This is Shepherd’s Purse, Capsella bursa-pastoris. It’s a member of the Brassicaceae family, the mustard family. It is named for its triangular pods.
Edit: Thanks to dreamsofdawn for catching my mistake, I had written the wrong family!
Mimosa pudica is famous for its sensitivity. When touched, the plant’s leaves fold inward. This is called thigmotropism, when a plant reacts to touch.
Post requested by dreamsofdawn and pickledpennies.
Here are some pictures I took of Chelidonium majus, Greater Celandine.
The flower:
What makes it so special? Well, C. majus is a member of the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae) and bleeds bright yellow latex when you break it.
Like this:
The plants contains many isoquinoline alkaloids, the main one being coptisine, among many others. It is used in herbalism in many ways, including use to treat warts, toothache relief and as a foot refresher.
These are bluets, members of the Rubiaceae family. Bluets are in the Houstonia genus, and these specifically are called Houstonia purpurea. Other members of the Madder Family include coffee and quinine (from which malaria medication is derived).
Most people will recognize the Venus Fly Trap, a plant famous for feeding on insects and arachnids. Dionaea muscipula is carnivorous. It closes its jaws when two separate hairs on its surface are moved in succession. These hairs are called trichomes.
An iced-over Japenese maple, Acer palmatum. It is a small tree, globally used in landscaping. It produces samaras as seeds, which you would likely recognize as helicopter seeds that flutter in the wind.
There are two main possible branching orientations in trees: opposite and alternate. Opposite is far less common, and above is an acronym to help you remember what trees have opposite branching.
M - Maple
A - Ash
D - Dogwood
CAP - Caprifoliaceae family
HORSE - Horse Chestnuts
A dogwood branch, with opposite branching.
A crabapple branch, with alternate branching.
This is Ground Ivy, which is starting to bloom near me. It’s a member of the Mint family, Lamiaceae. Its scientific name is Glechoma hederaceae.
This is a conker, or horse chestnut, from the horse chestnut tree. In the United Kingdom children use them for conker wars, and during the world wars they were used as a source of starch. Young conkers, however, contain alkaloid saponins and glucosides, which are moderately poisonous.
