Biology 430 meets twice a week for lecture and once a week for lab.  This course covers general principles of plant taxonomy and classification with a focus on two skills: 1) sight recognition of major plant groups, including five gymnosperm and ~40 flowering plant families; and 2) practical use of identification keys for our temperate flora.  Learning and using appropriate terminology for describing plant parts is essential to mastering these fundamental skills.  Competency and confidence comes through study, review, application, review, effort, and more review.  The reward of investing time to gain these competencies is increased confidence in nature; new geographic areas are welcome adventures because you will immediately recognize at least some of your surroundings, and can use that familiarity as a starting point for learning more about your new environment.

Students that complete this course will be able to: 1) discuss major plants groups, the principal characters that define these groups, and their general relationships to each other; 2) use correct vocabulary for describing plant parts; 3) recognize ~40 families of flowering plants by sight as well as many families of gymnosperms and fern allies; and 4) use keys and manuals for identifying plants to species. These four objectives will be achieved in a framework that presents the science of plant systematics as an active endeavor with historical roots as well as future opportunities.  Understanding this science builds a foundation for further study in comparative biology, evolutionary biology, ecology, and related disciplines.

All laboratory exercises, lectures, quizzes, homework assignments, and exams are directed toward building and assessing the basic objectives outlined above.  Students that participate fully can expect to learn much in this course and acquire useful skills.  Students that exhibit a lackadaisical attitude, expend effort to study only on the night before exams, or that regularly miss lecture and  lab should expect less stellar results.

How relevant these objective are to your future depends on your attitude and approach to learning, not your career goals.  Careers in both basic biological sciences, such as ecology, evolution, comparative biology, and systematics, and  applied fields such as ethnobotany, medicinal drug discovery, wildlife & natural resource management, and landscape design & management benefit from at least basic competency in plant identification/classification.  Increasing your skill above this level can literally increase job opportunities, career advancement potential, and business growth by setting you apart from the competition and extending your value to employers, clients, and customers.  In fact, outside of BYU, where non-traditional students are more common, plant classification courses typically have several students enrolled each semester for career advancement reasons.  Beyond careers, plant familiarity and identifications skills are great ways to increase your enjoyment of the outdoors and share a little of the wonders of nature with those around you.  Its fun to visit an unfamiliar destination and recognize some of the plant families you see there.

Biology 512 surveys world wide diversity of flowering plant families with an emphasis on descriptive features, ecological and economic importance, and geographic distribution, all in a phylogenetic context (using the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification (AGPII). Flowering plant diversity, their evolutionary relationships, and philosophies underlying classification schemes are active areas of research and study.  Background knowledge in these areas are as useful to comparative biologists, ethnobotanists, and ecologists as they are to evolutionary biologists and taxonomists.

Students who participate fully in this course will: 1) understand the foundation and rationale of higher-level classification schemes (including the system of Cronquist that was widely used in the late 20th century, and the contemporary system proposed by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group); 2) gain familiarity with 100-130 families of flowering plants, their interrelationships, and their significant features; 3) better appreciate the importance of continued scientific exploration of angiosperm relationships and associated studies of ecology, economy, ethnobotany, and evolutionary processes; and 4) refine writing & research skills required in contemporary research & scholarly communication.