Handbook

This subject focuses on the flowering plants (the angiosperms), the most successful plants on the planet and vital for our survival. We start with an overview of plants, highlighting their intimate association with us, from domestication of important food species to plants of cultural and pharmacological significance. A summary of the evolutionary leaps that brought us the angiosperms is provided and this highlights their success among the land plants. The importance of classification and specific naming of plants for scientific study is also reviewed. The subject then moves from the atomic to molecular, 'molecules of life', through cell structure, cell division, meristems, tissues, and to that most important of life processes - photosynthesis. We then examine the reproductive sequence of flowers, fruits and seeds, followed by the vegetative parts: stems, roots and leaves. Linked and integrated through these topics is an exploration of how plants respond to their environment through signal molecules such as phytochrome and hormones. Finally we look at how water, minerals and sugar are transported through xylem and phloem.

This subject will cover the following topics:

• Unit1: The science of botany; origins of agriculture; plants and people; taxonomy; evolution and research methodology;
• Unit 2: From molecules to cells;
• Unit 3: Energy and cell division - photosynthesis; respiration and how cells divide;
• Unit 4: Plant structure, growth and development;
• Unit 5: Angiosperm diversity and reproduction; flowers fruits and seeds;
• Unit 6: Plant behaviour; hormones and response to external stimuli;
• Unit 7: Stems; forms and function;
• Unit 8: Roots; form function and nutrition through symbiotic relationships;
• Unit 9: Leaves 1: Leaf functions and specialisations; and
• Unit 10: Leaves 2: Adaptions of photosynthetic metabolism and functions besides photosynthesis.