Taxonomy of Seed Plants

Catalog description

This course provides an introduction to modern plant systematics as exemplified by the wide diversity of living plants growing in central PA. By the end of the course, students will be able to: 1) use the technical vocabulary that describes plant structures necessary for their identification, 2) characterize the major groups and families of flowering plants and gymnosperms, 3) recognize on sight 60 of the most important plant families in our region and be able to describe and contrast their major features, 4) use and write identification keys to identify and study living plants as represented in the local flora, and 5) discuss current concepts of plant systematics and phylogenetics and their applications to plant classification and the study of the evolution of and relationships among families of flowering plants.