Field Botany – Spring 2016

Course Website http://courses.knox.edu/bio316/

Botany Labs

Textbook

How many plant species are there? Illinois – over 3200 vascular plants Northeastern North America – over 4600 vascular plants (Gleason and Cronquist) California – over 4400 vascular plants

From Gleason and Cronquist 1991

How many plant species are there? Illinois – 58,000 square miles – over 3200 vascular plants Costa Rica – 19,600 square miles – over 8,000 vascular plants

How many plant species are there How many plant species are there? - total in 2010 according to Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) 16,000 Bryophytes (mosses, liverworts and hornworts) 12,000 Pterophytes (ferns and fern allies) 1021 Gymnosperms 282,000 flowering plants (Angiosperms) 311,000 total plant species Some add in green algae – 8500 species

How many endangered plant species? In 1997 the IUCN (International Conservation Union) Red Data list for plants rated 34,000 species as endangered out of 60,000 species evaluated Then changed evaluation procedures – IUCN now rates 8,000 species as endangered out of 11,000 species evaluated United Kingdom (very well known flora) lists 20% of species as endangered Likely that 1 out of 4 plant species is endangered

Aceraceae – The Maples

Maple samaras (fruits)

Asteraceae – The Sunflowers, Asters

Annual Sunflower

Goldenrod

Poaceae – The Grasses

Ammophila – Beach grass

Plant Collection

Taxonomy

Definitions Taxonomy - the study and description of the variation of organisms, the investigation of the causes and consequences of this variation, and the manipulation of the data obtained to produce a system of classification Classification (as process) - the production of a logical system of categories, each containing any number of organisms, which allows easier reference to its components, the kinds of organisms Classification (as object) - is that logical system itself

Definitions cont’d Identification - naming of an organism by reference to an already existing classification system Taxon - any taxonomic grouping - division, class, family, genus, etc. Description - statement of the characteristics of a taxon Characters that contribute to a taxonomic description are known as taxonomic or systematic characters

Definitions cont’d Diagnosis - shortened description covering only those characters (diagnostic characters) which are necessary to distinguish a taxon from other related taxa flora (lower case) - plant life of a given area Flora (upper case) is a book or other work describing the flora of a given area

Classification Need for classification is absolute – it is only by naming organisms and grouping them in recognizable categories that we can begin to understand the vast array of diversity that exists

Classification 2010 estimate of 295,000 vascular plants About 2000 new species of vascular plants described each year Those species are organized into higher levels like families Cronquist (1988) used 387 families of flowering plants Thorne (1992) used 437 families of flowering plants

Southern magnolia – Magnolia grandifolia

Rank Ending Example Kingdom Plantae Division (Phyla) - phyta Magnoliophyta Class - opsida Magnoliopsida Order - ales Magnolioales Family - aceae Magnolioaceae Genus Magnolia Species grandifolia

Star sedge – Carex radiata

Rank Ending Example Kingdom Plantae Division (Phyla) - phyta Magnoliophyta Class - opsida Liliopsida Order - ales Poales Family - aceae Cyperaceae Genus Carex Species radiata

Hierarchies of plant taxonomy – from Stace