Lesson 6 Introduction
The maple leaf is easily one of the most recognizable items in Canada! Although most Canadians can identify the famous maple leaf, but can you identify the tree from which the third leaf comes?
Don't feel bad if you don't know! Most people see leaves on trees every day, of every summer but give little attention to their shapes. The somewhat round leaf above is from a poplar tree. Alberta has far more poplar trees that it has maple trees, and we might expect people to recognize poplar leaves!
Literacy Connection
What is "dichotomous"?
You probably have not seen the word dichotomous (dih-kot-uh-muhs) before. The word is an adjective that is based on the noun dichotomy. Although "dichotomy" may not be used in conversation often, you probably set up dichotomies in your life quite often.
A dichotomy is any division into two opposing groups. For example, if you were to divide your friends into two groups – those who are male, and those who are female - you will have made a dichotomy. Biologists use the adjective "dichotomous" to describe a type of identification key. A dichotomous key works by making a series of "one or the other" (dichotomous) decisions until you arrive at the identity of the sample.
Alternate
branches grow opposite one another, but one branch is farther up the trunk than another branchSpiral
branches grow in a corkscrew pattern spiraling up the trunkOpposite
branches grow from opposite sides of the trunk right across from each otherWhorled
branches are attached in groups of two and three together in the same location on the trunk