Biol 421
Agrostology

COURSE SCHEDULE

Week 1:
Review syllabus
Vegetative morphology
Essay: Prairie Days by Peter Bernhardt
Grass superclassification
Reproductive morphology
Circumscription of family Poaceae
Review families similar to Poaceae
Taxonomic ranks

Week 2:
Subfamilies of Poaceae
Embryo anatomy
Article: The earliest remains of grasses in the fossil record, by Crepet and Feldman
Leaf anatomy
Begin keying

Week 3:
Subfamily Bambusoideae
Stem anatomy
Bamboo haiku
Essay: Of Bamboos, Cicadas and the Ecomony of Nature by Stephen J. Gould
Subfamily Oryzoideae
GMO articles and discussion
Keying

Week 4:
Subfamily Pooideae
Article: Genomically based genera in the perennial Triticeae of North America by Barkworth and Dewey
Keying
Review for midterm

Week 5:
Midterm exam
Keying

Week 6:
Article: Chlorophyll DNA inversions and the origin of the grass family by Doyle, et al.
Article: The tall-fescue endophyte by Ball
Keying

Week 7:
Subfamily Panicoideae
Evolution of corn
C4 photosynthesis
Keying

Week 8:
Subfamily Chloridoideae
Coevolution of horses and grasses
Keying

Week 9:
Rise of North American grasslands
Thanksgiving - eat corn

Week 10:
Review
Keying final exam

Week 11:
Final exam: Tuesday, Dec. 5, 10:00AM-12:00PM