Botany 410 - PLANT ANATOMY

Link to Plant Anatomy Home Page

Instructor: David Webb, Ph. D. (956-8028)    Office = St. John 412A
Office Hours = 10:30 - 12:30 (Tue. & Thurs.)
e-mail dave@hawaii.edu (This is the best way to reach me)

Teaching Assistant                  e-mail  

Lectures: Tue. & Thurs. 9:00 - 10:15 (St. John, Rm. 007)
Labs: Fri. 1:30 - 4:20 (St. John, Rm. 402)

BOT 140 CDs: I will give you CDs that contain all of the
course Materials (Lectures & Labs).
There will be 2 CDs. One is for the first part of the class and
the other is for the rest of the class.

Textbook Recommended: Plant Anatomy, J. D. Mauseth,
1988, Benjamin Cummings, Menlo Park, California
(ISBN 0-8053-4570-1) 560pp.(Out of Print!)
Check at the Campus Bookstore and or
amazon.com to look for used copies.   

Lecture Course Format & Philosophy

Plants and Algae are the foundations of the biosphere, and they form the dominant components of most ecosystems. It is important to realize that whales, the largest animals, rely on phytoplankton for their survival. Plants are also the basis for agriculture, aquaculture and horticulture. Agriculture is the basis for civilizations large and small. Hunters and gatherers do not develop civilizations. Plants are immeasurably important in medicine. Plants provide the air we breathe, the food we eat and they help to conserve and purify the water we drink. They are also beautiful, and beauty is always welcome. Plants also produce wood which is still the most common fuel on the planet. Other uses of wood are manifold. Plant fibers are used for clothing and paper. Paper revolutionized civilizations and helped to disseminate thoughts, art and even recipes throughout the ancient world.

The flora of Hawaii contains many unique and endangered species. Their anatomy is largely undocumented. Studies of their ecology and physiology are incomplete without some knowledge of their anatomy. Most Plant Anatomy courses use "model" species from the temperate zone to learn about plant structure. This is due to the fact that most universities first developed and flourished in temperate regions of the world. We will learn about these model plants but we will use this knowledge to analyze local and other tropical plants. We will pay attention to some major kinds of anatomical traits that are associated with extreme environments. We will also pay attention to some of the uses that ancient Hawaiians had for these plants.

Plant Anatomy Mantra

Plant Anatomy is simple!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Plant Anatomy is fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Plant Anatomy is great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Plant Anatomy is fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Terms

There are certain basic terms which must be remembered. These are reinforced by reading, and attending the lectures and labs. I expect you to learn the terms I use in class and in the lab. I will not search the text for obscure terms to use for tests. I think that it is more important to teach you how to explore and understand plant structure via hand sectioning and the use of various microscopic techniques than to have you memorize lots of terminology. The terms are in your course materials and other references I give you. Use these to learn terms that are unfamiliar or new to you. Once you know the basics you can tackle almost anything.

I recently heard that Albert Einstein said he avoided memorizing facts and figures. He felt that it took up space in his brain that could be used more creatively. During ancient times scholars were expected to know everything. We live in an age of data explosion. It has become almost impossible to keep up to date in one area let alone many. It will become vital that you learn how to acquire knowledge, comprehend it and use it for the project at hand. The next project you get may be on an entirely different topic, but the process for its solution will be the same. This process is the scientific method and it can be applied to almost any kind of project. You need to learn how to use computers and electronic media to acquire information, process it and report it. You will also need to learn how to use various scientific tools so that you can actually do something. We will try to give you the basics and challenge you to go beyond them. We will teach you how to section plants with a freezing microtome. You will learn how to take micro-photos, and we will show you how to measure these and fold them into an electronic paper. The paper will require the use of software and computers. We will provide some basic guidance for the software, and we have some computers in the Botany department that you can use. This is truly an exciting age! The PC has made it possible for individuals to create documents of the highest quality.

Isaac Assimov believed that the advent of the scientific paper revolutionized science and led to the explosion of knowledge that we have experienced in the 20th century. I think that he was right. The Internet and the world wide web may be just as important as paper making, and the scientific paper. It is certainly a great way to send ideas and data around the world. We will try to give you experiences with this new form of "Papyrus".

Hopefully, we will give you the opportunity to learn how to analyze plants on your own. You can do it!!!!! At the end of the day that is what I think education is all about.

I have developed a web site for this course. The Lectures and Labs can be previewed by clicking on their links. Some images of lab specimens are available online but many others are not! You will get a CD that contains the Lecture and Lab materials

To use the 410 CD

Locate & Double Click the Folder anatweb
Double Click the Folder pages
Double Click the File bot410LecDirPg1.htm or default.htm
The former takes you to the lecture directory while the latter takes you to the
Bot 410 Home Page

Dr. Dave's Secret Formula for Success
Yours for only $19.99 with rebate coupon! (This is a joke!)

I learned this as an undergraduate & it works every time!!!!!
Sorry - No Refunds!!!!!!

1] Read the web pages & textbook BEFORE you come to class.

2] Come to class and listen to the lecture. Take only a few notes.

3] Read the lab web pages & handouts before the lab.

4] Work the entire 3 hours in the lab!

5] Review the illustrations in the web pages and textbook
prior to the exams.

6] Cream the Exam!!!!! (I hate words like Cream unless it refers to dairy products or that famous rock group!)

Lecture Format

I will lecture from my web pages using a digital projector. 

I expect that you will have read the relevant material before you came to class.

I will not stop the lecture to spell terms for you. These are in the course materials.

Look and listen to my lecture. Don't try to write down what I am saying. The basic information is found on the web site or in the course materials.

Questions

Asking questions is a good way to participate in the class and the lab!

Stop me if I go too fast or if you have a question!

No question is too simple!

The only dumb question is the one that wasn't asked because of shyness etc.

If you have a question, 10 other people also have this question.

Ask!!   If I think that you should already know this or be able to find it readily in the course materials, I will say so politely.

Please do not ask me to spell terms for you!

Tests-Exams

I will often tell you to study specific things for the tests! This is one great reason to come to class!

There will be 3 Lecture Exams which deal with the most recently presented topics. The first two are worth 100 POINTS each. These are scheduled within semester class periods. 
The third Lecture Exam will be given during the Final Exam period. This is worth 150 POINTS.
Total Lecture Exam Points = 350

Sample Tests can be explored from the Plant Anatomy Home Page. I make fresh exams each year. Consequently, your tests may not be exactly the same as the samples but they should be similar.

My exams have a lot of simple, straightforward questions. There is a lot of short answer writing, matching and labeling in my tests. I like to use matching to make the labeling of diagrams easier. You should be able to answer the questions without a lot of deliberation!

****If you have any writing problems or any other type of*** learning problem, PLEASE let me know.

Internet Research Paper

Each student will write an original paper based on his/her analysis of the leaf anatomy one species. We will give you a choice of plants that were used by ancient and/or present day Hawaiians as part of their culture. If you have a good reason to work on another plant, that will be OK but we must discuss it. We will concentrate on Leaves. Specific instructions can be accessed from the Lecture Directory.

The goal of scientific papers is NOT to produce volumes of text but to present tightly written, easy to understand text with the minimum amount of words. I will give you detailed instructions and examples early in the term. There is an example of a good paper on the Plant Anatomy Website Homepage.

We will help you get started with the computer software we use and with other technical aspects of the project. My Computer Tutorials can be reached from my Home Page. and from the Lecture Directory. Believe it or else, this will be fun, and you will actually be learning something valuable.

The total value of the paper will be 150 pts.
I include the project in the Lecture Course because it is worth 3 Credits. The Lab Course is only 1 credit.

Grand Total of Points for the entire Lecture Course = 500 pts.

I don't use a standard curve to determine grades, although I might devise one to see how the scores are distributed.