Plant Biology 1 (Ethnobotany)

• 8/13/2013: Receive "Course Syllabus", receive "The Ethical Wildcrafting of Native Plants of the Southwest", lecture and reading on "Foods That Changed the World"

Here's an article about potato plants, with a connection to the historical changes brought about by the potato as well: http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/life/botany/potato-info.htm

An interesting article on Andean potato varieties and maintaining diversity in our food supply: http://www.potato2008.org/en/potato/biodiversity.html

A great article on the ethnobotany of potatoes in Andean cultures, as well as their use as a way of preserving biodiversity in our food supply: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/06/0610_020610_potato.html

Check out this picture of crazy Andean potato varieties!! http://www.isgtw.org/images/2009/Potatoes_L.jpg

Here's a great article about an expedition to find the wild ancestors of tomatoes: http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2005/051230.htm

A photo of wild tomatoes: http://www.scielo.br/img/revistas/rbzool/v20n3/17651f1.jpg

Here's a great article on chile peppers and their influence on history: http://freebeerforyorky.com/chilistory.html

A website about peanut plants, including instructions on how to grow your own: http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/plants/pages/peanutplant.shtml

Unfortunately, one of the better websites about peanuts comes from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peanut

Here's a great ethnobotanical article about manioc and how it's processed by the Canela people: http://anthropology.si.edu/canela/manioc.htm

An article about Cacao (chocolate), including its botanical characteristics and methods of production: http://www.botgard.ucla.edu/html/botanytextbooks/economicbotany/Theobroma/index.html

An article on vanilla, including its history and uses: http://www.theepicentre.com/Spices/vanilla.html

Another article on vanilla, including how to grow it: http://www.orchids-plus-more.com/vanilla-orchid-plant.html

A great database on Hawaiian ethnobotany (made by Native Hawaiians) that includes the uses of sweet potato: http://data.bishopmuseum.org/ethnobotanydb/ethnobotany.php?b=d&ID=uala

An interactive website called "the Great Corn Adventure": http://urbanext.illinois.edu/corn/

An article about Teosinte (corn's wild ancestor), with pictures: http://hila.webcentre.ca/research/teosinte/

• 8/16: Finish "Foods That Changed the World", lecture and reading on "Medicines That Changed the World", Foods and Medicines HW (DUE Tues. 8/20):

1. Please give an example of a food from another country that has its roots in the Americas (use the links above or below if you want), and describe the path it took to get there

2. List and describe 2 examples of foods from this article that have influenced culture or society

3. Describe why it's important to have diversity in our food supply

4. Describe the specific medicinal properties of 2 plants from this article

5. Describe why scientists are regaining interest in returning to the use of plant-derived medicines, as opposed to synthetic versions, giving at least 2 examples

6. Research another medicinal plant from the Americas and describe its medicinal benefits

To help you with question 1, here's a list of food crops that originated in the Americas (scroll down to the 'crops and ingredients' section): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_American_cuisine

A pic of cinchona and cinchona bark: http://www.homeopathyandmore.com/med_images/CHINA_OFFICINALIS.jpg

Andean coca plants in their native habitat: http://www.rain-tree.com/Plant-Images/erythroxylum-pic.htm#.Ug7R3-BOTzI

Good page on the ethnobotany and indigenous use of coca: http://www.ethnoleaflets.com/leaflets/coca.htm

The ethnobotany of curare: http://www.botgard.ucla.edu/html/botanytextbooks/economicbotany/Curare/

Ethnobotanical account of the preparation of curare: http://www.minelinks.com/ecuador/hunting_2.html

To help you with question 6, here's a huge database of medicines and the plants they're derived from: http://chemistry.about.com/library/weekly/aa061403a.htm

• 8/20: Receive "Final Project Guidelines" (DUE Fri. 12/13) and "How to Make A Plant Press", lecture and reading on "Tubers From the Andes", Tubers From the Andes HW (DUE Thurs. 8/22):

1. What is "pacha kuti", and how does it relate to this article?

2. Describe how Andean people created all of the different variations in their tubers that can be seen today

3. Why are many Andean farmers no longer growing these tubers?

4. Describe 2 specific reasons why scientists are interested in saving these tubers from extinction and promoting them commercially

5. How will the Andean farmers and people benefit from the renewed cultivation of their tubers?

Here's a website that describes the medicinal properties of Anu: http://www.naturalmedicinalherbs.net/herbs/t/tropaeolum-tuberosum=anu.php

Another article with pics about the health benefits of Anu and Maca, written by scientists who are propagating it: http://www.plantsciences.ucdavis.edu/quiros/lab/macaim.htm

• 8/22: Make plant presses, begin lecture and reading on "Introduction to Botany"
• 8/27: "Introduction to Botany" continued
• 8/30: Finish "Introduction to Botany", begin lecture and reading on "Life is Cellular", Intro to Botany HW (DUE Tues. 9/3):

1. Describe the advantages that plants with a vascular system have over non-vascular ones

2. Describe the differences between xylem and phloem

3. Describe what the benefits and challenges of colonizing the land were for the earliest ancestors of plants

4. Define the process of alternation of generations in your own words

5. Describe how alternation of generations and plant reproduction differs between mosses, ferns, conifers, and flowering plants

6. Describe the difference between mitosis and meiosis in your own words. Also, what is each process used for?

Good video about plant adaptations and characteristics: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fA4rpATxaHU&feature=related

Sweet computer-generated video about what it's like to travel through xylem tissue: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ir9bm3fli90&feature=related

Another similar one about phloem sugar transport: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNtDWIx213Y&feature=related

Clear explanation of alternation of generations, in song form!: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35vPjdTNRU0

Another explanation of alternation of generations: http://www.sparknotes.com/biology/plants/lifecycle/section1.html

Good, simple video of mitosis and meiosis, with sweet computer simulations: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vsmT85nlzY&feature=related

• 9/3: Finish "Life is Cellular", lecture and reading on "Characteristics of Plants", Life is Cellular HW (DUE Fri/ 9/6):

1. List the components of the cell theory, and describe what each one means

2. Describe the differences between a prokaryote and a eukaryote. Which one are plants, and why?

3. Describe 2 structures that all cells have

4. Define "cell specialization", and state which kind of organisms it occurs in

5. Describe each level of organization in a multicellular organism

6. List and describe 2 major differences and 2 major similarities between plant and animal cells

• 9/4: Field Trip to San Xavier Co-op Farm
• 9/6: Lecture and reading on "Movement Through the Membrane", Movement Through the Membrane HW (DUE Tues. 9/10):

1. What does it mean when we say that membranes are "selectively permeable"?

2. What is the function of the cell membrane?

3. What are the effects of osmosis on cells?

4. Describe how water moves during diffusion (AKA osmosis)

5. How do plant cells avoid bursting when they're exposed to fresh water? Why is it that animal cells do not come into contact with fresh water?

6. Describe how active transport differs from diffusion

7. What is "facilitated diffusion"?

Good short animation about osmosis: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdiJtDRJQEc

Time lapse video of osmosis in the kitchen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6N1IiJTmnc&feature=related

Food coloring diffusing in water: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6nqYcrItiQ&feature=related

Good computer generated animation of diffusion: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0p1ztrbXPY&feature=related

And one about active transport: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STzOiRqzzL4&NR=1

Red blood cells in a hypertonic solution: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRQLRO3dIp8&feature=related

Now in a hypotonic solution: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EA_ss8ZkjAM&feature=related

Finally, in an isotonic solution: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plen79Fgmz0&feature=related

• 9/10: Celery and Diffusion Lab Part I, lecture and reading on "Cell Structures"
• 9/13: Unit Quiz One and Binder Check, receive "Benefits and Recipes of Two Native Foods", cooking with Native foods activity
• 9/17: Celery and Diffusion Lab Part II, finish "Cell Structures", receive "Characteristics of Cells Group Project Guidelines" (bring project materials with you to class on Fri. 9/20)

Here's a few videos and links that might help you with your projects and/ or homework:

Nice, clear overview of cell structures and functions: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCqQLoRaTNA

Overview of plant and animal cells: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jn9oJtXZYcU&feature=related

Great Discovery Channel video on cells: http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/28732-assignment-discovery-elements-of-cells-video.htm

• 9/20: Lecture and reading on "Chloroplasts and Mitochondria", Characteristics of Cells Group Project, Cell Structures HW (DUE Tues. 9/24):

1. Describe the functions of the following organelles: Endoplasmic reticulum, golgi apparatus, chloroplast, and mitochondrion

2. How are prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells similar? How are they different? How are plant and animal cells similar and different?

3. Describe the role and function of the nucleus

4. What are two functions of vacuoles? Why are plant cell vacuoles so large?

5. How is the cell like a factory?

6. If you examine a cell under a microscope and discover that it has chloroplasts, what can you guess about the organism from which the cell came from, and why?

7. Describe the theory of endosymbiosis

• 9/24: Finish Characteristics of Cells Group Project
• 9/27: Begin lecture and reading on "Finding Order in Diversity"
• 10/1: Midterm Exam and Binder Check, "Finding Order in Diversity" continued
• 10/4: No Class: Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony
• 10/7-10/11: No School- Fall Break
• 10/15: Finish "Finding Order in Diversity", Finding Order in Diversity HW (DUE Fri. 10/18):

1. Why do scientists use scientific names instead of common names?

2. Define "binomial nomenclature", and list the rules of writing a binomial name

3. Which category has more biological meaning- "all brown birds" or "all hawk-like birds", and why?

4. Describe the distinguishing characteristics of each of the following taxonomic groups: bryophytes, pteridophytes, gymnosperms, and angiosperms

5. What's the difference between a monocot and a dicot? What kinds of plants are examples of each type?

6. What are the differences between monoecious, dioecious, and hermaphroditic plants?

Here's a good explanatory website about taxonomic rankings: http://armadillo-online.org/taxonomy.html

This is an INCREDIBLY USEFUL website that you can use to look up the taxonomic ranking of any plant (good for your Final Project research): http://www.gardenguides.com/taxonomy/

Nice website devoted to bryophytes and their allies: http://bryophytes.plant.siu.edu/

Good website on pteridophytes: http://www.biologyreference.com/Po-Re/Pteridophytes.html

Another good one- the gymnosperm database: http://www.conifers.org/

One of the weirdest gymnosperms, the Welwitschia plant: http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantwxyz/welwitschia.htm

• 10/18: Lecture and reading on "Leaf Morphology", Leaf Morphology Lab, Common Ethnobotanically Significant Plant Families in the Sonoran Desert Worksheet (DUE Tues. 10/22)
• 10/22: Lecture and reading on "Leaf Tissues", Leaf Tissues HW (DUE Fri. 10/25):

1. Describe the 3 main functions of a leaf

2. Compare and contrast the leaves of angiosperms and gymnosperms. How are they similar? How are they different?

3. What are 2 main reasons plants shed their leaves? How does each process work?

4. Research a specific example of phytoremediation, summarize it, and cite your source. (2 PTS.)

• 10/25: Lecture and reading on "Root and Stem Morphology", begin Plant Morphology Lab
• 10/29: Plant Morphology Lab continued, Root and Stem Morphology HW (DUE Fri. 11/1):

1. List and describe 2 functions of roots

2. Describe the process of transpiration

3. What role does diffusion play in water uptake by roots?

4. How are herbaceous stems similar to leaves?

5. Technically speaking, what is "wood" and "bark"?

6. What is the difference between primary and secondary growth?

7. What is auxin? What does it do?

• 11/1: Finish Plant Morphology Lab, begin lecture and reading on "Photosynthesis"

Good visuals and explanations of photosynthesis, with footage of living chloroplasts: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYbMPwmwx88&feature=related

• 11/5: Finish "Photosynthesis", Photosynthesis HW (DUE Fri. 11/8):

1. What are the reactants of photosynthesis? What are the products? What is the catalyst?

2. Describe what happens in each of the 2 reactions

3. Why does the Dark Reaction still depend on light?

4. Describe the role and function of ATP and NADPH

5. Why is chlorophyll green?

6. Describe how light intensity, temperature, and CO2 concentration affect the rate of photosynthesis

7. What is photorespiration? What causes it, and what are the consequences for plants?

8. Summarize the 3 types of photosynthesis. Also, what are the advantages and disadvantages of each?

• 11/8: Unit Quiz 2 and Binder Check, lecture and reading on "Linking Human and Environmental Health Through Desert Foods"
• 11/12: "Linking Human and Environmental Health Through Desert Foods" continued, receive "The Desert's Bountiful Harvest", Desert Foods and Health HW (DUE Fri. 11/15):

1. Briefly describe the nutritional and health benefits of the following foods: Mexican Oregano, Prickly Pear, Cholla, and Chia

2. How did the traditional diet of the O'Odham people change, and why?

3. What other factors are contributing to the poor health of the O'Odham?

4. How do traditional foods (such as mesquite, tepary beans, cholla, and prickly pear) help to reduce or prevent conditions such as diabetes or obesity? Be specific.

• 11/15: Lecture and reading on "Angiosperm Reproduction", "Pollination", and "Fruits and Seeds"
• 11/19: Flower Morphology Lab
• 11/22: Finish "Fruits and Seeds", begin lecture and reading on "The Work of Gregor Mendel", Angiosperm Reproduction HW (DUE Tues. 11/26):

1. Summarize the roles of the flower organ

2. Describe the role of mitosis and meiosis in the formation of gametes in angiosperms

3. Why do most plants try to avoid self-pollination? Under what circumstances might self-pollination become a benefit?

4. Describe the differences between wind and animal-pollinated flowers and their pollen

5. Why is seed dispersal important? How are seeds dispersed?

6. Summarize the advantages of each of the 4 environmental triggers of seed germination

• 11/26: Finish "The Work of Gregor Mendel", Tomato Genetics Activity (DUE Tues. 12/3)
• 11/29: No School- Thanksgiving Break
• 12/3: Lecture and reading on "Plant Breeding", begin watching "The Botany of Desire", Plant Genetics HW (DUE Fri. 12/6):

1. What are genes? What are dominant and recessive alleles?

2. When does segregation occur? What happens to alleles during segregation?

3. Why were true-breeding pea plants important for Mendel's experiments?

4. How are the principles of probability used to predict the outcomes of genetic crosses?

5. Summarize Mendel's principles in your own words

6. What is the difference between incomplete dominance and codominance?

7. Describe the difference between traits created by multiple alleles and polygenic traits

8. What is artificial selection? How is it different from natural selection?

9. Describe the process of hybridization, and explain the benefits of this process

10. How do scientists genetically engineer plants?

11. What is the genetic bottleneck, and how did humans create it? What are the consequences of this, and how can we avoid them?

• 12/6: Continue watching "The Botany of Desire"
• 12/10: Finish watching "The Botany of Desire"
• 12/13: FINAL PROJECTS DUE, Final Exam and Binder Check, Class Evaluations (DUE Tues. 12/17)
• 12/17: Watch "Planet Earth: Jungles"
• 12/20: No School- Winter Break