to turf and ornamental grasses, to range and pasture grasses, to the wild grasses that help form our forest, wetland, and prairie ecosystems. In Ontario, approximately 100 genera and over 300 species of grasses have been recorded. It’s no wonder grasses can be a little daunting when it comes to tackling their identification.
In this workshop, you will learn what makes a grass a grass. You’ll learn and get familiar with the unique vegetative and reproductive grass parts that are essential for distinguishing one grass species from another. Instruction over the two days will be divided between a classroom setting and field visits to RBG’s nature sanctuaries and nearby natural areas. Participants will learn how to determine major tribes and genera by using diagnostic characteristics. Anatomy, ecology and distribution will be covered and participants will have the opportunity to practice keying out species with the help of our instructors. Participants will also learn invaluable tips for identifying grasses in the field, including unique characteristics and the habitat preferences for grass species in southern Ontario.
Be prepared to go out in all weather conditions. Bring along your hand lenses, field guides or botanical keys, and even your mystery grass specimens (fresh or pressed and dried)! Prior experience in plant taxonomy and botany would be beneficial.
Our Instructors
Natalie Iwanycki, RBG’s field botanist & herbarium curator, has a particular fondness for graminoids and has been working with this tricky group for close to fifteen years. Two teaching assistants will also be available to enhance both the individual and group learning experience.
Grass Identification Workshop Agenda (subject to change)
Day 1 (RBG Centre)
• Introduction to graminoid families
- – Morphology, anatomy & specific terminology for each
- – Representative genera in each
• Exercise 1: Differentiating grasses from other graminoids
• A closer look at Poaceae (true grasses)
• Review of grass taxonomy and nomenclature
• Overview of references & resources used in identifying grasses
• Review tribes and genera in the Poaceae
• Exercise 2: Dichotomous keys
• Afternoon field trip to ID grasses and other graminoids
Day 2 (RBG Centre & Field Outings)
• A closer look at grass genera
• Field trip to ID grasses, and collect specimens
• Identify ‘mystery’ specimens, in classroom
• Use traditional and interactive keys
• Tour of Herbarium
Non-members: $275, RBG Members: $250 and Students: $200, call 905-527-1158 ext. 270 to verify student status and receive student pricing. Lunch not included.
Click here to register on-line now.
July 25-26, 2013
Are you interested in learning how to identify ferns, horsetails, lycopods, and other pteridophytes in southern Ontario? Join us for an intensive two-day, hands-on workshop led by Dr. Jim Pringle and Natalie Iwanycki.
Over the two days, participants will learn about the unique life cycles of ferns, and the unique botanical morphology and terminology specific to ferns and their allies.
The workshop will include both classroom work and field visits to nearby natural areas to study ferns & their allies. Participants will gain valuable field recognition skills and will have the opportunity to practice keying out fresh samples and herbarium specimens in the classroom. In addition to learning key recognition traits for pteridophytes, ecological niches and habitat specificity will also be covered for species from southern Ontario. See Agenda for details.
Be prepared to go out in all weather conditions. Please bring a lunch. Bring along your hand lenses, field guides or botanical keys, and even your mystery pteridophytes!
Our instructors
Dr. Jim Pringle, RBG’s plant taxonomist, has close to 50 years of experience in the field identifying ferns and in developing keys, and Natalie Iwanycki, RBG’s field botanist & herbarium curator, has been working with ferns in the field for over twelve years. Two additional teaching assistants will also be available to enhance both the individual and group learning experience.
Fern & Allies Identification Workshop Agenda (subject to change)
Day 1 (RBG Centre)
• Introduction to the life cycles of ferns and allies
• Introduction to fern morphology, anatomy and specific terminology
• Review of fern taxonomy and nomenclature
• Review of representative families and genera
• Exercise 1: Family Sort
• A closer look at Lycodpods (Lycopodiales)
• A closer look at Horsetails (Equisetales)
• A closer look at Ferns (Ophioglossales, Osmundales, Polypodiales)
• Review of references for identifying ferns and their allies
• Using Dichotomous keys
• Exercise 2: Dichotomous keys
• Afternoon Fern and Allies ID in the field, RBG nature sanctuaries
Day 2 (RBG Centre & Field Outings)
• A closer look at Ferns
• Field trip to identify ferns and allies in field (the bulk of the day will be spent outdoors)
• Identify ‘mystery’ specimens using traditional keys and/or interactive keys
• Tour RBG Herbarium
• Quiz and Wrap up
Non-members: $275, RBG Members: $250 and Students: $200, call 905-527-1158 ext. 270 to verify student status and receive student pricing. Lunch not included.
Click here to register on-line now.
September 12-13, 2013
Send us an email if you are interested in taking this course in 2013 (niwanycki@rbg.ca).
Are you ready to take on the challenge of identifying asters and goldenrods? Join us for an intensive two-day, hands-on workshop lead by Dr. Jim Pringle and Natalie Iwanycki. This workshop will provide participants with a solid foundation in aster and goldenrod identification.
Over the two days, the unique botanical morphology and associated terminology specific to the aster and goldenrod groups will be introduced and illustrated in both a classroom setting and during field visits to RBG’s nature sanctuaries and nearby natural areas. Participants will gain valuable field recognition skills and will have the opportunity to practice keying out species in the classroom using appropriate magnification. Both fresh and dried specimens will be examined.
In addition to learning key recognition traits, ecological niches, habitat specificity, population ranges and distribution will be covered for a variety of aster and goldenrod species in southern Ontario.
Be prepared to go out in all weather conditions. Bring along your hand lenses, field guides or botanical keys, and even your mystery specimens!
Our Instructors
Dr. Jim Pringle, RBG’s plant taxonomist, has close to 50 years of experience in the field identifying asters and goldenrods, and Natalie Iwanycki, RBG’s field botanist & herbarium curator, has been identifying this tricky group for over twelve years. Two teaching assistants will also be available to enhance both the individual and group learning experience.
Aster and Goldenrod Identification Workshop Agenda (subject to change)
Day 1
• Review general flower anatomy & inflorescence structure
• Introduction to the Asteraceae (Compositae) Family
- – About the family
- – Morphology, anatomy & specific terminology
- – Taxonomy & nomenclature
• Exercise 1: Inflorescences
• Exercise 2: Capitula
• A closer look at Asters
• A closer look at Goldenrods
• Exercise 3: Genus/species Sort
• Introduction to Dichotomous keys
- – Key to Families
- – Key to Tribes/Artificial Groups
- – Key to Species (to be continued on Day 2)
• Afternoon Field ID, RBG Cootes Paradise, Pinetum Trail
Day 2
• Morning: Field ID, plant collection. Hendrie Valley & Rock Chapel
• Afternoon: Identify ‘mystery’ aster & goldenrod specimens, in classroom using traditional keys and/or interactive keys
• Tour of Herbarium
• Quiz and Wrap up
Non-members: $275, RBG Members: $250 and Students: $200, call 905-527-1158 ext. 270 to verify student status and receive student pricing. Lunch not included.
Click here to register on-line now.