Plant Biology 1 (Ethnobotany)
Ethnobotany (a combination of the words “ethnic” and “botany”) is one of the oldest known sciences, with a relatively new name. It is essentially an analysis of the complex relationships between people and plants, and the ways in which they influence each other. It is one part cultural studies and one part botany. The basic content of this course will cover many different areas of study, such as anthropology and cultural studies, nutrition, botany, cellular biology, genetics, and ecology, to name a few. The aim of this course is to develop a basic understanding of the fundamental principles behind the field of botany, and then to apply that knowledge to the use of specific plants by humans, particularly within our own bioregion of the Sonoran Desert. Finally, the goal is to tie in the knowledge we will have gained from the class to current issues facing global biodiversity, food production, and sustainability.
Final Project:
One of the goals of this course is to continue to create a Sky Islands ethnobotanical herbarium that will be used as a scientific documentation of the regional plants, their botanical characteristics, and ethnobotanical uses. Each student will collect and press specimens over the course of several months, and then mount their specimens on paper, along with herbarium cards that contain detailed information about that particular plant and its uses. Please see the Final Project Guidelines for more specific details.
Final Project:
One of the goals of this course is to continue to create a Sky Islands ethnobotanical herbarium that will be used as a scientific documentation of the regional plants, their botanical characteristics, and ethnobotanical uses. Each student will collect and press specimens over the course of several months, and then mount their specimens on paper, along with herbarium cards that contain detailed information about that particular plant and its uses. Please see the Final Project Guidelines for more specific details.
Unit One: An Introduction to Ethnobotany
Objectives:
Overview of the course and content (as well as the field of Ethnobotany), overview of plants as foods and medicines, analyze the relationship between native plants and human health in the Sonoran Desert region.
Handouts/ Materials:
Course Syllabus, Final Project Guidelines, 'How to Make a Plant Press', 'The Ethical Wildcrafting of Native Plants of the Southwest', 'Case Studies in Ethnobotany: Foods and Medicines', 'Tubers From the Andes', 'Case Study in Ethnobotany: Native Foods and Health', 'Linking Human and Environmental Health Through Desert Foods', 'The Desert's Bountiful Harvest'
Assignments/ Activities:
Foods and Medicines reading activity, Foods and Medicines Questions, Tubers From the Andes Questions, Unnatural Causes: Bad Sugar Questions, Native Foods and Health Questions, Ethnobotanical Research Assignment, Binder Check 1, Unit Quiz One
Supplementary Links:
Good database of articles about botany, including ethnobotany
Fascinating article about how trees talk to each other through fungal networks
Video describing how trees talk to each other
Article and videos showing plant responses to attack
Plants emit ultrasonic 'screams' when stressed
Plants could be conscious
Are plants sentient? Here's what scientists say
The strange, amazing stories of six everyday plants
The seed collectors who chase the wild relatives of vital food crops
Genetic benefits of wild tomatoes
Article on chiltepines from Edible Baja Arizona
Ethnobotanical account of the preparation of manioc
Hawaiian ethnobotany database-includes sweet potatoes
Article and photos of teosinte (corn's wild ancestor)
What ancient corn can tell us about thousands of years of civilization in the Americas
Ancient evidence of spiritual plant use in California
Civil War plant remedies actually worked
Ethnobotanical uses of coca
Ethnobotanical account of curare preparation
The health benefits of Andean tubers
Medicinal properties of Anu
Health benefits of Maca
TOCA's website
Fighting food colonialism in the Hopi Nation
Supplementary Films:
Objectives:
Overview of the course and content (as well as the field of Ethnobotany), overview of plants as foods and medicines, analyze the relationship between native plants and human health in the Sonoran Desert region.
Handouts/ Materials:
Course Syllabus, Final Project Guidelines, 'How to Make a Plant Press', 'The Ethical Wildcrafting of Native Plants of the Southwest', 'Case Studies in Ethnobotany: Foods and Medicines', 'Tubers From the Andes', 'Case Study in Ethnobotany: Native Foods and Health', 'Linking Human and Environmental Health Through Desert Foods', 'The Desert's Bountiful Harvest'
Assignments/ Activities:
Foods and Medicines reading activity, Foods and Medicines Questions, Tubers From the Andes Questions, Unnatural Causes: Bad Sugar Questions, Native Foods and Health Questions, Ethnobotanical Research Assignment, Binder Check 1, Unit Quiz One
Supplementary Links:
Good database of articles about botany, including ethnobotany
Fascinating article about how trees talk to each other through fungal networks
Video describing how trees talk to each other
Article and videos showing plant responses to attack
Plants emit ultrasonic 'screams' when stressed
Plants could be conscious
Are plants sentient? Here's what scientists say
The strange, amazing stories of six everyday plants
The seed collectors who chase the wild relatives of vital food crops
Genetic benefits of wild tomatoes
Article on chiltepines from Edible Baja Arizona
Ethnobotanical account of the preparation of manioc
Hawaiian ethnobotany database-includes sweet potatoes
Article and photos of teosinte (corn's wild ancestor)
What ancient corn can tell us about thousands of years of civilization in the Americas
Ancient evidence of spiritual plant use in California
Civil War plant remedies actually worked
Ethnobotanical uses of coca
Ethnobotanical account of curare preparation
The health benefits of Andean tubers
Medicinal properties of Anu
Health benefits of Maca
TOCA's website
Fighting food colonialism in the Hopi Nation
Supplementary Films:
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Unit Two: An Introduction to Botany
Objectives:
Understand the basic characteristics of plants, plant evolution and natural history, understand the cell theory and differentiate between different types of cells, study key cell organelles (including the chloroplast and mitochondria), look at the process of diffusion and photosynthesis.
Handouts/ Materials:
'Introduction to Botany', 'Life is Cellular', 'Characteristics of Plants', 'Movement Through the Membrane', 'The Scientific Method', 'Cell Structures', 'Chloroplasts and Mitochondria', Characteristics of Cells Group Project Guidelines, 'Photosynthesis'
Assignments/ Activities:
Plant kingdom microscope viewing, Intro to Botany Questions, Movement Through the Membrane Questions, Diffusion and Celery Lab, Cell Structures Questions, Characteristics of Cells Group Project, Final Project Pt. I (Specimens and Ethnobotanical Uses), Binder Check 2, Midterm Exam, Photosynthesis Questions
Supplementary Links:
Plants colonized land by stealing genes from algae
Scientists unearth world's oldest forest in a New York quarry
Pompeii of prehistoric plants unlocks evolutionary secret
Parasitic plants conspire to keep hosts alive
Carnivorous pitcher plants can dissolve anything from bugs to salamanders
Weird plant circles popping up around the world predicted by mathematicians in the 1950s
Facilitated diffusion animation
Active transport animation
Osmosis in the kitchen!
Start small to answer the big questions about photosynthesis
Supplementary Films:
Objectives:
Understand the basic characteristics of plants, plant evolution and natural history, understand the cell theory and differentiate between different types of cells, study key cell organelles (including the chloroplast and mitochondria), look at the process of diffusion and photosynthesis.
Handouts/ Materials:
'Introduction to Botany', 'Life is Cellular', 'Characteristics of Plants', 'Movement Through the Membrane', 'The Scientific Method', 'Cell Structures', 'Chloroplasts and Mitochondria', Characteristics of Cells Group Project Guidelines, 'Photosynthesis'
Assignments/ Activities:
Plant kingdom microscope viewing, Intro to Botany Questions, Movement Through the Membrane Questions, Diffusion and Celery Lab, Cell Structures Questions, Characteristics of Cells Group Project, Final Project Pt. I (Specimens and Ethnobotanical Uses), Binder Check 2, Midterm Exam, Photosynthesis Questions
Supplementary Links:
Plants colonized land by stealing genes from algae
Scientists unearth world's oldest forest in a New York quarry
Pompeii of prehistoric plants unlocks evolutionary secret
Parasitic plants conspire to keep hosts alive
Carnivorous pitcher plants can dissolve anything from bugs to salamanders
Weird plant circles popping up around the world predicted by mathematicians in the 1950s
Facilitated diffusion animation
Active transport animation
Osmosis in the kitchen!
Start small to answer the big questions about photosynthesis
Supplementary Films:
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Unit Three: Taxonomy and Plant Morphology
Objectives:
Introduce the Linnean system of classification, overview of the plant kingdom (including divisions, classes and major families), differentiate between monocots and dicots, leaf morphology, discuss the structure and function of leaves, overview of bioremediation, root structure, function, and morphology, understand the characteristics and importance of soil to plant growth, look at stem morphology, and analyze symbiotic relationships pertaining to plants.
Handouts/ Materials:
'Finding Order in Diversity', 'Leaf Morphology', 'Leaf Tissues', 'Root and Stem Morphology'
Assignments/ Activities:
Finding Order in Diversity Questions, Common Plant Families of the Sonoran Desert Worksheet, Leaf Morphology Lab, Leaf Tissues Questions, Root and Stem Morphology Questions, Plant Morphology Lab, Final Project Pt. II (Taxonomy), Binder Check 3, Unit Quiz Two
Supplementary Links:
Good website that explains taxonomy
Bryophyte database
Good website on Pteridophytes
Gymnosperm database
Angiosperm database (with good botanical characteristics of each family!)
Decoding the mathematical secrets of plants' leaf patterns
Experts identify 'super-plant' that absorbs roadside air pollution
Plants play a leading role in cycling toxic Mercury
Here's a list of clickable examples of plants used in phytoremediation
And another one
Time lapse reveals the hidden dance of roots
Beautiful electron microscope photos mix botany with art
Scientists stabbed meat with cholla spines to learn about puncture strength
American pitcher plants feed on baby salamanders
North Carolina Bald Cypress trees among world's oldest
Plant parasite shuts down the genes of its hosts
Supplementary Films:
Objectives:
Introduce the Linnean system of classification, overview of the plant kingdom (including divisions, classes and major families), differentiate between monocots and dicots, leaf morphology, discuss the structure and function of leaves, overview of bioremediation, root structure, function, and morphology, understand the characteristics and importance of soil to plant growth, look at stem morphology, and analyze symbiotic relationships pertaining to plants.
Handouts/ Materials:
'Finding Order in Diversity', 'Leaf Morphology', 'Leaf Tissues', 'Root and Stem Morphology'
Assignments/ Activities:
Finding Order in Diversity Questions, Common Plant Families of the Sonoran Desert Worksheet, Leaf Morphology Lab, Leaf Tissues Questions, Root and Stem Morphology Questions, Plant Morphology Lab, Final Project Pt. II (Taxonomy), Binder Check 3, Unit Quiz Two
Supplementary Links:
Good website that explains taxonomy
Bryophyte database
Good website on Pteridophytes
Gymnosperm database
Angiosperm database (with good botanical characteristics of each family!)
Decoding the mathematical secrets of plants' leaf patterns
Experts identify 'super-plant' that absorbs roadside air pollution
Plants play a leading role in cycling toxic Mercury
Here's a list of clickable examples of plants used in phytoremediation
And another one
Time lapse reveals the hidden dance of roots
Beautiful electron microscope photos mix botany with art
Scientists stabbed meat with cholla spines to learn about puncture strength
American pitcher plants feed on baby salamanders
North Carolina Bald Cypress trees among world's oldest
Plant parasite shuts down the genes of its hosts
Supplementary Films:
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Unit Four: Plant Reproduction and Genetics
Objectives:
In-depth look at the process of angiosperm reproduction, look at flower structure and function, investigate the process of pollination and pollination vectors, discuss the differences between meiosis and mitosis, discuss the structure and function of seeds as well as differentiate between the seeds of different plant families, introduction to Mendelian genetics and the basic principles of heredity, differentiate between natural and artificial selection, examine modern western relationships between people and plants.
Handouts/ Materials:
'Angiosperm Reproduction', 'The Work of Gregor Mendel', 'Plant Breeding'
Assignments/ Activities:
Final Project Pt. III (Botanical Characteristics), Flower Morphology Lab, Angiosperm Reproduction Questions, Tomato Genetics Worksheet, Plant Genetics Questions, The Botany of Desire Questions, Final Project, Binder Check 4, Final Project, Final Exam, Course Evaluation
Supplementary Links:
The invisible UV glow of flowers is beautiful
If you thought plant reproduction was complicated, try fungi- they can have up to 20,000 genders!
Climate change revived a plant that hasn't bred in 60 million years in the UK
X-ray photos of seeds turn biology into art
The world's largest flower absolutely reeks
Plants can trade genes with each other by swapping whole organelles
Genetic studies of yams show Niger River basin early cradle of agriculture
Tastier tomatoes may be making a comeback thanks to genetics
Medicinal plant may have evolved to hide from human collectors
Want to breed a more climate-resilient sunflower? Look to its ancestors
What's the smartest plant?
Humans used to be good for the planet, and we can be again
Supplementary Films:
Objectives:
In-depth look at the process of angiosperm reproduction, look at flower structure and function, investigate the process of pollination and pollination vectors, discuss the differences between meiosis and mitosis, discuss the structure and function of seeds as well as differentiate between the seeds of different plant families, introduction to Mendelian genetics and the basic principles of heredity, differentiate between natural and artificial selection, examine modern western relationships between people and plants.
Handouts/ Materials:
'Angiosperm Reproduction', 'The Work of Gregor Mendel', 'Plant Breeding'
Assignments/ Activities:
Final Project Pt. III (Botanical Characteristics), Flower Morphology Lab, Angiosperm Reproduction Questions, Tomato Genetics Worksheet, Plant Genetics Questions, The Botany of Desire Questions, Final Project, Binder Check 4, Final Project, Final Exam, Course Evaluation
Supplementary Links:
The invisible UV glow of flowers is beautiful
If you thought plant reproduction was complicated, try fungi- they can have up to 20,000 genders!
Climate change revived a plant that hasn't bred in 60 million years in the UK
X-ray photos of seeds turn biology into art
The world's largest flower absolutely reeks
Plants can trade genes with each other by swapping whole organelles
Genetic studies of yams show Niger River basin early cradle of agriculture
Tastier tomatoes may be making a comeback thanks to genetics
Medicinal plant may have evolved to hide from human collectors
Want to breed a more climate-resilient sunflower? Look to its ancestors
What's the smartest plant?
Humans used to be good for the planet, and we can be again
Supplementary Films:
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