LEARNING OUTCOMES
1. Recognize and compare the basic morphological and anatomical, chorological, ecological and chemical properties of the most important groups of mosses, ferns, gymnosperms and about twenty families of angiosperms.
2. Assess, which group of land plant mosses, ferns, gymnosperms and angiosperms belongs an living or conserved plant material based on its morphological/anatomical properties.
3. Make one's own herbarium and photo collection of the 150 most common, economically important, endemic and endangered species of the Croatian flora
4. Apply basic determination keys in practice.
5. Analyze the correlation among morphological/anatomical and physiological characteristics of specific plant groups with the environment in which they grow climate, geography, geology, soil science, plant community, etc.
6. Synthesize the knowledge of molecular biology, cytology, genetics, morphology/anatomy of plants from previous courses with the theory of evolution and adopt the postulates of common origin and development of the living world.
7. Discuss the role of plants in the development of the first civilizations and their importance in everyday life.
8. Use the most important botanical databases on the Internet as sources of life long learning.
9. Discuss the importance of plants for life on Earth and the negative human impact on biodiversity.
10. Develop the awareness of the importance of preserving nature and living life in accordance with it.
CORSE CONTENT
Systematic botany is the science of plant diversity that exists on Earth today and its evolutionary history. In this course, the term plant is restricted to photosynthetic organisms living on land and known as mosses, ferns and seed plants. Systematic botany encompasses two scientific disciplines taxonomy nomenclature, identification and classification of organisms and phylogeny evolutionary history of organisms. People depended on many plant species in everyday life food, shelter, fiber for clothing and paper, medicine, tools, dyes etc., so is not surprising that basic activities of plant systematics classification and naming are ancient human activities. Systematic botany is not just a descriptive science it also aims to discover evolutionary relationships among organisms. In the past several decades abundant new systematic data from DNA sequences and new phylogenetic approaches have established novel ways of research in the field of systematics.
LECTURES
1. Course content. Knowledge assessment and evaluation. Definition of terms botany, land plants and systematics.
2. Evolution of land plants most important groups, phylogenetic relationships, phylogenetic trees, basic phylogenetic terminology, monophyletic groups, differences, relatedness and similarities of algae and plants, life in water and on land, adaptations, development of stomata, cuticle, vascular system etc., different types of alternation of generations.
3. Taxonomy of land plants Identification, classification, nomenclature. International Code of Botanical Nomenclature. How to describe a new species. Determination keys. Traditionaland phylogenetic classification systems. Molecular systematics. herbaria and DNA collections.
4. Mosses organisms with the most complex gametophyte of all land plants. Interpolation and transformation theory. Morphological and anatomical, chorological, ecological and chemical properties of subclasses Anthocerotidae, Marchantiidae, Bryidae. Sphagnum the most widespread moss. Life in the most extreme climatic conditions.
5. Club mosses and horstails The earliest land plants with dominant sporophyte. The first true vascular plants. Club moss chloroplast DNA has a different gene arrangement from all other vascular plants. Microphylls and megaphylls two ways of photosynthetic organ evolution. Basic morphological and anatomical, chorological, ecological and chemical properties of club mosses and horsetails.
6. Ferns with thin walled sporangia Basic morphological and anatomical, chorological, ecological and chemical properties of the family Polypodiaceae. Heterospory and evolution of seeds. Ferns dominated on land over 200 million years. Basic morphological and anatomical, chorological, ecological and chemical properties of water ferns.
7. Gymnosperms I Archeopteris is first real tree that lived on the Earth. Evolution of gymnosperms Pteridospermae and Cordaitidae. Female gametophyte. Basic morphological and anatomical, chorological, environmental and chemical characteristics of gymnosperms.
8. Gymnosperms II Wolemia nobilis fossil that are still alive. Cicadophytina dinosaur trees. Ephedra, Gnetum and Welwitchia gymnosperms or angiosperms?
9. Basal angiosperms and basal dicotyledons The origin of flowering plans is an abominable mystery. Definition of flower. The role of flower sporogenesis, gametogenesis, pollination, fertilization, embryogenesis and dispersion. Fertilization. Angiosperm Phylogenetic Group. Basic morphological and anatomical, chorological, environmental and chemical characteristics of families Amborelaceae. Nympheaceae, Magnoliaceae, Ranunculaceae.
10. Eudicots I Basic morphological and anatomical, chorological, environmental and chemical characteristics of families Cactaceae, Rosaceae, Fagaceae, Salicaceae, Fabaceae, Brassicaceae.
11. Eudicots II Basic morphological and anatomical, chorological, environmental and chemical characteristics of families Lamiaceae, Boraginacae, Solanaceae, Apiaceae i Asteraceae.
12. Monocots I Basic morphological and anatomical, chorological, environmental and chemical characteristics of families Alismataceae, Arecaceae, Poaceae, Cyperaceae i Juncaceae.
13. Monocots II Basic morphological and anatomical, chorological, environmental and chemical characteristics of families Liliaceae, Iridaceae i Orchidaceae
14. Economically important plants cultivation of plants was a precondition for emergence of the first civilizations, food, medicine, clothing and footwear, building materials, furniture, fuel, horticulture, ecological importance etc.
15. Special features of the Croatian flora abundance, endemic plants, endangered and protected species, the most important research of Croatian flora.
PRACTICAL WORK
1. Reconstruction of the phylogeny of land plants using rbcL sequences of several representatives of the major groups of land plants GenBank Database, basic phylogenetic methods and computer programs eg. MEGA.
2. Introduction to the herbarium collection of Department of Botany Herbarium Croaticum, ZA. Herbarium techniques and student herbarium collection. Flora Croatica database and other online botany databases.
3. Creating a simple determinantion key. Identification of plant species using determination keys, iconographies and herbarium collections.
4. Mosses Marchantia polymorpha L thallus, cross section of thallus, cross section of antheridio and archegoniphore, sporogone cross section, Funaria sp. gametophyte and sporophyte, phylloid, stem cross section, capsule.
5. Club mosses and horstails Sellaginela sp. morphology and anatomy of sporophyte, heterospory and heterosporous life cycle, sporophyte domination. Equisetum arvense L. sterile and fertile branch, articulated stem, microphylls or megaphylls, strobilus and strobilus cross section.
6. Ferns with thinwalled sporangia Adiantum capillus veneris L prothallium, antheridia, archegonia, sori on the underside of the leaf, thinwalled sporangia with annulus. Marsilea quadrifolia L. habitus, sporocarp cross section, sori, micro and mega sporangia, heterosporous life cycle. Salvinia natans L. All. habitus, sorophore and sorophore cross section, kuglasti nosioci sporangija, prerez kroz kuglaste nosioc, micro and mega sporangia.
7. Gymnosperms I Ginkgo biloba L. male flower, female flower, seed. Two lobed leaves with dichotomous venation. Pinus sp. male cone, stamen, pollen grain, female cone, ovulate scale, sterile bract, ovule, winged seed
8. Gymnosperms II Taxus baccata L. polen cone, microsporangia, seed cone, seed with aril. Cycas revoluta Thumb. polen cone with many mikrosporophylls. macrosporophylls with red seeds. Ephedra campylopoda C.A. Mey bisexual flower.
9. The first written examination
10. Ranunculaceae Eranthis hyemalis Salisb. habitus, flower, follicle. Fagaceae Fagus sylvatica L., branch with male and female inflorescences, male inflorescence, female dichasium, nut. Brassicaceae Capsella bursa pastoris L Medik. raceme, flower, silique, cross section of silique.
11. Rosaceae Fragaria vesca L. habitus, flower, aggregate fruit. Malus sp. flower, pome, pome cross section. Prunus sp. flower, drupe, cross section of drupe. Lamiaceae Lamium maculatum L. habitus, dichasium, zygomorphic flower, nutlet.
12. Asteraceae Doronicum austriacum Jacq., Asteraceae Doronicum austriacum Jacq., Centaurea montana L. inflorescence head, peripheral zygomorphic flower, central actinomorphic flower, achene with pappus. Iridaceae Iris palida Lam. inflorescence, meranthium, ovary cross section, capsule.
13. Poaceae Avena barbata Pott ex Link spikelet, flower, lemma, lodicule, three stamens with very long filaments, ovary with two feathery stigmas. Orchidaceae Orchis sp. habitus, flower, gynostemium, pollinarium.
14. Botanical Garden tour final synthesis of the acquired knowledge and learning about the specifics of the Croatian flora.
15. The second written examination
|