Botany, the
scientific study of plants, is a branch of
biology. Botany is a broad subject that covers several different scientific disciplines including plant
evolution,
disease,
development,
growth,
metabolism and
reproduction. A botanist may choose to spend his or her time studying plants on the microscopic and genetic levels, or he may choose to study the
function of a specific plant and it’s place in the environment. Botanists today are responsible, not only for developing new medicines, but for keeping the world fed. More than two thirds of the world relies on plants as the
staple of their diet. Without dedicated botanists, the global food crop would be in jeopardy. By experimenting with plants, botanists have brought us alcohol, wine,
Aspirin, Coffee, Tobacco, Cotton, Paper and Rubber. Botany is one of the broadest fields of scientific study and can be enjoyed both as a profession and as a hobby.
Botany in History:
- Historical botanical works exist from as early as 500BC. Descriptions of plants have been found carved in tablets.
- In the fourth century BC, Theophrastus wrote volumes about the classification, morphology and reproduction of plants.
- Ancient Egyptians studied plants to find the best times to plant them, we have found records indicating that the Egyptians cultivated olives, grapes and fig trees, but knew that the wood of a Fig tree was bad for construction.
- In 1665 a man named Robert Hooke looked through a microscope at a piece of cork, and saw what he coined Cells. The idea of cells was new, and changed the way that we viewed ourselves as organic constructs.
- In 1838 the German Matthias Schleiden studied the cellular nature of plants, and proposed that all plant tissue is made of cells. This implied a basic "sameness" in the structure of all living things.
- In 1863, Gregor Mendel cultivated more then 30,000 pea plants and is the father of genetic inheritance. His work has allowed scientists to breed mice to target certain traits that are useful in scientific experiments.
Botany today:
- Recently, Barbara McClintock discovered Transposons or Jumping Genes and was awarded the Nobel Prize for her work. It was a breakthrough, and redefined the way we thought about genetics.
- A new study, Paleobotany, has recently become popular as the paleobotonists study fossils of plants and help track the evolution of major plant groups.
- Plants have been in the news recently with companies genetically engineering plants to be resistant to disease. There is evidence that genetically engineered genes are showing up in native corn that was never modified.
- New plants are discovered every day. Pharmaceutical companies actively hunt down new plants to find new medicines.
- The Australian National University and the University of Melbourne are regarded as two of the best schools for the study of Botany.
Famous Botanists:
- Lucy Braun: Preserved 10,000 acres of land in Ohio
- Sacagawea: Guided Lewis and Clark
- Gregor Mendel: Studied Pea Plants and discovered inheritance
- Robert Hooke: Discovered Cells
- Barbara McClintok: Discovered Transposons
To learn more: You can visit any of the sites below, and there are many quality books on the subject. You can pick up botany guide books at your local book store, or a guide to identifying plants at specialty stores in your area. Most community colleges also teach classes on botany.
Tools of a Botanist: Magnifying Glass |
Notebook n'
Pencil | Compass | Pruner |
Trowel | Collecting Bag | Field Pack |
Camera.
Sources:
-
Botany.com. 2005. Tarragon Lane Ltd. 10 Mar. 2005 { http://www.botany.com}.
- ABIS: Home. 2005. American Institute of Biological Sciences. 10 Mar. 2005 {http://www.aibs.org/
core/index.html}.
- Crosby, Marshal R. "Botany." Encarta. 2005. Microsoft. 11 Mar. 2005 {http://encarta.msn.com/
encyclopedia_761573574/Botany.html}.