·

Spring Quarter 2013

COURSE NUMBER BO 4103

COURSE TITLE Botany 2

INSTRUCTOR Rainer Stahlberg, PhD

CLASS TIME Lecture: Mondays, 10:00 – 11:50 am in room 146

Lab A: Mondays, 1:00 – 2:50 pm in room 82 Lab B: Mondays, 3:00 – 4:50 pm in room 82

CREDITS 3.0

STUDENT ADVISING HOURS

Mondays 5 pm to 5:30 pm in room 82, also by appointment

CONTACT INFO (Work Phone) 206-897-1790

(Home Phone) 206-546-2395

(E-mail) raista@u.washington.edu

Purchase test Scantrons in the Bastyr University Bookstore & Clinic Dispensary

Botany 2 or BO4103

Outline & Introduction

Welcome to the wonderful & in spite of all

research still mysterious world of the plants!

This course …

Time and parts

Mondays Lecture 10 – 11:50PM in Room 146

Wednesdays Lab A 1:00 – 2:50AM; Lab B 3:00 – 4:50PM in

Room 82

Here are two important links! Use them & u will succed!

to your instructor rstahlberg@bu.edy (check We)

raista@uw.edu raista@uw.edu (check daily)

and to the lectures moodle site for BO4103

http:\\staff.washington.edu/raista

click Intro Botany and pull the window down to expose the study

questions and PDFs summarizing the lectures given.

· Course Description

Botany II is a selection of important chapters compiled from sub-

disciplines of the Botanical Sciences.

The lectures focus on plant development and the secondary

metabolites that provide the various plant species with the

abilities and characteristics that define their uniqueness and individuality.

Information is presented in a historical, logical and social context

with reference to related disciplines like medicine, ecology,

agriculture, and history.

All lectures are accompanied by integrated laboratorial exercises, which test, reject, question, reinforce, confirm or expand the interpretations presented in the lectures.

· · Major Course Educational Objectives

We continue to develop the scientific approach to problem solvingwhich consists of

1. trained observation, 2. formulating hypotheses and ideas and 3. verifying them by skillfully designed experimental tests – also

called the art of conversing with nature.

Aside from developing scientific thinking, analytical and experimental skills we also emphasize a modest degree of presentation skills.

4. The main objective of the course is to provide relevant

information that enables to understand current, previous and

especially future developments in the plantsciences in order to make informed decisions as professionals as well as citizens.

To this end students are trained to independently extract relevant information out of lectures, websites and articles. Their success is evaluated by their ability of answering test questions in seminars and

written examinations

This course …Topics

WEEK

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

9

10

TOPIC

What do plant sense and comprehend?

How do plants develop; their meristems and hormones

Which pigments do plants have and which ones are used to sense

changes in the environment like day to night and spring to fall?

How do plants know when to germinate, flower and prep for winter?

The array of fragrant molecules in plants

And the role they play in the olfactory interaction of plants with each

other as well as other kingdoms

Topics of your choice as presented in the “Poster session”

· This course …TopicsWEE

KDATE TOPIC LABS ASSIG

NBRIEF OUTLINE OF CONTENT

1 04/07 Plant senses & feelings inadaptation to Environment

Lab exercise 1: Plant Senses

touch light, gravity, sound

PDF +SQ

What is intelligenceplant embryos , seeds asexual propagation layering ,

2 04/14 Plant develop[ment Embryoformationm propagation meriistems, plant hormones

Lab exercise 2: Plant development I

PDF +SQ

plant growth, phototropism, geotropism, annuals, biennials, flowering, plant training

3 04/21 Plant development : responses to blue & red light

Lab exercise. 3: Plant development II Plant hormones

PDF +SQ

Photoperiodism, phytochrome,Infra-red neighborhood detection Question session

4 04/28 TEST #1 followed by lecture

Lab exercise. 4: III Light responses

PDF +SQ

role of chloroplast & vacuole, internal excretion Vitamins, antioxidants

5 05/05 Secondary metabolitesOrganic acids, amino acids, amines

LAB EXERCISE 5 Plant pigments

PDF +SQ Plant defenses against bacteria, fungi and

animals

6 05/12 Plants interacting with other plants: parasitism, mutualism allelopathy

LAB EXERCISE 6fragrances & Submit Poster title!

PDF +SQ

Plant fragrances Plant-derived herbicides and allochemicals Question session

7 05/19 TEST #2Phenolics colors, spices etc.

LAB EXERCISE 7: exper. preparation for

poster

PDF +SQ

Carotenoids, flavonoids, and other pigments, esters and essential oils,

8 05/26 Memorial Day something good & fun memorizie

sweet memories can be recalled by sweet scents

9 06/02 Plant interactions with bacteria,

fungi and animals

Lab exercise 8: Student presentations:

20 min Poster and r talk

Recom literature + web sites

Example: How did nettle hairs gain access to neurotransmitters? What is the role of neurotransmitters in plants

10 06/09 Plants and the future; sustainable agriculture + Perennial crops

LAB EXERCISE 9 plant walks

PDF +SQ

Will there be an end to our alien world-wide war on the planet and its species;

11 06/16 Final test IIIthe last botany ever

No labs, lab make-ups if required

PDF +SQ

The quarter ends on Friday, 06/20//2014.

We are what we repeatedly do.

Excellence and courage, then, are not

acts of a moment, but trained habits.

Aristotle

Feel what is beautiful, think what is

true and do what is right.

J. W. von Goethe

The three columns of your life

From “Wilhelm Meister’s years of apprenticeship”

We are what we repeatedly

do. Excellence and courage,

then, are not acts of a

moment, but trained habits.

Aristotle

To avoid criticism

say nothing,

do nothing,

and be nothing.

Aristotle

Ignorance is not lack of

intelligence, it is simply not

knowing. So what?

Knowledge is power, and

ignorance is impotence.

Unknown (to you)

The lectures introduce topics that are of interest to individuals studying interactions of plants among themselves and with other organisms. ---

� Plant characteristics and responses will be presented from a refreshing phytocentric point of view rather than the common homocentric views of everyday boredom.

The lab is intended � to encourage curiosity and initiative in the exploration of plant characteristics, ingredients, organs, structures and even responses that appear to be familiar on a superficial basis.

To support the acquisition of the topics � I will supply study questions that allow you to test whether u got the important “take home” points of each lecture.

The questions for the tests will be a smaller selection chosen from the study questions. The questions will be posted and updated after the lectures at the web at http://staff.washington.edu/raista/

� This is a faire procedure to enable you to the class standards.

This Course and Creativity(1) True, the written tests seem to encourage memorization while

leaving the thinking & connecting to yourselves. I can’t think of

anything to alter this part except for encouraging you to ask more

questions during the lectures

(3) The poster session is the ultimate part of the course that is

encouraging creativity. They encourage what Sternberg (see manual)

calls the generation of an idea that is entirely your own. First, you

follow your own interest and talents. Second, you chose your own topic

in a discussion with your lab mate. Making the choice you are

considering the risk of the topic; i.e. will I find enough interesting stuff

in books or on the net; will I be able to figure out an experiment or

demonstration that connects to this topic in a meaningful way?

(2) The lab part of the course is there to encourage creativity. And

experimentation. Using examples, it shows how to find (= confirm the

presence of) substances like pigments, tannins, essential oils, etc. and

also how to get them out of a plant. Considering that experimentation is

some conversation with nature, it is like learning a new language.

You are no longer talking to instructors but to nature herself, to plants.

memorizing: you are

over-informating us !!!

Ah, finally! talking to

mother Nature …

Defending your ideas …

· LABS

Experiments are the only means of

knowledge at our disposal; the rest is just

poetry and imagination … Max Planck 1910

“Imagination is more important than

knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all

we now know and understand, while

imagination embraces the entire world, and

all there ever will be to know and

understand.” -Albert Einstein 1920

Imagination without knowledge and

experimental control is just poetry and

imagination and will never turn into real

knowledge.

Rainer Stahlberg 2012

How do I succeed in this course …????

Be prepared and you will learn

something, be not prepared and you just

try to catch up on methodical details. All

is mediocrity unless the stuff allows you

to make any important conclusions.

Max Planck

“In the labs as well as in class and

society you are expected to carry the

initiative. You are here to act and not as

an audience”

-Albert Einstein 1920

A good experiment is nothing but an

attempt to speak with nature in her

own terms.Rainer Stahlberg 2012

I never said any of this

and Max did neither. It is

all imagination. Please,

God, stop throwing dice,

man up and end this

abdominal presentation!

Why Experimenting?

(1) Experiments are the only means of knowledge at our disposal, the

rest is poetry and imagination … English translation of Max Planck 1910

(2) Knowledge (“Wissen” in Planck’s citation) can be

achieved by reading as well. However, to turn this

information into real knowledge you need to know

that it works; i.e. you need to have experienced it.

(3) You can and should observe nature. Then,

however, you need to make sure that your

interpretation is correct. How do you do that? You

ask. Experiments are often the only means to ask

a question; they are the language you use with

nature.

(4) You cannot learn a language without

practicing it. Let us do Experiments, & Tests

(Labs) and observations (lab walks) before judging

This course …labs

WEEK

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Lab # 1 The algal ancestry of plants

Lab # 2 Plant diversity and . identification : Campus walk

Lab # 3 Primary metabolism

and the making of paper

Lab # 4 Plant diversity and identification : Visit to the UW

Lab # 5: Secondary metabolism and the making of ink

Lab # 6: Poster session

you prepare your experiment and then present it in context

Lab # 7: Plant colors and Stains

Finals week: no lab! time for lab make-ups (see Syllabus) !!

How to Experiment?

Color and Plants: getting your mind into it!

Color is a wonderful feature that came into

being with the first flowers and fruits of the

seed plants. They attracted both pollinators

and seed distributors = fruit eaters for their

successful propagation.

Repetition: Which plant color is the moist common one? ………………

Which flower colors are the most common ones …………… ………….,

which two are the rarest ones: …………………., ……………………..

Task 1: Try to recall from memory flowers that have

– green flower: ……………………………

- white flower: ……………………………….

- blue flower: ………………….. ……………….

- red flower : ……………………………………….

- brown flower:

The Smell of Spring is here:

Daphne odora: earliest strong smelling

flowers on Bastyr and UW Campus

Daphne x Burkwoodii: showy & fragrant spring flowers

Allspice Calycanthus californica both flowers a&

rubbed leaves have wonderful smell

Syringa : lilac flowers strong aromatic smell in spring

Choisya ternata Mexican orange scented spring flowers

Buddleia davidii: distinct fragrance in summer flowers

Hamamelis mollis: Witchhazel spicy-scented winter

flowers

Jasminum nudiflorum: gentle smell of winter flowers

Gardenia jasminoides smell of Hawaii spring/summer

flower

Lonicera Honeysuckle : familiar sweet smell in flowersWinter jasmin

Which is the first wild flower to bloom in the Northern USA?

The leaves have a somewhat spicy or peppery taste.

Caution should be used in attempts to prepare

Western Skunk Cabbage for consumption, as it

contains calcium oxalate crystals, which result in

a gruesome prickling sensation on the tongue and

throat and can result in intestinal irritation and even

death if consumed in large quantities.

We know that early flowers are liverleaf or Hepatica, the snowdrop Galanthus

It is the Swamp cabbage or skunk cabbage

Lysitichon americanus which blooms as early

as the end of March. However, it is often

overlooked because of location (under the

snow) and in swampy areas.

After hibernation the bears feel really stuffed and need a little detox treatment.

Here the skunk cabbage root is just fine. For some reason the root acts on the bear

gut as a cathartic, i.e. a strong laxative.

Scented Flowers are fine, Scented Leaves are divine

Aloysia triphylla Lemon Verbena: lemon-scented

foliage

Allspice or Sweetshrub Calycanthus floridus

rubbed leaves have smell

Labrador tea Ledum groenlandicum : leaves

used for tea

Lindera benzoin Spicebush crushed leaves with

citrus scent

Rosmarinus officinalis: desinfecting stron smell

of this herb

Sage Salvia officinalis: Sage S fructicosa used in

cooking

Sassafras officinalis: root, bark & leaves strongly

scented

Thymus vulgaris scented herb is actually a shrub

Ruta graveolens Rue : strong scent in foliage

Quiz about Plants 1. Which plant is the smallest flowering plant?

2. Which plant has the largest single flower on this planet?

3. Which plant has the largest leaves? …

4. Which plants have no leaves? ………………………………………

5. Which plants have no roots? ………………………………………

6. Which plant makes only two leaves although keeping it > 100 years?

7. Which earthly plant produces the largest seeds?

8. Which plant family has the smallest seeds?

9. Which plant has the longest-living seeds?

10. Which plant has the edible fruit with the most calories?

11. Which plant produces the largest edible fruits?

12. Which creature is largest living being on earth?

13. Which creature is longest living being on earth?

14. Which creature is longest living plant on earth?

15. Which plant species was the first one in space?

16. Which is the oldest recent (old but still around) flowering plant?

17. Which plant is the tallest monocot?

18. Which plant is the tallest dicot?

19. Which plant has the deepest roots and how deep do they go?

20. Which creature is the largest being by area?

21. Which creatures are the longest beings in the ocean?

Quiz about Plants

1. Which plant is the smallest

flowering plant?

Wolffia arrhiza – the small relative of the

duckweed Lemmna being only 0.5 mm across.

Quiz about Plants

2. Which plant has the largest single flower

on this planet

Rafflesia , a stinky parasitic plant from the

Mediterranean region.

Quiz about Plants

3. Which plant has the largest leaves? …

The Raffia palm. This imposing African palm has the largest

leaves of any tree. IT has leaves that measure up to 20 m in

length. They are the source of raffia, a natural fiber

Quiz about Plants

4. Which plants have no leaves?

1. there are the lower plants like mosses,

which do not have real leaves.

Quiz about Plants

4. Which plants have no leaves?

1. there are lower plants like mosses,

which do not have real leaves.

2. there are desert plants and deciduous

trees in our area that drop their leaves

part of the year.

3. there are parasitic plants like

coralroots and pinedrops that are pale

and have no leaves, just scales

4. there are cacti that have modified

leaves appearing as spines.

Quiz about Plants

5. Which plants have no roots? …

A.Lower plants ( bryophytes) have no

real roots.

B. There are parasitic plants like

Cuscuta (dodder) or mistletoe that

absorb nutrients from their hosts.

C. there are duckweeds like Wolffia

arrhiza.

Wolffia vs Lemna duckweed

Quiz about Plants

6. Which plant makes only two leaves

although living more than 100 years?

Welwitschia mirabilis. This South African desert plant

produces only 2 leaves, which keep during its whole world.

Quiz about Plants

7. Which earthly plant produces the

largest seeds?

Coco de Mer, Seychelles nuts

Quiz about Plants

8. Which plant family has the smallest

seeds?

The orchids.

Quiz about Plants

9. Which plant has the longest-living seeds?

Arctic Lupine were found frozen in the soil of the

Canadian Yukon were estimated to be 10-15,000

years old. Nevertheless, they did germinate into

new plants

Quiz about Plants

10. Which plant has the edible fruit with the most

calories?

Avocado has 750 cal per pound. On the other hand

cucumber has only 70 cal /pound.

Quiz about Plants

11. Which plant produces the largest edible fruits?

Of course, the pumpkin Cucurbita pepo reaching

up to 180 pounds followed by melons with 45

pounds.

Quiz about Plants

12. Which creature is largest living being on earth?

The giant Sequoia or

Sequoiadendron

giganteum; specimen

“General Sherman” is 83

m tall with a trunk of

24.22 meters

circumference.

Quiz about Plants

13. Which creature is longest living being on earth?

Lichens in

Antarctica were

shown to be older

than 10,000 years

growing 3.4

mm/century.

���� Xanthoria

Quiz about Plants

14. Which creature is longest living plant on earth?

Pinus longaeva –

the Bristlecone pine

form the SW of the

USA.

Quiz about Plants

15. Which plant species was the first one in space?

It was Arabidopsis

aboard the Soviet

spaceship Salute 7

in 1982.

Quiz about Plants

16. Which plant is the oldest recent (species old but still

around) flowering plant?

Gingko biloba first appeared

all over the world 180

Million years ago. 300

years ago, when the

Kaempfer discovered it for

the West, it was extinct in

the wild except for some

monasteries in China.

Quiz about Plants

17. Which plant is the tallest monocot?

It is the

giant black bamboo

Phylostachys nigra

reaches up to18 m

tall.

Quiz about Plants

18. Which plant is the tallest dicot?

Eucalyptus regnans at Mt. Baw

Baw, Victoria, Australia, is

believed to have measured 143 m

(470 ft.) in 1885. Formerly,

another Australian eucalyptus, at

Watts River, Victoria. almost

certainly had been over 150 m

(492 ft.) tall."

Quiz about Plants

19. Which plant has the deepest roots and how deep do they go?

The deepest roots were found

with a Ficus species in South

Africa reaching 120 m deep.

The official, confirmed record

is with the 10 m tall Shepherds

tree

Boscia albitrunca from the

Kalahari Desert with roots

measuring 68 m long.

Quiz about Plants

20. Which creature is the largest being by area?

A giant fungus of the

species Armillaria ostoyae

(honey mushrooms) in the

Malheur National Forest in

Oregon was found to span

8.9 km2 (2,200 acres), which

would make it the largest

organism by area.

Quiz about Plants

21. Which creatures are the longest beings in the ocean?

These are the giant kelps

Macrocystis pyrifera, which may

reach a length of over 100 ft (30

m). This majestic giant of the

kelp forest grows faster than

tropical bamboo—about three to

five inches each day.

Macrocystis vs Nereocystis (our bullkelp)

Thank you for your participation !!!

Everybody knows

– of course - that

Botany is sooo cool!