An ethnographic study was conducted with the goal of evaluating the botanical concepts of sixth-grade students. One aspect of the study involved examination of the levels of abstraction students use for naming plants. Nine sixth-grade students were interviewed individually. Each was asked to identify the plants seen in a set of 64 slides and examined in two outdoor sessions. The generic and life-form levels of naming were both found to be salient, but the generic level apparently was preferred for naming plants. In addition, avoidance strategies emerged post hoc from the data. When students did not know the names for plants, concerns about admitting ignorance or being wrong both appeared to influence their responses. The implications for the classroom teacher dealing with these student concerns are discussed. An introduction, purpose, method, findings, discussion, and conclusion are included. (Author/KR)