Botany

Tulips in the Keukenhof garden.

Botany (from the Greek βοτάνη, 'herb') or phytology (from the Greek φυτόν, 'plant' and λόγος, 'treatise') is the branch of biology that studies plants under all their aspects, which includes: description, classification, distribution, identification, the study of their reproduction, physiology, morphology, reciprocal relationships, relationships with other living beings and effects on the environment in which they are found.

Botany studies plants in a broad sense, encompassing the taxonomic categories of plants without flowers (cryptogamous), plants without flowers and without vessels (bryophytes), plants without flowers and with vessels (pteridophytes), plants with flowers (spermatophytes), plants with flowers and without fruit (gymnosperms) and plants with flowers and fruit (angiosperms), within the classical classification of plant organisms. However, in historical terms, the object of study of botany has not been strictly restricted to the Kingdom Plantae, but has encompassed a group of organisms distantly related to each other, that is, cyanobacteria, fungi, algae and plants., which have almost no common character except the presence of chloroplasts (with the exception of fungi and cyanobacteria) or not having the ability to move. In the field of botany, a distinction must be made between pure botany, whose object is to broaden the knowledge of nature, and applied botany, whose research is at the service of agricultural, forestry and pharmaceutical technology. Its knowledge affects many aspects of our lives and therefore it is a discipline studied by biologists and environmentalists, but also by pharmacists, agronomists, and foresters, among others.

Botany covers a wide range of contents, which include specific aspects of plants, as well as biological disciplines that deal with chemical composition (phytochemistry), cellular and tissue organization (vegetal histology), metabolism and organic functioning (plant physiology), growth and development, morphology (phytography), reproduction, heredity (plant genetics), diseases (phytopathology), adaptations to the environment (ecology), geographic distribution (phytogeography or geobotany), fossils (paleobotany) and evolution.

The organisms studied by botany

The idea that nature can be divided into three kingdoms (mineral, vegetable and animal) was proposed by N. Lemery (1675) and popularized by Linnaeus in the XVIII. Karl Linné, late XVIII century, introduced the current classification system. This includes knowledge about the various plant species within a broader system, offering a synthetic and enriching version. Not in vain has it been said that Linnaeus's classification system prefigures what would later be evolutionary theories.

Although they were later determined to be separate kingdoms for fungi (in 1783), protozoa (in 1858) and bacteria (in 1925) the conception of the century XVII that only two kingdoms of organisms existed dominated biology for three centuries. The discovery of protozoa in 1675, and of bacteria in 1683, both by Leeuwenhoek, finally began to undermine the two-kingdom system. However, general agreement among scientists that the living world should be classified into at least five kingdoms was only achieved after discoveries made by electron microscopy in the second half of the century XX. Such findings confirmed that there were fundamental differences between bacteria and eukaryotes, and furthermore revealed the tremendous ultrastructural diversity of protists. The widespread acceptance of the need to use multiple kingdoms to include all living things also owes much to Herbert Copeland's (1956) systematic synthesis and the influential work of Roger Y. Stanier (1961-1962) and Robert H. Whittaker (1969). In the six kingdom system, proposed by Thomas Cavalier-Smith in 1983 and modified in 1998, bacteria are treated in a single kingdom (Bacteria) and eukaryotes are divided into 5 kingdoms: protozoa (Protozoa), animals (Animalia).), fungi (Fungi), plants (Plantae) and Chromista (algae whose chloroplasts contain chlorophylls a and c, as well as other organisms without chlorophyll related to them). The Nomenclature of these last three kingdoms, a classic object of study in botany, is subject to the rules and recommendations of the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature.

Divisions of botany

Plants can be studied from various points of view. Thus, different lines of work can be differentiated according to the levels of organization that are studied: from molecules and cells, through tissues and organs, to individuals, populations and plant communities. Other possibilities refer to the study of plants that lived in past geological epochs or to those that live today, to the examination of the different systematic groups and to the investigation of how plants can be used by humans.

One of the most important goals for botany is that together with biotechnology and genetic engineering they can create life. And cross said border for humans.

In general, all these directions of work are based on the comparative analysis of particular phenomena and their variability, in order to reach a generalization and recognition of the regular relationships that unite said phenomena among themselves. The static and dynamic methods must always be associated: on the one hand, the recognition and interpretation of structures and forms and, on the other, the analysis of vital processes, functions and development phenomena. The ultimate goal of both methods must be in any case the understanding of forms and functions in their reciprocal dependence and in their evolution.

The different points of view described and the use of different work methods have led to the development of numerous disciplines within botany. In the first place, Morphology can be cited, which, in a broad sense, is the general theory of the structure and shape of plants, and includes Cytology and Histology. The first deals with the study of the fine constitution of cells and is associated, in aspects related to molecules, with some parts of Molecular Biology. Histology is the study of plant tissues. Cytology and Histology, together, are necessary to understand the anatomy of plants, that is, their internal constitution.

In dealing with adaptation processes, morphology is related to ecology, a discipline that investigates the relationships between the plant and its environment. Such relationships are based on the studies of plant physiology, which deals —in a general way— with the study of the way in which the functions of the plant are carried out in the fields of metabolism, shape change (which includes growth and development of the plant) and of the movements. Plant reproduction and the way traits are inherited and change through generations is the field of Genetics.

Systematic botany tries to find out the affinities that exist between the different types of plants, based on the results of all the previously mentioned disciplines, among which, along with morphology, are important cytology, anatomy, study of spores and pollen (Palynology), the study of sexual generation and the embryo (Embryology), the substances produced and contained in plants (phytochemistry), Genetics and Geobotany. As part of the systematics, there is mainly the taxonomy, which deals with the description, nomenclature and management of the existing plant species, which exceed the number of 330,000. To it is added the study of the evolutionary history of the plants (Phylogeny), which is based especially on Paleobotany, the study of plants that lived in other geological eras and in evolution, which illustrates the laws and causes that govern the formation of plant lines.

Finally, within botany there are branches of study that deal in a special way with particular groups of organisms, such as Microbiology (which studies microorganisms in general, including many of those considered plant organisms), Bacteriology (which deals with bacteria), Mycology (which studies fungi), Phycology (which studies algae), Lichenology (study of lichens), Bryology (study of bryophytes: mosses and liverworts), Pteridology (study of ferns). There are also different applied disciplines, which study the practical value of plants for human beings and thereby establish the link with Agriculture, Forestry and Pharmacy, among others. As an example of these disciplines we can mention the Genetic Improvement of Plants —or phytobreeding— (studies the genetic variability and the selection of plants), Phytopathology (deals with plant diseases and their control methods), Pharmacognosy (studies medicinal plants and their active ingredients).

History

This section is an extract from Botanic History.[chuckles]edit]

Teofrasto's bust, considered as the father of the botany.

The history of botany is the exhibition and narration of ideas, research and works related to the description, classification, operation, distribution and relations of organisms belonging to the Fungi, Chromist and Plantae kingdoms through the different historical periods.

Since ancient times, the study of vegetables has been approached with two quite different approaches: theoretical and utilitarian. From the first point of view, to which it is called pure botany, the science of plants was erected by its own merits as an integral part of biology. From a utilitarian conception, on the other hand, the so-called applied botany was conceived as a subsidiary discipline of medicine or agronomy. In the different periods of its evolution one or another approach has predominated, although in its origins — dating from the centuryVIIIa. C.—applied approach was the preponderant.

The botany, like many other sciences, reached the first defined expression of its principles and problems in classical Greece and subsequently continued its development during the time of the Roman Empire. Theophrast, a disciple of Aristotle and considered the "father of the botany", read two important works that are often pointed out as the origin of this science: History plantarum [History of plants] and Plant causis [On the causes of plants]. The Romans contributed little to the foundations of botany, but made a great contribution to the knowledge of botany applied to agriculture. The Roman encyclopedist Plinio el Viejo addresses the plants in the books XII to XXVI of its 37 volumes Naturalis History.

It is estimated that at the time of the Roman Empire between 1300 and 1400 plants had been registered in the west. After the fall of the Empire in the centuryVall the conquests reached in classical antiquity had to be rediscovered from the centuryXIIfor losing or ignoring much of them during the lower Middle Ages. The conservative tradition of the Church and the work of counted personalities made progress, albeit very slowly, the knowledge of vegetables during this period.

In the centuries XV and XVI botany developed as a scientific discipline, separated from herbalism and medicine, although it continued to contribute to both. Various factors allowed the development and progress of the botany during those centuries: the invention of the printing press, the appearance of the role for the elaboration of the herbals, and the development of the botanical gardens, all of which joined the development of the art and science of navigation that allowed the realization of botanical expeditions. All of these factors together were a significant increase in the number of known species and allowed the diffusion of local or regional knowledge on an international scale.

Driven by the works of Galileo, Kepler, Bacon and Descartes, in the centuryXVII originated modern science. Due to the growing need of European naturalists to exchange ideas and information, the first scientific academies began to be founded. Joachim Jungius was the first scientist to combine a trained mentality in philosophy with accurate plant observations. He had the ability to define the terms accurately and, therefore, to reduce the use of vague or arbitrary terms in the systematic. It is considered the founder of the scientific language, which was later developed by John Ray and perfected by Swedish Carlos Linneo.

Linneo is attributed to several central innovations in taxonomy. First, the use of the binomial nomenclature of the species in connection with a rigorous morphological characterization of them. Secondly, the use of exact terminology. Based on the work of Jungius, Linneo accurately defined several morphological terms that would be used in his descriptions of each species or genre, in particular those related to the floral morphology and the morphology of the fruit. However, Linneo himself noticed the failures of his system and sought new alternatives in vain. Its concept of the constancy of each species was an obvious obstacle to the establishment of a natural system since that conception of the species denied the existence of natural variations, which are essential to the development of a natural system. This contradiction remained for a long time and was not resolved until 1859 with the work of Charles Darwin. Over the centuries XVII and XVIII There were also two scientific disciplines that, from that moment on, would have a profound influence on the development of all areas of botany: anatomy and plant physiology.

The essential ideas of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection would significantly influence the conception of plant classification. Thus, phylogenetic classifications appeared, based primarily on the evolutionary proximity relations between the different species, reconstructing the history of their diversification from the origin of life on Earth to the present day. The first system admitted as phylogenetic was the content in the Syllabus der Planzenfamilien (1892) by Adolf Engler and later known as the Engler system whose numerous subsequent adaptations have been the basis of a universal framework of reference that has been ordained (and still ordered) many treaties of flora and herbals around the world, although some of its principles to interpret the evolutionary process in plants have been abandoned by modern science.

The centuries XIX and XX. have been particularly fruitful in botanical research, which have led to the creation of numerous disciplines such as ecology, geobotics, cytogenetics and molecular biology and, in recent decades, a conception of taxonomy based on phylogeny and molecular DNA analysis and the first publication of the genome sequence of an angiosperma: Arabidopsis thaliana.

Modern Botany (since 1945)

Significance of botany as a science

The different groups of plants participate fundamentally in the cycles of the biosphere. Plants and algae are the primary producers, responsible for capturing solar energy on which most terrestrial life depends, for the creation of organic matter and also, as a by-product, for the generation of oxygen that floods the atmosphere and justifies that almost all organisms take advantage of aerobic metabolism.

Human nutrition

Almost everything we eat comes from plants, either consuming them directly (fruits, vegetables), or indirectly through cattle that are fed with plants that make up the forage. Therefore, plants are the base of the entire food chain, or what ecologists call the first trophic level. The study of plants and breeding techniques to produce food are key to being able to feed the world and provide food security for future generations. However, as all plants are not beneficial To this end, botany also studies the species considered harmful to agriculture. He also studies the pathogens (phytopathology) that affect the plant kingdom and the interaction of humans with this kingdom (ethnobotany).

Fundamental Biological Processes

Plants can be studied in their fundamental processes (such as cell division and protein synthesis, for example), but without the ethical problems involved in studying animals or humans. The laws of heredity were discovered in this way by Gregor Mendel, who studied how pea morphology is inherited. The laws discovered by Mendel from the study of plants have known subsequent developments, and have been applied to the plants themselves to obtain new beneficial varieties. Another classic study carried out in plants was carried out by Barbara McClintock, who discovered the 'jumping genes' of the plants. (or transposons) studying corn. These are examples that show how botany has been of paramount importance for the understanding of fundamental biological processes.

Plant Applications

Many of our medicines and drugs, like cannabis, come directly from the plant kingdom. Other medicinal products are derived from substances of plant origin; thus, aspirin is a derivative of salicylic acid, which was originally obtained from willow bark. Research on pharmaceutically useful products in plants is an active field of work that yields good results. Popular stimulants such as coffee (because of its caffeine content), chocolate, tobacco (because of the nicotine), and tea are of plant origin. Many alcoholic beverages derive from the fermentation of plants such as barley, corn, and grapes.

Plants also provide us with many materials, such as cotton, wood, paper, linen, vegetable oil, some types of rope, and plastics. Silk production would not be possible without the cultivation of mulberry trees. Sugarcane and other plants have recently been used as biomass to produce a renewable energy alternative to fossil fuel.

Understanding environmental changes

Plants can also aid in understanding environmental changes in many ways.

• Understanding the destruction of habitat and endangered species depends on a complete and accurate catalog of plants, systematic and taxonomy.
• Plant response to ultraviolet radiation can monitor problems such as holes in the ozone layer.
• Pollen analysis deposited by plants in billions of years ago can help scientists rebuild the climates of the past and predict the future, an essential part of research on climate change.
• Collecting and analyzing life cycle time is important for phenology used for research on climate change.
• Lichens, sensitive to atmospheric conditions, have extensive use as pollution indicators.
• Plants can serve as ‘sensors’, a kind of “early warning signs” that alerts important changes in the environment.
• Finally, plants are highly valued in the recreational aspect for millions of people who enjoy their use in gardening, horticulture and culinary art.

Disciplines

Subdisciplines of botany

Related Disciplines

Methods of botany

Herbarium

Drying of specimens in a herbal of Burkina Faso.

A herbarium (from the Latin herbarium) is a collection of plants or parts of plants, preserved, almost always through drying, processed for conservation, and identified, and accompanied by important information, such as scientific name and common name, utility, characteristics of the live plant and the sampling site, as well as the location of the point where it was collected. These plants are preserved indefinitely, and constitute an information bank that represents the flora or vegetation of a given region in a reduced space. These specimens are often used as reference material to define a plant taxon; as they contain the holotypes for these plants. The nomenclatural type or, simply, type is a specimen of a given species on which the description of the same has been made and that, in this way, validates the publication of a scientific name based on it.

The type of a species name is usually the herbarium specimen (or herbarium sheet) from which the description validating the name has been drawn. The type of a genus name is the species on which the original description validating the name was based. The type of a family name is the genus on which the original valid description was based. For taxon names higher than family rank, the typing principle does not apply.

Botanical Garden

Botanic Garden of Curitiba.

Botanical gardens (from the Latin hortus botanicus) are institutions authorized by a public, private or associative body (sometimes the management is mixed) whose objective is the study, conservation and dissemination of the plant diversity. They are characterized by exhibiting scientific collections of living plants, which are cultivated to achieve one of these objectives: their conservation, research, dissemination and teaching.

Botanical gardens exhibit plants from all over the world, generally with the aim of encouraging visitors' interest in the plant world, although some of these gardens are dedicated exclusively to certain plants and specific species.

International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi and plants