~Sunlight

-Crucial
-How much sunlight does your plant need?
-Leaves are vital to flowers and plant's overall health
-photosynthesis: leaves absorb rays of sunlight and turn the light energy into carbohydrates
-Plant may have designation for moonlight, shade, partial shade, partial sun, or full sun
-May have indv. cases(e.g. "darkness" for Devil's Snare or Gunpowder Gloriosas may have extra notes next to the recommendation of partial shade)
Moonlight
-Plant requires reflected light rather than direct light, most often meaning moonlight
-Different than plants requiring shade
Shade
-Plants should be kept from too much sunlight
-Nice shady spot best option
-Ranges from "deep shade" (where light never reaches ground, like forest floor) to "light shade" (no large amounts of direct sunlight, should be planted away from sunset or among tall trees)
Partial Sun or Partial Shade
-Have slight differences
-Corely means plant needs 3-6 hrs of sunlight/day
-Key is WHEN
-Partial shade: 3-6 hrs of sun in morning-early afternoon
-Partial sun: 3-6 hrs of sun in intense, late afternoon sun
Full Sun
-Requires at least 6 hrs of sunlight a day - doesn't matter when
-Hours don't have to be consecutive

~Colouration

-Plants categorized by both flower and leaf or foliage color
-Flower and Leaf: has categories that are pink, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, white, and black
-Some more common than others
-Flowers can be other colors
-These were listed as the most COMMON colors as of the 1384 meeting of the Herbology High Commission
-Foliage: Range of possible colors
-MOST GENERALLY AGREED UPON colors include vivid green, bluish-green, chartreuse or golden color, grey or silver color, and a purple or dark red hue

~Type

-Examples include trees, annuals, and vines
-Following are standard as of 1617 meeting of the Herbology High Commission
-It's possible for a plant to be a few of these all at once

-Annual: Lifespan of a yr or less - Ex: basil, morning glory
-Biennial: 2-yr lifespan - Ex: forget-me-nots, black-eyed susans, Hagweed
-Perennial: Relatively long lifespan - Ex: trees
-Bulb: Stores energy to keep thru winter, no seeds - Ex: lilies
-Evergreen: Keeps green foliage throughout the year - Ex: Pines, magical and non-magical trees in Great Hall
-Fern: Has feathery or leafy fronds, reproduces by spores rather than seeds or bulbs - Ex: shatterferns (delicate)
-Herb: Any plant with flowers, leaves, or seeds which may be used for medicine, flavoring, food, or perfume - Ex: Almost all plants!
-Moss: Close-growing greenery, grows like carpet, likes damp places, doesn't need soil, can grow on rocks and trees, need little nutrients - Ex: whispermoss, which grows in Japan
-Shrub: woody plant, smaller but similar to trees, consists of several stems growing from ground - Ex: roses
-Tree: woody, one stem/trunk that grows to large heights and may have branches stemming from trunk, always perennial
-Water Plant: Any plant that grows while always having at least 1 cm of water surrounding it - Ex: gillyweed
-Vine: woody, climbs or trails along objects, usually possesses thin stems - Ex: Creeping Ivy, which also can move itself via a slow crawl to a better habitat

~Height

-No strong categories
-Just min/max height
-Usually just max height is listed as all plants start as tiny shoots

~Special Features

-Unique qualities that don't fall under any category but still super important
-Magical and non-magical qualities can be listed
-Here's a sampling:

Spring flower - blooms in the spring season
Summer flower - blooms in the summer season
Fall flower - blooms in the fall season
Winter flower - blooms in the winter season
Reflowering - blooms multiple times throughout the year
Constant - remains the same all year (like an evergreen)
Low maintenance - easy to take care of
Attraction - attracts birds, bugs, animals, etc. (there will usually be a list of the specifics)
Fragrant - has a strong smell
Solution - solves a common herbological challenge or problem, such as altering the consistency of dirt or helping prevent the erosion of slopes
Drought tolerant - can survive periods without water
Cold hardy - can tolerate very low temperatures without dying

-Example Plant Profile (English Rose):
Common name (Latin name): English Rose (Rosa)
Type(s): Herb, shrub, perennial
Sunlight: Partial to full sun
Height range(s): 20 feet
Flower color(s): green, blue, pink, red, orange, white
Foliage color(s): chartreuse or gold
Feature(s): spring, summer, and fall flower; helps slow erosion of slopes; fragrant; low maintenance

~Labeling Plants

-super important - just as important as the W.H.I.P.S. classes
-Ignorance in either area is dangerous
-Ex: Telling difference in tea leaves between Queen Anne's Lace (brilliant tea) and Hemlock Root (high poison concentration!)
-Roots, leaves, and flowers can be lookalikes!
-Key to telling them apart key is the stem: Hemlock Root has purple spots and Queen Anne's Lace(wild carrot) has fine hairs and is fully green
-Herbologists made a universal labeling system
-in 1783 approved as lawful from MoM to use as system in British apothecaries
-You can use whatever label you want, generally, if you don't sell plants
-At Hogwarts you'll use the standard format because it's good practice and we don't want accidents!
-Template:
Latin name (Common name): W.H.I.P.S. Class(es) (Level, if applicable):
Date stored (Year, month, day):
What part of the plant is in the jar:
Details on classification:

-potioneers sometimes use shorthand notes as to potions you can use the plant in, though it's not necessary

~Footnotes (copied from lesson directly)

1. The Herbology High Commission is a large, international group of roughly every fifty-three countries that were once part of Great Britain, or currently still are. Each country has three representatives and at these meetings, decisions are made about categorizations, recognition of new plant uses and other research, and recommendations for their respective Ministries (or other governing bodies) regarding laws and regulations of plants. The standardized categorizations referenced in this lesson are actually from two separate meetings of this group. Many, such as foliage and flower colour, were decided when the first meeting was held in 1384, and the category for the different types of plants (such as biennial, tree, or fern) are based on the rulings from 1617, when some of the original categories were amended as necessary.

~Assignments

-Mandatory Quiz
-Extra-Credit Essay (Classify a plant)