What is Botany?

Areas of Specialization in Botany

Aristolochia gigantea. Although the flowers of Aristolochia are highly specialized whereas those of Lactoris are less complex, recent phylogenetic analyses based on molecular data suggest an unexpectedly close relationship between the two genera. Click on image for further information

Plant Anatomy

The study of plant cells and tissue.

A projection of 29 confocal optical sections taken at 0.2-um intervals through the hyphal network in an inner cortical cell of a root of Medicago truncatula colonized by arbuscular-mycorrhizal fungi. Click on image for furtehr information.

Biophysics

The study of the application of physics to plant life processes.

       
Scanning electron micrograph of a young sunflower capitulum (left) and simulation of the same structure based on mechanical buckling of a thin circular plate (right). One family of spirals is highlighted in yellow.

Cytology

The study of the structure, function, and life history of plant cells.

Fire rages through oaks, pines, and palmettos at the Archbold Biological Station, Lake Placid, Florida.

Ecology

The study of the relationships between plants and the world in which they live, both individually and in communities.

       
Cauliflorous figs of Ficus itoanafrom Madang, Papua, New Guinea.

Ethnobotany

The study of the uses of plants by indigenous peoples.

Genetic variation in populations of the arctic perennial Pedicularis dasyantha (Scrophulariaceae), on Svalbard, Norway Click on image for further information.

Genetics

The study of plant heredity and variation. Plant geneticists analyze genes and gene function in plants.

       
Scanning electron micrograph of an early floral developmental stage of the outcrossing subspecies of Clarkia xantania (Onagraceae). Click here for more information.

Microbiology

The study of microorganisms. Microbiologists may be specialized by organism (for example, microbiologists that study bacteria) of by a branch of biology (for example, Microbial Ecology).

Scanning electron micrograph of dichotomously branched, subterranean gametophyte of Psilotum nudum grown in axenic culture.

Molecular Biology

The study of the structure and function of biological macromolecules in plants, including biochemical and molecular aspects of genetics.

       
Hitchenia glauca. This rare member of the ginger family (Zingiberaceae) is restricted to monsoonal forest margins and grasslands in central Myanmar.

Morphology

The study of macroscopic plant form and life cycles. Morphologists also study the evolution and development of leaves, roots and stems.

Fossil Woodwardia virginica foliage from the middle Miocene Yakima Canyon flora of central Washington State, USA.

Paleobotany

The study of the biology and evolution of fossil plants.
       
Time series during hydration of an oriental spruce (Picea orientalis) pollen grain.

Palyology

The study of pollen and spores.

Inflorescence with flowers of purple loosestrife, Lythrum salicaria(left panel).

Physiology

Study of the functions and vital processes of plants. Photosynthesis and mineral nutrition are two examples of subjects studied by plant physiologists.

       
Cross section of a mature leaf of Vigna mungo, immunolabelled using an antibody raised against soybean leaf vegetative storage protein 27/29 (VSP 27/29).

Phytochemistry

The study of the chemical aspects of plant life processes, iincluding the chemical products of plants (biochemistry).

The magnificent blossoms of magnolias have been highly prized in landscaping for centuries.

Systematics

The study of the evolutionary history and relationships among plants. This includes the classification and naming of plants.
More Information
       
The growth of a bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) root system for 10 d, as simulated by SimRoot, a dynamic simulation model of botanical root systems based on empirical growth parameters.

Systems Ecology

The use of mathematical models to demonstrate the role and use of plants as components of the ecosystem (i.e. concepts like nutrient cycling).

A phylogeny of angiosperms based on matK, a plastid gene nested within the trnK intron. Illustrations are superimposed on photographs of representative taxa from major angiosperm lineages, with Amborella shown in the center.

Taxonomy

The subdiscipline of identifying, naming, and classifying plants.
More Information

Organismal Specialization in Botany

Bryology

The study of mosses, liverworts and similar plants (Kingdom Plantea - Division Bryophyta with ~25,000 species). Consisting mainly of small plants restricted to moist enviroments the bryophytes are the second largest groupings of land plants. Bryologists study all aspects of these plants, including their identification, classification, and ecology.
Suggested Web Links
 Populus grandidentata - young leaf with trichomes prior to abscission. Note constricted base of trichome - where abscission will occur.

Lichenology

The study of the biology of lichens (with ~18,000 species). Lichens are dual organisms consiting of an alga (phycobiont) and a fungus (mycobiont) in a mutualistic relationship.
Suggested Web Links
       
Inocybe hirsuta var. maxima A. H. Smith (SAT 01-279-08) photographed in the Hoh River Valley in Olympic National Park, Washington, USA.

Mycology

The study of the biology of fungi (two Kingdoms, Kingdom Protista - (Divisions Myxomycota and Oomycota) and Kingdom Fungi - (Divisions Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, Chytridiomycota and Zygomycota) with over 75,000 species). Fungi have a tremendous impact on our world. They are crucial in the biosphere because they help recycle dead organic material. Some fungi are important producers of biological products such as vitamins and antibiotics.
Suggested Web Links
 Asplenium aureum Cav. photographed in a remnant of laurel forest in the Barranco del Laurel, Gran Canaria.

Pteridology

The study of ferns and similar plants (Kingdom Plantea - (Divisions Psilophyta, Lycophyta, Schenophyta and Pterophyta) with ~12,000 species). Pteridologists study all aspects of fem biology.
Suggested Web Links
       
Transverse view showing internal structure of a plasmodesma of the charophycean green alga Chara zeylanica.

Phycology

The study of algae (2 Kin gdoms, Kingdom Eubacteria - (Division Cyanobacteria) and Kingdom Protisa - (Divisions Chlorophyta, Chrysophyta, Euglenophyta, Phaeophyta, Pyrrophyta and Rodophyta) with ~26,000 species), which are the base of the food chain in the aquatic environments of the world. These oranisms are believed to be responsible for over half of the photosynthetic carbon fixation on our planet! Phycologists that study algae in oceans are sometimes called Marine Botanists.
Suggested Web Links

Applied Botanical/Plant Sciences

Tassel seed mutations in maize. Maize plants bear two different types of inflorescences, the tassel and the ears.

Agronomy

Crop and soil sciences. Agronomists make practical use of plant and soil sciences to increase the yield of field crops.

The coleorhiza epidermis has root hairlike extensions that elongate (upper right) during radicle emergence (lower left) of perennial ryegrass, Lolium perenne.

Plant Breeding

The development of better types of plants. Breeding involves selecting and crossing plants with desirable traits such as disease resistance.

       
A stoma from the scale of a female cone of Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca). Click on image for further information.

Biotechnology

The study and manipulation of genes within and between species. Using biological organisms to produce useful products. Most people today have a narrower view of biotechnology as the genetic modification of living organisms to produce useful products. Plant biotechnology involves inserting desirable genes into plants and having those genes expressed.

A sample of the diversity of tubers oca, Oxalis tuberosa Molina, from the germplasm bank of PROINPA (Programa de la Investigacion de la Papa), Cochabamba, Bolivia.

Economic Botany

The study of the utilization of plants by humans. The study of plants with commercial importance. Economic botany includes the study of botany harmful and beneficial plants and plant products.

       
Seed samples from the ex situ Phaseoleae collection held at the National Botanic Garden of Belgium and chiefly centered on the conservation of wild forms of Phaseolusand Vigna.

Food Science & Technology

The development of food from vanous plant products.

Cecropia obtusa Tr�cul (Cecropiaceae), a pioneer species associated with the initial phases of vegetation sequences of tropical South American forests.

Forestry

The study of forest management and the utilization of forest products.
More Information
       
Floral diversity in the blueberries (Vaccinieae, Ericaceae). Top row from left: Paphia meiniana, Queensland, Australia (photo: K. A. Kron); Vaccinium corymbosum, eastern United States (photo: K. A. Kron); Macleania stricta, Ecuador (photo: J. L. Luteyn). Second row from left: Satyria warszewiczii, Panama (photo: E. A. Powell), upper - Dimorphanthera anchorifera, New Guinea (photo: K. A. Kron), lower - Vaccinium poasanum, Central America (photo: E. A. Powell), Agapetes serpens, Thailand (photo: K. A. Kron).

Horticulture

The production of ornamental plants and fruit and vegetable crops. Landscape design is also an important subdiscipline in horticulture.

A site on Stepping Stones Island along the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula where plants were collected for field and environmental chamber experiments examining the influence of temperature on the growth of flowering plants. Click here for more information.

Natural Resource Management

The responsible use and protection of our natural resources for the benefit of society.

       
Artificially colored ascospores of the saprobic microfungus Aliquandostipite khaoyaiensis(Loculoascomycetes, Ascomycota).

Plant Pathology

The study of the diseases of plants. Plant pathologists are concerned with both the biological aspects of disease and with disease management, or control.
Suggested Web Links