Rob, I saw your post earlier but didn’t have any current information as I took the exam back in the 80’s. However at the annual ASLA state convention today I saw Dr. Neil Odenwald who administers the plant section of the exam. Dr. Odenwald wrote the textbook used in the plant materials course and is the former head of the Landscape Department at LSU. He retired years ago but apparently still is in charge of the plant materials test.
His text book is “Identification, Selection, and Use of Southern Plants: For Landscape Design” by Neil G. Odenwald and James R. Turner (Hardcover – Dec. 15, 2006). Undergrads usually had about 400 to 500 plants in their courses. Grads, which I was fortunate to be, had to learn only 250 or so. Identification in Louisiana is typically done by leaves.
He said that there is a one hour identification section and a one hour written section to the test. The test is heavy on native plants of the southeast. I recall during the planting design section when I took the test we were required to use 75% native materials.
In addition to listing common and scientific names you had to know their use characteristics, such as if they liked wet areas, lots of shade..and so forth.
I’ll see if I can drag up my old plant list and will send it later.
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