(finished) Botany - Human Connections/History

“Father of botany”

aka botany’s founder.

Ancient Greek philosopher Theophrastus, who wrote “ Enquiry into Plants” (aka Historia Plantarum”) and “On the Causes of Plants”. ~300-350BC

What field did Botany originate from?

Herbalism, the study and use of plants for their possible medicinal properties.

The 3 German fathers of botany

Otto Brunfels: Helped botany move away from medieval herbalism and to a modern science via the book “Herbarum vivae eicones” (“Living Pictures of Herbs”), which had detailed/accurate illustrations of plants (though descriptions were less so.)

Hieronymus Bock: Did the same via his book “New Kreuterbuch”, with emphasis on descriptions instead

Leonhart Fuchs: Did the same via his book “Historia Stirpium”. Both descriptions (+100 new world plants described) and illustrations notable, with emphasis on illustrations.

Paleobotany

The branch of paleontology that focuses specifically on the study of ancient plants through their fossilized remains.

When did the first ever plants evolve?

Middle Ordovician (~470 million years ago), from freshwater algae “charophytes”.
By the middle of the Devonian (~390 million years ago), many of the features recognised in land plants today were present (e.g. roots/leaves).

When did the first flowering plants evolve?

Appeared suddenly/rapidly diversified in early Cretaceous (~130mya), from coevolutionary relationships (mutualism) with pollinators.
This leads to pollination syndromes, where a flower evolves to match the anatomy/ sensory capabilities of its primary pollinator.

When did the trees evolve?

Carboniferous period, 359-299mya— “Wattieza” might’ve been the first.

Conifers: ~300mya, late Carboniferous.

When did the first spore-producing plants evolve?

Ordovician period, 486-443 mya

When did the first seed-producing plants evolve?

Middle Devonian period, ~385mya.

GMO

An organism in which one or more changes have been made to the genome in an attempt to alter its characteristics.

Pros/cons of GMOs (3, 2)

Pros:

• Resistance to disease, pests, and/or herbicides (less need to use chemicals etc to combat them)

• More attractive/affordable to customers (better taste/nutrition)

• Can feed lots of people due to better yield and survivability

Cons:

• Herbicide/pesticide resistance encourages more of its use, resulting in super weeds/pests and environmental damage

• GMO contamination, when GMO’s accidentally spread their genetic info onto non-GMO crops/plants. Leads to less biodiversity, and can lead to super weeds

  • Can’t be reversed

Horticulture

The science and art of growing ornamental plants, flowers, fruits, vegetables, and other economically valuable crops or trees on a controlled scale.

Aquaculture

Hydroponics

The breeding, rearing, and harvesting of water organisms under controlled conditions for at least part of their lifecycle.

Hydroponics: The technique of growing plants using a water-based nutrient solution rather than soil

Plants used in medicine (5)

• Chamomile (anxiety, inflammation/swelling)

• Peppermint (antimicrobial. Colds)

• Opium Poppy (pain, anxiety, muscle relaxation)

• Feverfew (fever, migraines, arthritis)

• Echinacea (cold, flu, infection, wound healing)

Koch’s postulates

Four scientific rules created to prove that a specific microbe causes a specific disease.

The microorganism:

1: Must be found in abundance in all organisms with the disease, but shouldn’t be found in healthy ones.

2: Must be isolated from a diseased organism and grown in pure culture.

3: Should cause disease when introduced into a healthy organism.

4: Must be re-isolated from an inoculated, diseased experimental host and identified as being identical to the original specific causative agent.

Willow trees (medicine)

Their bark, which contains salicin, inspired aspirin

Overview of ABC model of flower development

A model that describes process by which plant produces a specific pattern of gene expression in meristem that leads to flower/secks organ production

Prerequisites for ABC model of flower development

1. Plant has passed from seksual immaturity to a seksually mature state

2. Apical meristem function transforms from a vegetative meristem to a floral meristem or inflorescence

3. Flower’s individual organs have grown (ABC model!)