For plant dissection, do the plants need to be specifically native Alaska plants like iNaturalist assignments? specifically wondering about doing rhubarb from my yard, since wild rhubarb does grow wild up here.
Also, in researching different species for this class, it seems like many plants propagate with rhizome stems. Is that more common in more northern climates or just a coincidence?
Dear Jessica,
no, these do not need to be native plants. I am interested in the family characteristics and as such you can see the same features in the cultivated and the wild ones of the same family. I think there might be a relationship to rhizomes and survival in this harsh environment. Using rhizomes and other perennation structures allows the plants to reduce the above-ground area in the winter time and enables them to survive below ground. But I have not researched this in detail.