INTRO TO BOTANY

What is Botany?
It is also known as Plant Biology

The scientific study of plants

Encompasses the origin, diversity, structure, and internal process o plants as

well as their relationships with other organisms and with the nonliving physical
environment.

Coconut Tree (Cocos nucifera)

• “World’s Most Useful Tree” or “Tree of • Copra/Dried Coconut Meat can be

Life”
• Versatile and provide almost
everything a person needs.
• Produces 50 to 100 nuts/fruits per
year.
• Immature green coconut seed is
highly nutritious liquid center called
Endosperm that solidified to form
coconut meat.
eaten as it is or it can be pressed to
extract oil.
• The oil can be used to make soap,
found in margarine, nondairy creamer,
cosmetics, suntan and hand lotions.
• Highly saturated oil.

Paclitaxel (Taxol)

First obtained from the bark of the Pacific Yew (Taxus brevifolia)

First tested in the mid-1960s and can inhibit the growth of cancer cells.

Approved in 1992 for treating advanced stages of ovarian cancer.

In 1994 was approved for treating breast cancer that has spread in the lymph
nodes.

Pacific yew is one of the slowest growing tree. Fortunately, a close relative of the
Pacific yew, the English yew (Taxus baceata) was discovered.

Specialties

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 1. Plant molecular biology- study the structure and functions of important biological
molecules such as proteins and nucleic acid.

2. Plant biochemistry- study of chemical interactions within plants, including the

variety of chemicals that plants produce.

3. Plant cell biology- encompasses the structures, functions and life processes of
plant cells.

4. Plant anatomy- microscopic plant structures (cells and tissues).

5. Plant morphology- structures of plants such as leaves, roots and stem, including
their evolution and development.

6. Plant physiology- study such processes as photosynthesis and mineral nutrition

to understand how plants function.

7. Plant genetics- plant heredity and variation

8. Plant ecology- is the study of the interrelations among plants and between plants
and their environment.

9. Plant systematics- encompasses the evolutionary relationships among different

plant groups.

10. Plant taxonomy- a subdiscipline of systematics, deals with the description,

naming and classification of plants.

11. Paleobotany- is the study of the biology and the evolution of plants in the
geologic plants.

LEVELS OF BIOLOGICAL ORGANIZATION

Definition of Terms:

Cell- microscopic and is the smallest Organs- functional units that

that can perform all the activities
associated with life.
Element- cells are composed constitute
the simplest level of organization in the
biological world.
perform specific roles
Organisms- distinct, living
entities.
Populations- group of members
of the same species that live

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 Atom- smallest particle of an element together in the same area at the
that possesses the properties of an same time.
element.
Communities- consists of all the
Molecule- formed when atoms combine populations of different
chemically by forming bonds. organisms that live and
interac5t within the area
Macromolecules- large biological
molecules Ecosystem- community
together with its nonliving
Organelles- formed compartments
environment
when macromolecules associate with
one another. Biospheres- all of Earth's
ecosystem
Tissues- association of cells that
perform specific functions.

CHARACTERISTICS OF PLANTS

1. Although plants are a dominant part of our landscape, they are easy to overlook
or take for granted because they appear so passive.

2. Plants do not appear to "live" in the sense that animals live.

3. Plants do not run or swim or slither or fly; they do not eat other plants or animal
prey; nor do they reproduce by an obvious coupling of two partners.

4. Plants have adapted to life on land in ways that seem completely different from
the adaptations of human and other animals.

5. Despite the perceived differences between plants and animals, however, plants
share many important characteristics with other organisms.

PLANTS ARE HIGHLY ORGANIZED

1. Composed of building blocks called cells.

2. Some organisms are unicellular, where as many plants are composed of trillions
of cells.

3. The biological world is organized on more than just a cellular level.

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 PLANTS TAKE IN AND USE ENERGY

All organisms require energy for their activities

The two most important energy-related activities in the living word are
photosynthesis and cellular respiration.

PHOTOSYNTHESIS

Biological process that includes the capture of light energy and its transformation
into chemical energy of organic molecules that are manufactured from carbon
dioxide.

♻ PROCESS: Glucose+ Oxygen ----------energy released-----> Carbon

dioxide+Water

CELLULAR RESPIRATION

Cellular process in which energy of organic molecules is released for biological

work.

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 ♻ C6H12O6 + 6O2 --------------> 6CO2+6H2O

PLANTS RESPOND TO STIMULI

Stimuli to which plants respond include changes in the direction, color, or

luminosity of light.

Temperature or the orientation toward gravity.

Chemical composition of the surrounding soil, air or water.

Some plants respond to stimuli in a dramatic fashion.

PLANTS GROW AND DEVELOP

Growth in an increase in the size and mass of an organism

In plants, growth results from an increase in the number of cells and an increase
in the size of cells.

Growth is a part of development, which includes all the changes in a plant or

other organism from the start of its life through its immature stage, through its
mature stage, to its death.

PLANTS REPRODUCE

Reproduction, the formation of a new individual by sexual or asexual means, is

the most distinctive characteristics of life.

Reproduction enables an organism to perpetuate its traits beyond an individual's

own death.

Asexual reproduction

Does not involve union of gametes (reproductive cells).

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 One parent gives rise to offspring that are virtually identical to it.

Sexual reproduction

Involves union of gametes that may or may not come from two separate
individuals.

Offspring are not exact copies of a single parent.

PLANT DNA TRANSMIT INFORMATION

The characteristics of an organism are encoded in its genes.

Genes are composed of DNA, the organic molecule that stores and carries
important genetic information in cells.

Information encoded in genes is transmitted from one generation to the next

during reproduction. Genes ensure that a bean plant produces seeds that grow
into bean plants, not into roses or cucumbers.

PLANT POPULATIONS UNDERGO GENETIC CHANGES

Adaptations are characteristics that Evolutionary processes typically

enable an organism to better require long periods of time and
survive in a certain environment. occur over many generations.

Adaptations may involve changes in Charles Darwin and Alfred Wallace

structure, form, or function.
Evolution, the process by which
organisms adapt to their
environment over time, is the
genetic change in a population of
organisms from generation to
generation.
first suggested a plausible
mechanism, natural selection, to
explain evolution.
In his book, On the Origin of
Species by Means of Natural
Selection, published in 1859,
Darwin brought together many new
findings in geology and biology. He
presented a wealth of evidence that
organisms existing today

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 descended, with modifications, from
previously existing life-forms.

KINGDOMS

A broad taxonomic category made up of related phyla

Many biologists currently recognize six kingdoms of living organisms

PROKARYOTES

Organisms that lack nuclei and 1. Kingdom Archaea - often adapts to

other membrane-bounded
organelles.
Divided into two groups on the
basis of significant biochemical
differences.
2. Kingdom Bacteria - unicellular and
harsh conditions and frequently live
in oxygen-deficient environments,
including hot springs, salt ponds
and hydrothermal vents in the
ocean depths.
most are heterotrophic. Some are
photosynthetic or chemosynthetic.

EUKARYOTES

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 Organisms whose cells have a nucleus enclosed with in a nuclear envelope.
1. Kingdom Protista
contains protozoa, algae, water
molds, and slime molds.
single-celled or simple multicellular
organisms.
KINGDOMS
1. Kingdom Animalia
animals are multicellular organisms
that must eat other organisms to
obtain nourishment.
most move about by muscular
contraction.
CLASSIFICATION
The broadest classification category
is the domain, and the narrowest is
the species.
Between them is a range of
categories that forms a hierarchy.
Similar species are assigned to the
same genus (pl., genera), and
similar genera are grouped in the
same family.
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2. Kingdom Fungi
consists of molds, yeasts and
mushrooms.
obtained their nutrients by secreting
digestive enzymes into food and
then absorbing the predigested
nutrients.
2. Kingdom Plantae
plants, multicellular organisms that
typically photosynthesize.
plants are usually rooted in one
place and unlike animals, do not
possess a nervous system.
includes vascular plants and
nonvascular plants.
Families are grouped into orders,
orders into classes, classes into
phyla (sing., phylum), phyla into
kingdoms, and kingdoms into
domains.
Plants and fungi were traditionally
classified into divisions rather than
phyla.
The International Botanical
Congress, however, approved the
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 phylum designation for plants and
fungi in 1993.

BINOMIAL SYSTEM

In the 18th century, Carolus
Linnaeus, a Swedish botanist,
simplified the naming of organisms.
In Linnaeus’s system, called the
binomial system of nomenclature,
each species receives a two-part
name.
The first word designates the genus
to which the organism is assigned,
and the second word is a specific
epithet, that is, a descriptive word
that characterizes the organism.
The specific epithet is always used
with the full or abbreviated generic
name preceding it.

Binomial System Q: Which among these are named Correctly?

1. Sunflower – Helianthus annus

2. Curacao aloe – aloe barbadensis (Aloe Vera)

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 3. Cape aloe – A. Spicata (Dense blazing star)
4. Witch hazel – H. virginiana
5. Tangan-tangan - ricinus communis --- CASTOR OIL PLANT
THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD
Science seeks to reduce the
apparent complexity of our world to
general principles, which help solve
problems or provide new insights.
In other words, science is devoted
to discovering the general principles
that govern the operation of the
natural world.
The information collected by
scientists is called data (sing.,
datum).
1. Recognize a question or an
unexplained occurrence in the
natural world. Science is based on
knowledge accumulated previously.
Therefore, after one recognizes a
problem, one investigates relevant
scientific literature to determine
what is already known about it.
2. Develop a hypothesis, or educated
guess, to explain the problem. A
good hypothesis makes a prediction
that can be tested and possibly
disproved. The same factual
evidence can be used to formulate
several alternative hypotheses,
each of which must be tested.
INTRO TO BOTANY
Data are collected by observation
and experimentation and then
analyzed or interpreted.
Scientific conclusions are inferred
from the available data and are not
based on faith, emotion, or intuition.
The processes that scientists use to
answer questions or solve problems
are collectively called the scientific
method.
4. Analyze and interpret the data to
reach a conclusion. Does the
evidence match the prediction
stated in the hypothesis? In other
words, do the data support or refute
the hypothesis? Should the
hypothesis be modified or rejected
based on the data?
5. Share new knowledge with the
scientific community. The scientist
does this by publishing articles in
scientific journals or books and by
presenting the information at
scientific meetings. Sharing new
knowledge with the scientific
community permits other scientists
to repeat the experiment or design
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 3. Design and perform an experiment new experiments that either verify
to test the hypothesis. An or refute the work.
experiment involves the collection
of data by making careful
observations and measurements.
Much of the creativity in science lies
in designing experiments that sort
out confusion caused by competing
hypotheses.

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