INTRODUCTION TO BOTANY

Botany is the scientific study of plant life and development. It covers a wide range of
scientific disciplines that study plants, algae, and fungi including: structure, growth,
reproduction, metabolism, development, diseases, chemical properties, and
evolutionary relationships between the different groups.
Study of plants is one of the oldest sciences which began with efforts to identify edible,
medicinal and poisonous plants.

Scope and importance of botany

Plant life can be studied from different perspectives, from the molecular, genetic and
biochemical level through organelles, cells, tissues, organs, individuals, plant
populations, and communities of plants.
A good understanding of plants is crucial to the future of human societies as it allows us
to:
• Produce food to feed an expanding population
• Understand fundamental life processes
• Produce medicine and materials to treat diseases and other ailments
• Understand how environmental changes can affect plant products

Human nutrition
Nearly all the food we eat comes (directly and indirectly) from plants. Plants are the
fundamental base of nearly all food chains. Botanists also study how plants produce
food we can eat and how to increase yields and therefore their work is important in
mankind's ability to feed the world and provide food security for future generations.

Fundamental life processes

Plants are convenient organisms in which fundamental life processes (like cell division
and protein synthesis) can be studied, without the ethical dilemmas of studying animals
or humans. The genetic laws of inheritance were discovered in this way by Gregor
Mendel, who was studying the way pea shape is inherited.

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Subdisciplines of Botany
• Agronomy—Application of plant science to crop production
• Bryology—Mosses, liverworts, and hornworts
• Economic botany—Study of plants of economic use or value
• Ethnobotany—Relationship between humans and plants
• Forestry—Forest management and related studies
• Horticulture—Cultivated plants
• Lichenology—The study of lichens
• Paleobotany—Fossil plants
• Palynology—Pollen and spores
• Phycology—Algae
• Phytochemistry—Plant secondary chemistry and chemical processes
• Phytopathology—Plant diseases
• Plant anatomy—Cell and tissue structure
• Plant ecology—Role of plants in the environment
• Plant genetics—Genetic inheritance in plants
• Plant morphology—Structure and life cycles
• Plant physiology—Life functions of plants
• Plant systematics—Classification and naming of plants

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PRINCIPLES AND CLASSIFICATION OF PLANT KINGDOM

OVERVIEW OF GENERAL CLASSIFICATION

• According to Carolous Linnaeus (1700s) all matter fitted into 3 kingdoms –

animals, plants or minerals.

• With the help of the microscope (1600s) it was discovered that there existed a
third group of organisms that could not fit under these 2 kingdoms, and was
named protoctista.

• Many more discoveries have been discovered since then.

• The most accepted classification is that of Whittaker, 1969 where he classified

organisms into 5 kingdoms.

• Monera – single cells without a nuclear membrane

• Protoctista – eukaryotic and have 3 modes of feeding; absorption,

ingestion and synthesis

• Fungi – eukaryotic, multicellular and saprophytic

• Animals – eukaryotic and heterotrophic

• Plants – photoautotrophic, cellulose cell wall and stationary.

The demerits of Whittaker’s 5-Kingdom classification.

• Some organisms could not be delineated based on nutrition/mixotrophic e.g.

Euglena.

• In algae level of cell organization could not be used/unicellular and multicellular

algae

• Although slime moulds produce sporangia they are classified as protistans

• Viruses have not been included in this system of classification.

• Archaebacteria differ from other bacteria in structure, composition and

physiology.

• Mycoplasmas are different from bacteria but are still monerans

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 • Plants are classified as follows:

• Non-vascular plants – Bryophytes

• Vascular – non-seed bearing – pteridophytes

• Vascular seed-bearing, non-flowering – gymnosperms

• Vascular seed-bearing, flowering – angiosperms

The scope of this course: Higher plants refer to the seed-bearing tracheophytes
(spermatophytes). There are over 250,000 species of angiosperms and over 750
species of gymnosperms.

INTRODUCTION TO TAXONOMY OF HIGHER PLANTS

• The human mind has an inherent ability to perceive the similarities and
discontinuities of patterns in nature. This ability has been applied naturally to
classify plants over many years. Classification has been driven by curiosity or
classification for the sake of it, or plant uses such agricultural, medicinal,
religious and cultural uses.

• There are over 400,000 species of plants on earth; to be able to refer to these
plants with certainty there is need to classify and name them.

The objectives of plant taxonomy include:

1. To identify and give scientific names to all the plants both existent or fossils.
2. To find out the similarities and differences between the plants identified and
named.
3. To arrange the plants in a regular sequence.
4. To provide an inventory of plant taxa by means of flora.
5. To devise a natural system of classification and to assign proper status to group
of plants
6. To find out the evolutionary history of a species and to find its relation with others.
7. To construct rules and regulations governing the method to name a species,
genus or family.

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COMPONENTS OF TAXONOMY
Taxonomy or systematic botany deals with classification, nomenclature and
identification of plants.
1. Classification – ordering of plants according to their similarities
2. Nomenclature – this is giving of plant names. It is governed by the ICN, formerly
ICBN which stipulates the criterion used in assigning names
3. Identification – placing a plant in an already classified and named taxon.

CLASSIFICATION
1. History of plant taxonomy and development of taxonomic units.
Taxonomy could be the oldest science and has evolved through different phases which
can be summarised as:
a. Artificial
b. Natural
c. Phylogenetic systems

Artificial means

• Plants are classified conveniently based on several key characters, often easily
observable. Examples include picture guides to plants; roadside floras based on
flower colours, plant growth habits etc.

• It doesn’t use evolutionary relationships hence related plants may be separated

while unrelated groups are put together. This makes the classification limiting and
mostly inaccurate.

• This system has the advantage of easy identification e.g. gardeners looking for
flowers, carpenters looking for good timber, tourists etc.

Natural classification

• Plants are grouped together based on the sum total of all their characters.

• It reflects the situation as it is believed to exist in nature

• It reflects the evolutionary descent

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Phylogenetic

• Classifies plants according to their evolutionary sequence and genetic relationships

• Enables identification of ancestors and derivatives of any taxon.

• Phylogenetic systems are rarely pure but use some natural and artificial
classification. This is because there isn’t much knowledge of evolutionary relations.
E.g. artificial – all wood fossil may be grouped together.

Phylogenetic Classification has the following limitations:

1. it is rarely possible to construct with certainty the past evolutionary pathways
due to poorness of fossil record
2. it is hardly possible to devise a satisfactory method of designating a branching
pattern by means of a single sequence which is needed in a flora.

• Taxonomy provides a classification based on evolutionary relationships. But the

goal of attaining a truly natural system of classification remains unfulfilled. So ,it
is essential to have a comprehensive knowledge of the taxa from various aspects
and various branches of botany.

• Therefore ,various aspects of botany like anatomy, embryology, phyto-chemistry

and the newly developed techniques of molecular biology and new aspects of
taxonomy i.e. numerical taxonomy are include under taxonomy and thus,
taxonomy has now become a synthetic discipline.

2. OVERVIEW OF THE CONCEPT OF TAXA (DEFINITION OF MEANING OF THE

TAXON/LABEL)
Taxonomy deals with plant description. Classification is an orderly system with the
following major categories:
Kingdom – Division – Class – Order – Family
Minor categories: genus – species – subspecies –variety – Forma- cultivar.
These categories have been expanded to include “sub”- and “super” –categories.
Taxons are labels for ordered groups. They are assigned ranks.

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According to the ICN, plant taxa have standard endings as follows:
Division – phyta
Subdivision – phytina
Class – Opsida
Subclass – idea
Superorder - anae
Order – ales
Suborder – ineae
Superfamily - acea
Family – aceae
Subfamily – oideae
Tribe - eae

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Kingdom: there 5 kingdoms according to Whittaker Plantae, Animalia, Fungi, Protista and
Monera. They are the major categories into which scientists classify organisms. Plant
kingdom defining characteristics are the cellulose cell wall and ability to photosynthesise.
Division: consists of many classes
Class: a group of orders that have many similar characteristics
Order: this is composed of several families closely related. Members have at least one
phyletically important character. (phyletic – overall differences/similarities in a plant group).
Family: it is the highest /largest taxonomic category encountered in ordinary taxonomic
work. Consists of many genera. Members evidently belong to one ancestor.
Genus: it is the most basic grouping of plants. The taxon is used in binomial nomenclature.
Species: this is a series of recognizably similar individuals that are distinct different from
other such series. They are interfertile with one another and isolated reproductively from
other series. (this definition is limiting if groups are not reproducing, fossils).
Subspecies: this is a baby species/incipient that has not progressed much evolutionary. It
is however sufficiently distinct morphologically and genetically.
Variety: this is a morphological variant of species without regard to distribution.
Forma: sporadic variant. Shows a single character difference due to gene change.
Cultivar: this is a sub-population of a species that has been bred and shows stable
characteristics that if propagated appropriately retains those characteristics.
Hybrid: plant resulting from cross of 2 plants of different genetic make up.

NOMENCLATURE

• It’s the naming of plants using a scientific system

Common names
The names given to plants on the basis of language of that locality in which the plants are
growing are known as Common Names or Vernacular Names.
Why the common names are disadvantageous?
1. They are not universal, different in every language and locality

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2. Common names are not consistent. A taxon may have more than one common name or
one common name may refer to more than one taxon (e.g., pigweed)
3. Many of the organisms have no common name in any language.
4. Common names tell nothing about rank.

Scientific names
To overcome the problem raised by common names , botanists have given scientific names
to
all the known plants, for International communication. The language selected for this
naming was LATIN because it is:
o Dead language
o Specific and exact in meaning
o Most old literature was in Latin
o Common scholarly language of early days

• Nomenclature is governed by the ICN (international classification of biological

nomenclature). The members of the congress sit every 6 years to review principles
and rules, take in new developments

• The ICN designs principles, divisions and common rules that should govern plant
naming. There are 6 principles.

PRINCIPLES OF THE ICBN (ICN)

Principle I: Botanical nomenclature is independent of zoological and bacteriological
nomenclature. The Code applies equally to names of taxonomic groups treated as plants
whether or not these groups were originally so treated
Principle II: The application of names of taxonomic groups is determined by means of
nomenclatural types i.e, llustration to which the name of a taxon (species, genus,
subspecies, variety, etc.) is permanently assigned.
Principle III: The nomenclature of a taxonomic group is based upon priority of publication.
Principle IV: Each taxonomic group with a particular circumscription, position, and rank can
bear only one correct name, the earliest that is in accordance with the Rules, except in
specified cases.

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Principle V: Scientific names of taxonomic groups are treated as Latin regardless of their
derivation.
Principle VI: The Rules of nomenclature are retroactive (taking place effect from a date in the
past) unless expressly limited.
A lot is still happening in Nomenclature. The first consolidated checklist of the world's
plants was completed in 2010. This list provides a catalogue of plant names organised
to show which names are accepted and which are considered synonyms. The Plant List
currently holds over 1 million plant species names, of which around 350,000 are
accepted names. Over 240,000 names remain to be resolved into 'accepted name' or
'synonym'.
Additionally the number of plant species are under threat is also unclear, but it is
estimated that around 1 in 5 (20%) plant species are threatened with extinction.

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