Botany

A branch of biology that involves the study of plant life The term botany comes from a Greek word that means: pasture, grass or fodder Botany began because early humans needed to identify if plants were edible, poisonous, or could be used for medicine.

Botany Disciplines Agronomy – application of plant science to crop production Bryology – study of mosses, liverworts and hornworts Cryptobotany – study of plants that are considered nonexistent Economic botany – study of plants for economic use or value

Disciplines cont. Forestry – forest management and related studies Horticulture – cultivated plants Paleobotany – fossil plants Palynology – pollen and spores Phytochemistry – plant secondary chemical processes and chemistry Phytopathology – plant diseases

More disciplines Plant anatomy – cell and tissue structure Plant ecology – role of plants in the environment Plant genetics – genetic inheritance in plants Plant morphology – structure and lifecycle Plant physiology – life functions of plants Plant systematics – classification and naming of plants