ALPHABET OF BOTANY

By V. ELIND

1 INTRODUCTION TO PLANT SCIENCE 1 2 PLANT ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY 19 3 PLANT GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT 45 4 PLANT GENETICS AND BREEDING 71 5 PLANT TAXONOMY AND CLASSIFICATION 93 6 PLANT ECOLOGY 117 7 PLANT PATHOLOGY AND PROTECTION 147 8 PLANT UTILIZATION AND SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE 177 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION TO PLANT SCIENCE FLOWERING PLANTS ARE BY FAR THE MOST IMPORTANT PLANTS AND THIS BOOK IS PRIMARILY A STUDY OF THEM THE MOST FUNDAMENTAL DIVIDING LINE BETWEEN LIVING ORGANISMS IS THAT BETWEEN PROKARYOTE AND EUKARYOTE CELLS WITHIN THE EUKARYOTES THERE ARE THREE MAIN MULTICELLULAR KINGDOMS PLANTS ANIMALS AND FUNGI AND A HETEROGENEOUS MAINLY UNICELLULAR KINGDOM PROTISTA WE INCLUDE HERE ONLY PLANTS AND SOME PLANT LIKE PROTISTA PLANTS ARE PHOTOSYNTHETIC AND AUTOTROPHIC WITH VERY FEW EXCEPTIONS HAVE CHLOROPHYLL A AND B EXCEPT FOR SOME ALGAE HAVE A CELLULOSE CELL WALL AND A CELL VACUOLE AND HAVE AN ALTERNATION OF DIPLOID AND HAPLOID GENERATIONS VEGETATIVE STRUCTURE IS SIMILAR ACROSS MOST VASCULAR PLANTS REPRODUCTIVE STRUCTURES DIFFER IN CONTEXT INTRODUCTION THE SCIENCE OF PLANT BIOLOGY IS PRIMARILY THE STUDY OF FLOWERING PLANTS OR ANGIOSPERMS FLOWERING PLANTS ARE BY FAR THE MOST IMPORTANT GROUP OF PLANTS IN THE WORLD PROVIDING THE OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF PLANT SPECIES OVER 250 000 IN ALL AND MOST OF THE BIOMASS ON LAND AND THEY ARE THE BASIS FOR NEARLY ALL OUR FOOD CHAPTER 1 1 HISTORICALLY THE SCIENCE OF PLANT BIOLOGY OR BOTANY HAS INCLUDED ALL LIVING ORGANISMS EXCEPT ANIMALS BUT IT IS CLEAR THAT THERE IS A MAJOR DIVISION OF LIFE BETWEEN CELLS WITH A SIMPLE LEVEL OF ORGANIZATION THE PROKARYOTES AND THOSE WITH MUCH MORE COMPLEX CELLS THE EUKARYOTES THE PROKARYOTES INCLUDE BACTERIA AND BACTERIA LIKE ORGANISMS AND WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED FURTHER EXCEPT IN RELATION TO PLANTS ALTHOUGH SOME RETAIN PLANT LIKE NAMES SUCH AS REFERRING TO THE GUT FLORA FOR THE BACTERIA IN MAMMALIAN GUTS AND BLUE GREEN ALGAE FOR THE CYANOBACTERIA AMONG EUKARYOTES THREE MAIN MULTICELLULAR KINGDOMS ARE RECOGNIZED ANIMALS PLANTS AND FUNGI THERE IS A FOURTH HETEROGENEOUS GROUP OF EUKARYOTES THAT ARE MAINLY UNICELLULAR BUT WITH A FEW MULTICELLULAR GROUPS SUCH AS SLIME MOLDS AND LARGE ALGAE SOME OF THESE HAVE AFFINITY WITH ANIMALS SOME WITH PLANTS SOME WITH FUNGI AND SOME HAVE NO OBVIOUS AFFINITY THEY ARE GROUPED TOGETHER FOR CONVENIENCE AS A KINGDOM THE PROTISTS PROTISTA OR PROTOCTISTA OVERVIEW OF PLANT SCIENCE AND ITS IMPORTANCE PLANT SCIENCE  IS THE STUDY OF HOW PLANTS ARE USED TO PRODUCE FOOD ALTER ENVIRONMENTS RESTORE DAMAGED LANDSCAPES IMPROVE HUMAN HEALTH AND WELL BEING IMPROVE COMMUNITY ENVIRONMENTS AND PROVIDE RECREATIONAL AND PRACTICAL BENEFITS TO THE PUBLIC PLANT SCIENCE IS ESSENTIAL TO MAINTAINING THE WORLD AROUND US PLANT SCIENTISTS HAVE BEEN IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD FOR GENERATIONS   PLANT SCIENCE HAS NEVER BEEN MORE IMPORTANT THE GROWING AND INCREASINGLY PROSPEROUS HUMAN POPULATION NEEDS ABUNDANT SAFE AND NUTRITIOUS FOOD SHELTER CLOTHES FIBRE AND RENEWABLE ENERGY AND NEEDS TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEMS GENERATED BY CLIMATE CHANGE WHILE PRESERVING HABITATS THESE GLOBAL CHALLENGES CAN ONLY BE MET IN THE CONTEXT OF A STRONG FUNDAMENTAL UNDERSTANDING OF PLANT BIOLOGY AND ECOLOGY AND TRANSLATION OF THIS KNOWLEDGE INTO FIELD BASED SOLUTIONS DON T JUDGE EACH DAY BY THE HARVEST YOU REAP BUT BY THE SEEDS THAT YOU PLANT ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON THE IMPORTANCE OF PLANTS THE IMPORTANCE OF PLANTS TO HUMANS AND JUST ABOUT ALL OTHER LIFE ON EARTH IS STAGGERING LIFE AS WE KNOW IT WOULD NOT BE POSSIBLE WITHOUT PLANTS WHY ARE PLANTS SO IMPORTANT PLANTS SUPPLY FOOD TO NEARLY ALL TERRESTRIAL ORGANISMS INCLUDING HUMANS WE EAT EITHER PLANTS OR OTHER ORGANISMS THAT EAT PLANTS PLANTS MAINTAIN THE ATMOSPHERE THEY  PRODUCE  OXYGEN AND ABSORB CARBON DIOXIDE DURING PHOTOSYNTHESIS OXYGEN IS ESSENTIAL FOR  CELLULAR RESPIRATION FOR ALL AEROBIC ORGANISMS IT ALSO MAINTAINS THE OZONE LAYER THAT HELPS PROTECT EARTH S LIFE FROM DAMAGING UV RADIATION REMOVAL OF CARBON DIOXIDE FROM THE ATMOSPHERE REDUCES THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT AND GLOBAL WARMING PLANTS  RECYCLE  MATTER IN BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES FOR EXAMPLE THROUGH  TRANSPIRATION PLANTS MOVE ENORMOUS AMOUNTS OF WATER FROM THE SOIL TO THE ATMOSPHERE PLANTS SUCH AS PEAS HOST BACTERIA THAT FIX NITROGEN THIS MAKES NITROGEN  AVAILABLE TO ALL PLANTS WHICH PASS IT ON TO CONSUMERS PLANTS PROVIDE MANY PRODUCTS FOR HUMAN USE SUCH AS FIREWOOD TIMBER ALPHABET OF BOTANY 2 FIBERS MEDICINES DYES PESTICIDES OILS AND RUBBER PLANTS CREATE HABITATS FOR MANY ORGANISMS A SINGLE TREE MAY PROVIDE FOOD AND SHELTER TO MANY SPECIES OF INSECTS WORMS SMALL MAMMALS BIRDS AND REPTILES SEE FIGURE BELOW FIGURE 1 RED EYED TREE FROGS LIKE THIS ONE LIVE IN BANANA TREES WE OBVIOUSLY CAN T LIVE WITHOUT PLANTS BUT SOMETIMES THEY CAUSE US PROBLEMS MANY PLANTS ARE WEEDS  WEEDS ARE PLANTS THAT GROW WHERE PEOPLE DON T WANT THEM SUCH AS GARDENS AND LAWNS THEY TAKE UP SPACE AND USE RESOURCES HINDERING THE GROWTH OF MORE DESIRABLE PLANTS FIGURE 2 POISON IVY CAUSES ALLERGIC SKIN RASHES IT S EASY TO RECOGNIZE THE PLANT BY ITS ARRANGEMENT OF LEAVES IN GROUPS OF THREE THAT S THE ORIGIN OF THE OLD SAYING LEAVES OF THREE LEAVE IT BE PEOPLE OFTEN INTRODUCE PLANTS TO NEW HABITATS WHERE THEY LACK NATURAL PREDATORS AND PARASITES THE INTRODUCED PLANTS MAY SPREAD RAPIDLY AND DRIVE OUT NATIVE PLANTS MANY PLANTS PRODUCE POLLEN WHICH CAN CAUSE ALLERGIES PLANTS MAY ALSO PRODUCE TOXINS THAT HARM HUMAN HEALTH SEE ABOVE FIGURE MEMBERS OF THE PLANT KINGDOM PLAY MANY CRUCIAL AND SOMETIMES SURPRISING ROLES IN THE DRAMA OF LIFE ON EARTH YOU ARE PROBABLY FAMILIAR WITH SOME REASONS PLANTS ARE IMPORTANT WHY SHOULD YOU UNDERSTAND HOW PLANTS LIVE BECAUSE PLANTS PLAY MANY ROLES INCLUDING BUT CERTAINLY NOT LIMITED TO SUPPLYING FOOD AND ENERGY MAINTAINING EARTH S ATMOSPHERE CYCLING WATER AND NURTURING SOILS CONTRIBUTING TO NITROGEN AND OTHER BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES INTERDEPENDENCE WITH ANIMALS INTERDEPENDENCE WITH FUNGI INTERDEPENDENCE AMONG PLANTS RESOURCES FOR HUMANS AESTHETICS FOR HUMANS SCIENTIFIC USE BY HUMANS CAUSING PROBLEMS MORE THAN 100 000 NATURAL COMPOUNDS COME FROM PLANTS AND MOST OF THESE HAVE YET TO BE EXPLORED SOME OF THE MOST POWERFUL AND USEFUL COMPOUNDS COME FROM PLANTS WHO KNEW THEY COULD HELP US UNLOCK SOME OF THE BIOLOGY S MYSTERIES ALL USING AN APPROACH OF MAPPING BIOLOGICAL PATHWAYS THE HISTORY OF PLANT SCIENCE AND ITS CONTRIBUTIONS TO HUMAN CIVILIZATION PLANTS ARE CENTRAL TO OUR WELL BEING NOT ONLY AS FOOD BUT ALSO AS KEY COMPONENTS OF OUR ALPHABET OF BOTANY 3