Courses Offered in the Botany Department

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Undergraduate Courses

• BOT 101 General Botany (3) Growth, functions, and evolution of plants; their relations to the environment and particularly to humans and human activities. DB
• BOT 101L General Botany Lab (1) (3-hr Lab) Lab observations and experiments illustrating basic principles of plant biology. Pre: BOT 101(or concurrent). DY
• BOT 105 Ethnobotany (3) An introductory course discussing the role of ethnobotany in cultural studies with special emphasis placed upon uses of Hawaiian plants. DS
• BOT 105L Ethnobotany Laboratory (1) Laboratory exercises, experiments, and analysis in ethnobotany. A-F only. Co-requisite: 105.
• BOT 135 Magical Mushrooms and Mystical Molds (3) The relevance of fungi in nature, as pathogens and their applied uses. DB
• BOT 160 Campus Plants (2) Nontechnical course emphasizing recognition of the many interesting tropical plants seen on campus; origin, status in Hawai‘i, and cultural and economic uses of campus plants. DB
• BOT 201 Plant Evolutionary Diversity (3) Significance of evolutionary trends in the plant world, including reproductive, morphological and life history adaptations by algae, fungi, and vascular plants. Pre:BOT101 or college general biology. Co-requisite: BOT 201L. DB
• BOT 201L Plant Evolutionary Diversity Lab (1) (3-hr Lab) Lab exercises in the morphology and systematics of land plants, fungi, and algae. Co-requisite: BOT 201. DY
• BOT 240 Economic Botany (3) Hands on studies of plants and plant products that have been economically important in shaping world history and the local economy of Hawaii.
• BOT 311 From &  Function in Algae & Plants (3) Structural and functional adaptations of algae and plants with an emphasis on their ecological significance in aquatic and terrestrial environments. DB
• BOT 350 Resource Management and Conservation in Hawai‘i (3) Management of native Hawaiian organisms and terrestrial ecosystems with particular attention to strategies, planning, research, and management actions necessary to control alien influences and promote native species. Pre: college general biology. DB
• BOT 351 Inside Tropical Ecosystems (3) Ecology and evolution in tropical ecosystems; adaptations, biodiversity and its values; approaches to conservation and resource management problems; emphasis on Hawai‘i terrestrial and marine examples. Pre: one semester in plant science, ecology, evolution, or resource management. DB
• BOT 351L  Inside Tropical Ecosystems (1) (3-hr Lab) Lab and field study of Hawaiian ecosystems. Recommended: BOT 351. DY
• BOT 399 Botanical Problems (V) Individualized directed research. Intended for upper division botany majors. Repeatable six times. Pre: BOT 101, BIOL 172, or consent.
• BOT 410 Plant Anatomy (3) Structure of vascular plants; origin and differentiation of tissues; relation of structure to function. Pre: BOT 201. Co-requisite: BOT 401L. Recommended: BOT 470. DB
• BOT 410L Plant Anatomy Lab (1) (3-hr Lab) Lab study of plant structure. Co-requisite: BOT 410. DY
• BOT 412 Modern Methods in Microscopy (4) (3 Lec, 1 3-hr Lab) Preparation of plant materials for histological and cytological study, photomicrography. Pre: BOT 201 or consent.
• BOT 430 Mycology (4) (2 Lec, 2 3-hr Lab) Morphology, physiology, ecology of fungi; their identification. Pre: BOT 101, BIOL 172, or consent. DB
• BOT 430L Mycology Lab (2) Laboratory to accompany 430. Pre: 430 (or concurrent) or consent.  DY
• BOT 440 Advanced Ethnobotany (3) Advanced studies of plant uses in cultural contexts focusing upon impacts of plant-culture interactions in development of cultures, cultivars, medicinals, ethnoecologies, ethics, and intellectual property. Lecture/discussion, term paper. Pre: BOT 105 and ANTH 200, or BOT 461, or consent. DS
• BOT 442 Medical Ethnobotany (3) Survey and theory of plants used as medicines, cultural perspectives of herbal medicine, and the botanical/chemical basis of allopathic and naturopathic medicine. Lecture/discussion, term paper or project. Pre: BOT 105. Recommended: CHEM 272 or BIOC 341. DS
• BOT 444 Ecological Ethnobotany (3) Ecological implications of cultural uses of plants. Examines the biological basis for, and ecological effects of traditional and local resource management systems. Pre: one of 101, 105, 453, ANTH 200, BIOL 101, GEOG 328; or consent.
• BOT 446 Hawaiian Ethnobotany (3) Methods and techniques of handling and identifying plant materials used by early Hawaiians for house and canoe construction, clothing, household and fishing items, medicine, and food preparation. Reading, laboratory, and fieldwork. Pre: BOT 101 or BOT 105, ANTH 200 or ANTH 210, and consent. DS
• BOT 450 Natural History of Hawaiian Islands (3) (2 Lec, 1-hr Lab) Geography, geology, climatology, biotic environment of Pacific Basin and Hawaiian Islands; endemism and evolution in terrestrial and marine biota of islands. Pre: one semester of biological sciences at college level. DB
• BOT 453 Plant Ecology & Environmental Measurements (4) (2 Lec, 2 3-hr Lab) Influence of natural environments on plant behavior (autecology). A field-oriented course to complement 454. Field trips. Should precede 454. Pre: one of BOT 101, BIOL 172, or ZOOL 101. DB
• BOT 454 Vegetation Ecology (4) (2 Lec, 2 3-hr Lab) Analysis and synthesis of plant communities and ecosystems (synecology). Field trips to develop local examples. integrated with 453. Pre: one of BOT 101, BIOL 172, or ZOOL 101. Recommended: BOT 453. DB
• BOT 455 Analysis of Biological Data (3) Application of computers to analysis of biological data; preparation and storage, report production, database analysis procedures, univariate and bivariate statistical analyses. Pre: BIOL 172 or consent.
• BOT 457 'Āina Mauliola: Hawaiian Ecosystems (3) A course aimed at providing students with a holistic understanding of how the natural environment in Hawai‘i works, and how human interactions affect that environment. The course will provide scientific, cultural, and socio-political understanding of  Hawai‘i's environment and its associated management issues.  A Hui Konohiki course.
• BOT 458 Natural Resources Issues and Ethics (4) This course will provide a guided tour of the corridors of power in Hawai'i relevant to land and natural resource use, introducing the players and processes influencing policies historically and today. Case studies will be explored from ecological, economic, Indigenous Hawaiian and socio-political perspectives. Students will attend class briefings and public meetings (e.g., Neighborhood Boards, State Legislature and Land Use Commission, Western Pacific Fisheries Management Council) to monitor and analyze decision-making on current natural resource issues.  A Hui Konohiki course.
• BOT 459 Strategies in Hawaiian Resource Use (3)  Analyzing diverse land and water use strategies of O`ahu, from traditional Hawaiian, scientific, and economic perspectives, through classroom and on-site lectures. Topics include traditional Hawaiian methods, modern development, threatened ecosystems, eco-tourism and scientific research.  A Hui Konohiki course.
• BOT 456 Plant-Animal Interactions (3) Interdependence of plants and animals, emphasizing the influence of animals on plant fitness and evolution. Topics include pollination, fruit/seed dispersal, herbivory and ant-plant mutualisms. Pre: BIOL 265 or BOT 201. DB
• BOT 461 Systematics of Vascular Plants (4) (2 Lec, 2 3-hr Lab) Recognition of diagnostic features of important plant families, taking advantage of Hawai‘i's unique tropical flora; development of skills essential to identification of unfamiliar families. Pre: BOT 101 or college general biology. (formerly offered as BOT 361 Flowering Plant Families) DB
• BOT 462 Plant Evolution (3) Major events and principles; includes the blue-green algae and fungi. Pre: BOT 201 or BIOL 172. DB
• BOT 470 Principles of Plant Physiology (3) Integration of form and function from cellular to whole plant levels in processes from seed germination through photosynthesis, growth, and morphogenesis, to flowering and senescence. Pre: CHEM 152 and BIOL 171, or consent. Co-requisite: BOT 470L. DB
• BOT 470L Principles of Plant Physiology Lab (1) (3-hr tab) Principles of experimentation in plant physiology, includes individual investigations. Co-requisite: BOT 470. DY
• BOT 480 Algal Diversity & Evolution (4) (3 Lec, 1 3-hr Lab) Principles of algal diversity, structure, and evolution. Identification of common Hawaiian algae. Pre: one of BOT 101, BIOL 172, MICR 351, ZOOL 101L, or consent;  Recommended: BOT 201. DB
• BOT 482 Adaptations of Plants to Marine Environment (3) morphological, physiological, cellular, and molecular examples of adaptation to marine environments by marine macroalgae, phytoplankton, and seagrasses.   Recommended: BOT 351.  Co-requisite: BOT 482L. DB
• BOT 482L   Adaptations of Plants to Marine Environment (1) Field and laboratory studies of algal physiological ecology.  Co-requisite: BOT 482. DY

General Education Designations: Diversification Requirements

• DB = Biological Science
• DS = Social Sciences
• DY = Laboratory (science)