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Botany

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Plants

   Pinguicula grandiflora
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   Pinguicula grandiflora

   Botany is the scientific study of plantlife. As a branch of biology, it
   is also sometimes referred to as plant science(s) or plant biology.
   Botany covers a wide range of scientific disciplines that study the
   structure, growth, reproduction, metabolism, development and diseases
   of plants.

Scope and importance of botany

   Hibiscus
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   Hibiscus

   As with other life forms in biology, plant life can be studied from
   different perspectives, from the molecular, genetic and biochemical
   level through organelles, cells, tissues, organs, individuals, plant
   populations, and communities of plants. At each of these levels a
   botanist might be concerned with the classification ( taxonomy),
   structure ( anatomy), or function ( physiology) of plant life.

   Historically, botany covers all organisms that were not considered to
   be animals. Some of these "plant-like" organisms include fungi (studied
   in mycology), bacteria and viruses (studied in microbiology), and algae
   (studied in phycology). Most algae, fungi, and microbes are no longer
   considered to be in the plant kingdom. However, attention is still
   given to them by botanists, and bacteria, fungi, and algae are usually
   covered in introductory botany courses.

   The study of plants is important for a number of reasons. Plants are a
   fundamental part of life on earth. They generate the oxygen, food,
   fibres, fuel and medicine that allow higher life forms to exist. Plants
   also absorb carbon dioxide, a significant greenhouse gas, through
   photosynthesis. A good understanding of plants is crucial to the future
   of human societies as it allows us to:
     * Feed the world
     * Understand fundamental life processes
     * Utilise medicine and materials
     * Understand environmental changes

Feed the world

   Nearly all the food we eat comes (directly and indirectly) from plants
   like this American long grain rice.
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   Nearly all the food we eat comes (directly and indirectly) from plants
   like this American long grain rice.

   Virtually all of the food we eat comes from plants, either directly
   from staple foods and other fruit and vegetables, or indirectly through
   livestock, which rely on plants for fodder. In other words, plants are
   at the base of nearly all food chains, or what ecologists call the
   first trophic level. Understanding how plants produce the food we eat
   is therefore important to be able to feed the world and provide food
   security for future generations, for example through plant breeding.
   Not all plants are beneficial to humans, some weeds are a considerable
   problem in agriculture and botany provides some of the basic science in
   order to understand how to minimise their impact. However, other weeds
   are pioneer plants which start an abused environment back on the road
   to rehabilitation, underlining that the term 'weed' is a very relative
   concept, and that broadly defined a weed is simply a plant which is too
   successful. Ethnobotany is the study of this and/or other relationships
   between plants and people.
   Gregor Mendel laid the foundations of genetics from his studies of
   plants.
   Gregor Mendel laid the foundations of genetics from his studies of
   plants.

Understand fundamental life processes

   Plants are convenient organisms in which fundamental life processes
   (like cell division and protein synthesis for example) can be studied,
   without the ethical dilemmas of studying animals or humans. The genetic
   laws of inheritance were discovered in this way by Gregor Mendel, who
   was studying the way pea shape is inherited. What Mendel learnt from
   studying plants has had far reaching benefits outside of botany.
   Additionally, Barbara McClintock discovered ' jumping genes' by
   studying maize. These are a few examples that demonstrate how botanical
   research has an ongoing relevance to the understanding of fundamental
   biological processes.

Utilise medicine and materials

   Many of our medicinal and recreational drugs, like cannabis, caffeine,
   and nicotine come directly from the plant kingdom. Aspirin, which
   originally came from the bark of willow trees, is just one example.
   There may be many novel cures for diseases provided by plants, waiting
   to be discovered. Popular stimulants like coffee, chocolate, tobacco,
   and tea also come from plants. Most alcoholic beverages come from
   fermenting plants such as barley malt and grapes.

   Plants also provide us with many natural materials, such as cotton,
   wood, paper, linen, vegetable oils, some types of rope, and rubber. The
   production of silk would not be possible without the cultivation of the
   mulberry plant. Sugarcane and other plants have recently been put to
   use as sources of biofuels, which are important alternatives to fossil
   fuels.

Understand environmental changes

   Plants can also help us understand changes in on our environment in
   many ways.
     * Understanding habitat destruction and species extinction is
       dependent on an accurate and complete catalogue of plant
       systematics and taxonomy.
     * Plant responses to ultraviolet radiation can help us monitor
       problems like the ozone depletion.
     * Analysing pollen deposited by plants thousands or millions of years
       ago can help scientists to reconstruct past climates and predict
       future ones, an essential part of climate change research.
     * Recording and analysing the timing of plant life cycles are
       important parts of phenology used in climate-change research.
     * Lichens, which are sensitive to atmospheric conditions, have been
       extensively used as pollution indicators.

   In many different ways, plants can act a bit like the ' miners canary',
   an early warning system alerting us to important changes in our
   environment. In addition to these practical and scientific reasons,
   plants are extremely valuable as recreation for millions of people who
   enjoy gardening, horticultural and culinary uses of plants every day.

History

Early botany (before 1945)

   The traditional tools of a botanist.
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   The traditional tools of a botanist.

   Among the earliest of botanical works, written around 300 B.C., are two
   large treatises by Theophrastus: On the History of Plants ( Historia
   Plantarum) and On the Causes of Plants. Together these books constitute
   the most important contribution to botanical science during antiquity
   and on into the Middle Ages. The Roman medical writer Dioscorides
   provides important evidence on Greek and Roman knowledge of medicinal
   plants.

   In 1665, using an early microscope, Robert Hooke discovered cells in
   cork, a short time later in living plant tissue. The German Leonhart
   Fuchs, the Swiss Conrad von Gesner, and the British authors Nicholas
   Culpeper and John Gerard published herbals that gave information on the
   medicinal uses of plants.

Modern botany (since 1945)

   A considerable amount of new knowledge today is being generated from
   studying model plants like Arabidopsis thaliana. This mustard weed was
   one of the first plants to have its genome sequenced. The sequencing of
   the rice genome and a large international research community have made
   rice the de facto cereal/ grass/ monocot model. Another grass species,
   Brachypodium distachyon is also emerging as an experimental model for
   understanding the genetic, cellular and molecular biology of temperate
   grasses. Other commercially important staple foods like wheat, maize,
   barley, rye, millet and soybean are also having their genomes
   sequenced. Some of these are challenging to sequence because they have
   more than two haploid (n) sets of chromosomes, a condition known as
   polyploidy, common in the plant kingdom. The "Green Yeast"
   Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (a single-celled, green alga) is another
   plant model organism that has been extensively studied and provided
   important insights into cell biology.

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botany"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
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