Plant Biology: Field Botany and Systematics

See Schedule of Courses for specific titles.

Special Topics courses cannot carry CC designations

Field botany and systematics focuses on the development of practical, hands-on skills related to plant identification and natural sciences field work. These skills are built out concurrently with learning about the diversity of flowering plant families that occupy the world around us, providing a strong understanding of plant diversity that is then practically applied in the field. Course goals 1. Develop / improve the ability to make use of botanical terminology in order to describe plants, as well as allowing you to employ resources that make use of this form of language 2. Develop / improve the ability to identify flowering plants by using appropriate resources (ex., local floras, field guides) 3. Recognise select key families covered in the course by their distinctive combinations of traits 4. Develop / improve skills and knowledge in plant collection and pressing 5. Develop / improve skills and knowledge in safety, ethics, methods, and norms of field work in the biological sciences

This course involves a combination of lecture, hands-on lab work, and field-based experiences. As the course is offered in a condensed form to match the UVM summer schedule, students are expected to stay on top of their work for the class to avoid falling behind. Students will also be expected to attend class sessions prepared for the work of the day, such as having appropriate field gear for days when field trips will occur, bringing in plants when requested, having presentations prepared on time, etc. As part of this, students are expected to arrive on time, especially on field trip days; those who arrive late will miss the vehicle driving us from UVM to our field site. Though field sites are chosen to be as accessible as possible, some degree of physical condition is required in order to move through sites. Students will also be exposed to the elements, which may alter accessibility conditions at the field sites. Please reach out to the instructor if you have any questions or concerns regarding your ability to participate in the course. Class format The class combines lecture and lab to teach the basics of field botany and taxonomy. We start off learning the language used by botanists, and then will begin applying it. From there, we will work our way through learning about a number of important plant families, combining lecture and hands-on labs to learn distinctive traits of each family. We will also practise making use of tools for identification in these sessions. Pertinent supplemental lectures (ex., carnivorous plants, ecosystem types, etc.) will also be included. We will also have separate field days in which we will work on our field and plant collection skills. Students will be driven to and from field sites in a UVM vehicle.

Evaluation will be based on a combination of both theoretical knowledge and practical skills through tests, lab worksheets and homeworks, an informational project and presentation, and plant collections.