Brittany SutherlandJan 5, 2023

Hi, plant folks! I have a question:

I'm teaching a plant diversity course this spring. Because we don't have a Botany course here, I'm trying to split the difference and heavily cover botanical basics in the first half before I start surveying groups.

The nutshell is that I have about six weeks to cover the Angiosperms. I can cover everything terribly or a subset well.

Therefore: What are your MUST KNOW Angiosperm groups for U.S. based students, mostly Ecology majors? Please opine and boost!

Show threadNorbert HolsteinJan 6, 2023
@SutherlandBL Go for the families that have the biggest impact: Poaceae (monocot root system, flowers), Cyperaceae (flower), Lamiaceae (useful plants, bee pollination syndrome), Fabaceae (flowers/pollination, mention root nodules/nitrogen fixation), Asteraceae, Brassicaceae (easy flower, sec. metabolites as defense), Ranunculaceae (easy flower, useful plants/modifacations/nutrient storage), Fagaceae (wind pollination syndrome, wood structure).
Show threadNorbert HolsteinJan 6, 2023
@SutherlandBL Of course monocots vs. dicots. fruit types with examples. Seed vs. Fruit.
Probably some waterplant, too (simple monocot flower, adaptations).
Show threadBrittany Sutherland
@dr_norb I've got some aquatics, both angiosperm and fern. I've worked on Salvinia, so that's going in there, and I'm covering the ANA grade.
Jan 6, 2023 at 1:37pmWeb