Botany

Total Hours in Course80

Number of hours for lectures8

Number of hours for laboratory classes24

Independent study hours48

Date of course confirmation16.03.2021

Responsible UnitInstitute of Forest Management

Course developer

Mežsaimniecības institūts

Viesturs Šulcs

Dr. biol.

Course abstract

The structure and functions of plant cell. The classification and functions of plant tissues. The structure and functions of plants vegetative and generative organs. The morphology and anatomy of root, stem and leaf. The morphology and anatomy of flower. The reproduction of plants. he classification of plants. The characterization and importance of plant groups.

Learning outcomes and their assessment

1. Knowledge of plant morphology, biology, ecology and their significance in plant communities, taxa migration, geographical occurrence and floristic status in Latvia –colloquium1-2.
2. Skills to analyze and evaluate the morphological features of the plants, to evaluate their taxonomic value and to identify taxa – colloquium1-2.
3. Competence to evaluate and explain the expressions of the interaction of plants taxa and the environment, to discuss the suitability of the taxon to the particular ecological conditions – colloquium1-2.

Course Content(Calendar)

1. Botany – one of the subjects of life sciences. Division of organic world. Characterisation of plant kingdom.
2. Plant cell and tissues.
3. Plant morphology (vegetative and generative organs) and anatomy – 6 h
Test 1: Vegetative organs of plants.
4. Plant geography – 2 h
Test 2: Generative organs of plants.
5. Latvia’s grasslands (classifcation, morphology of grassland plant community, characteristic taxa).
6. Plant systematics. Botanical nomenclature – 3 h
Laboratory work
7. Flowering plants (Dycotiledons: Ranunculaceae, Caryophyllaceae, Rosaceae, Brassicaceae, Leguminosae, Apiaceae) – 9 h
Colloquim 1: Ranunculaceae, Caryophyllaceae, Rosaceae, Brassicaceae, Leguminosae, Apiaceae taxa.
8. Flowering plants (Dycotiledons: Solonaceae, Scrophulariaceae, Lamiaceae, Asteraceae, Monocotyledons: Poaceae) – 9 h
Colloquium 2: Solonaceae, Scrophulariaceae, Lamiaceae, Asteraceae, Poaceae taxa.

Requirements for awarding credit points

Two successfully written tests and two colloquiums passed (orally).
Written exam. The examination assignment consists of:
 Two questions from plant morphology, anatomy and geography section,
 One question from plant systematics section (family characteristics, characteristic species, importance of family).

Description of the organization and tasks of students’ independent work

Two colloquiums (families of flowering plants): diagnostic characteristics of taxa, Latin and Latvian names, characterisation of ecology and geographical distribution.

Criteria for Evaluating Learning Outcomes

1. Colloquiums are assessed according to the required procedure (plants should be recognized, their Latin and Latvian names as well as their ecology should be learnt). 2. If the test and colloquium grades are 7 or higher, the examination is not compulsory; the examination grade equals the arithmetic mean of the grades of the tests and colloquiums. 3. The examination grade is the arithmetic mean of the examination grade and the arithmetic mean of the semester’s grade (calculated as the arithmetic mean of the grades obtained in tests and colloquiums).

Compulsory reading

1. Esau, K.(1977). Anatomy of Seed Plants, 2nd Edition. John Wiley & Sons, New York, ISBN 0-471-24520-8 [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katherine_Esau]
2. Sitte, P., Weiler, E. W., Kadereit, J. W., Bresinsky, A., & Körner, C. 2002. Lehrbuch der Botanik für Hochschulen. Ed. 35. Spektrum Akademischer Verlag, Heidelberg.
3. Ābele G., Piterāns A. Augstāko augu morfoloģijas un sistemātikas praktikums. Rīga: Zvaigzne, 1982. 222 lpp.
4. Kondratovičs R. Augu anatomijas praktikums. Rīga, Zvaigzne, 1976. 279 lpp
5. Priedītis N. Latvijas augi. Rīga: Gandrs. 888 lpp.
http://www.latvijasdaba.lv/augi/

Periodicals and other sources

1. Plant anatomy [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plant_anatomy]
2. ESAU, K. 1977. Anatomy of Seed Plants, 2nd ed. Wiley, New York = https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/0470047380.fmatter
3. Plant Morphology [http://www.sci.sdsu.edu/plants/econbot/01C-Morphology.pdf
4. Morphology of Flowering Plants [https://ncerthelp.com/text.php?ques=1401+Morphology+of+Flowering+Plants++Class+11+Notes+Download+in+PDF]
5. Dārzs un Drava: dārzkopības un biškopības žurnāls. Rīga: Dārzs un Drava. ISSN 0132-6457.
6. Praktiskais Latvietis. Rīga: Lauku Avīze. 1992-. ISSN 1407-3358.
7. Dārza Pasaule. Rīga: Aģentūra Agro apgāds. ISSN 1407-5172.

Notes

The course is included in the compulsory part of the professional Bachelor’s degree programme Agriculture of the Faculty of Agriculture, 2nd semester.

Atsauksmes