BIOL 334
Plant Taxonomy
Spring 2008

Course Description

Catalog description: Principles of plant classification, collection and identification.

Prerequisites: BIOL 211, 212, 213; or BIOL 101, BOT 202; or BOT 201, 202.

Class meeting times: Tues, Thurs 11:00 AM - 1:50 PM, Fri. 11:00 AM - 12:50 PM

Credit Hours: five

Learning Outcomes:

Students who successfully complete the course will develop the following knowledge and skills:

- An intermediate level of knowledge of terminology used to describe plant features. They may still need to look up definitions of some terms, but will have mastered most of the basic terminology necessary for plant identification.

- Knowledge of the history and ranks of botanical classification.

- Knowledge of how to collect and prepare reserach quality herbarium specimens.

- The ability to disect flowers and fruits and interpret all of the morphologic features of those structures.

- The ability to use dichotomous keys to identify unknown plants.

- Students will be able to recognize members of about 20 vascular plant families that are common in the Pacific Northwest. About 80% of the plants in our area are classified in these 20 families. This represents a basis of knowledge which students can build upon in the future.

Required materials:

Hitchcock, C.L. and A. Cronquist. 1973. Flora of the Pacific Northwest (one vol.; required)
Dissecting tools: forceps, probes, 15 cm metric ruler
Field notebook
Hand lens (optional)

Recommended text:

Harris, James G. and M. W. Harris. 1994. Plant Identification Terminology, An Illustrated Glossary; Spring Lake Publishing, Utah.

Course Requirements and Means of Assessment: Students will complete two written lecture exams comprised of a mixture of short-answer and essay questions. They will complete a practical lab final exam in which they must identify the families of at least 20 plants without notes, and then must identify 4 - 6 unknown plants from the Northwest utilizing the Flora of the Pacific Northwest. Students must submit a field journal of the plants they have identified throughout the course.

Exam I: 40 pts.

Exam II: 75 pts.

Lab final exam: 60 pts.

Field journal: 40 pts.

A = 90-100%; B = 80-89%; C = 70-79%; D = 60-69%; F = below 60%

Course Schedule