BOTANY #1

an introduction to botany
Plant, Scientific study, Concepts
 Literature
• Mauseth, J. D. 1998. Botany : An Introduction to
Plant Biology. Jones & Bartlett Publishers, Inc.
• Stern, Jansky, Bidlack. 2003. Introductory Plant
Biology, Ninth Edition. The McGraw−Hill
Companies
• Lack, A.J. and D.E. Evans. 2005. Plant Biology –
instants note. BIOS Scientific Publishers Ltd.
• Campbell, N. A. 2008. Biology, Eight Edition.
Pearson Education, Inc.
 BOTANY ?
• Botany is the scientific study of
plants.
• Concepts "plants" and "scientific
study."
• What is a plant ?
• Plants have so many types and
variations that a simple definition
has many exceptions, and a
definition that includes all plants
and excludes all nonplants may
be too complicated to be useful.
 What is a PLANT ?
• Most plants have green • But you can think of
leaves, stems, roots, and exceptions immediately.
flowers (Fig. 1.1). • Conifers such as pine,
spruce, and fir have
cones rather than
flowers (Fig. 1.2), and
many cacti and
succulents do not appear
to have leaves.
Figure 1.1 This morning glory (Ipomoea) is
obviously a flowering plant. It is a vine
with long, slender stems and simple
leaves that occur in pairs. It has an
extensive root system, not visible here
 Is it a plant ?
• But both conifers
and succulents are
obviously plants
because they
closely resemble
organisms that
unquestionably Figure 1.2 Conifers, like this spruce (Picea),
produce seeds in cones; the conifers, together
are plants with the flowering plants and a few other
groups, are known as seed plants
 Is it a plant ?
• Similarly, ferns (pakis) and mosses (lumut) (Figs.
1.3 and 1.4) are easily recognized as plants.

Figure 1.3 Ferns have several Figure 1.4 Of all terrestrial plants,
features in common with flowering mosses have the least in common with
plants; they have leaves, stems, and flowering plants. They have structures
roots. However, they never produce called "leaves" and "stems," but these
seeds, and they have neither flowers are not the same as in flowering plants.
nor wood They have no roots at all.
 Is it a plant ?
• Fungi, such as
mushrooms (Fig. 1.5)
and puffballs, were
included in the plant
kingdom because
they are immobile
Figure 1.5 Fungi such as these
and produce spores, mushrooms are not considered to be
plants. They are never green and
which function cannot obtain their energy from
sunlight. Also, their tissues and
somewhat like seeds. physiology are quite different from
those of plants.
Tapi para ahli biologi tidak lagi menganggap jamur sebagai tanaman karena pengamatan
terbaru menunjukkan bahwa jamur berbeda dari tumbuhan dalam banyak hal biokimia
dasar.
 Is it a plant ?
• Algae are more
problematical. One
group, the green
algae (Fig. 1.6), are
similar to plants in
biochemistry and
cell structure, but Figure 1.6 Algae do not look much like plants,
they also have but many aspects of their biochemistry and
cellular organization are very similar to those
many significant of plants. Some of the green algae were the
ancestors of land plants; although not
differences. considered to be true plants, they are
obviously closely related to plants
 What is a Scientific Method ?
• The concept of a scientific study can
be understood by examining earlier
approaches to studying nature.
• Until the 15th century, three
principal methods for analyzing and
explaining the universe and its
phenomena were used: religion,
metaphysics, and speculative
philosophy
 Religious methods
• The universe is assumed either to be created by or to
contain deities.
• The important feature is that the actions of gods
cannot be studied:
• Agricultural studies would be useless because some
years crops might flourish or fail because of weather or
disease, but in other years crop failure might be due to
a god's intervention (a miracle) to reward or punish
people.
• A fundamental principle of all religions is faith: People
must believe in the god without physical proof of its
existence or actions
 Metaphysical system
• Supernatural, hidden forces that can never be
observed or studied.
• The natural processes of physics and
chemistry are believed to be controlled by
unknown and unknowable forces.
• Many people still believe in metaphysics
without realizing it: accurate horoscopes, and
reliable methods for picking the winning
numbers in a lottery
 Speculative philosophy
• Greek philosophers.
• Analyze the world involved thinking about it logically.
• Develop logical explanations for simple observations,
then followed the logic as far as possible.
• Did not involve verification; philosophical predictions
were made, but no actual experiment or observation
was performed to see if they were correct.
• A problem with this method is that often several
alternative conclusions are equally plausible logically;
only experimentation reveals which is actually true.
 The scientific method
Starting in the 1400s several fundamental
tenets (prinsip) were established:
• All accepted information can be derived
only from carefully documented and
controlled observations or experiments
• Only phenomena and objects that can
be observed and studied are dealt with
(berhubungan);
• All proposed explanations of natural
phenomena must be tested and
verified;
Scientific studies
• Begin with a series of
observations, followed by a period
of experimentation mixed with
further observation and analysis.
• At some point, a hypothesis, or
model, is constructed to account
for the observations
Example
• A pair of simple alternative
hypotheses: (1) Plants need
light to grow. (2) Plants do not
need light to grow.
• The experimental testing may involve the
comparison of several plants outdoors, some in
light and others heavily shaded, or it may involve
several plants indoors, some in the normal gloom
and others illuminated by a window or a skylight.
• Such experiments give results consistent with
hypothesis 1; hypothesis 2 would be rejected
Hypothesis to a theory
• A hypothesis must continue
to be tested in various ways.
• Must be consistent with
further observations and
experiments,
• Must be able to predict the
results of future experiments
• If a hypothesis continues to
match observations, it may
come to be called a theory
Areas Where the Scientific Method Is
Inappropriate
• Example : Science can study, measure, analyze,
and describe the factors that cause people to kill
each other or to be racist or sexist, and it can
predict the outcome (reaksi/hasil) of these
actions.
• But science cannot say if such actions are right or
wrong, moral or immoral
• It more important to have well-developed
moral/religius and philosophical systems for
assessing the appropriateness of various actions
(menilai kesesuaian berbagai tindakan)
Using Concepts to
Understand Plants
• These concepts will make
plant biology more easily
understood the numerous
facts, figures, names, and data
will be less overwhelming
when you realize that they all
fit into the patterns governed
by a few fundamental
concepts
 Fundamental concepts of
Plant
1. Plant metabolism is based on the principles
of chemistry and physics
2. Plants must have a means of storing and
using information
3. Plants reproduce, passing their genes and
information on to their descendants
4. Genes, and the information they contain,
change
5. Plants must survive in their own
environment
6. Plants are highly integrated organisms
7. An individual plant is the temporary result
of the interaction of genes and environment
8. Plants do not have purpose or decision-
making capacity
 (b) have received from their parents the
information for growing into pea plants.
Figure 1.9 (a) The seeds of this Each type of plant differs from other
tomato (Lycopersicon) have types in the information that it carries.
received, in the form of genes,
the information necessary to
produce a new tomato plant,
whereas the peas
• Figure 1.10 (a) A plant produces numerous offspring, many of which
resemble it strongly (b). Mutations may occur that cause, for instance,
leaves to be malformed and poorly shaped for photosynthesis (c); most
or all of these mutants die and do not reproduce. The normal plants
continue to reproduce (b and d), but another mutation may occur that
causes the leaves to be larger and more efficient at photosynthesis (e).
These may grow so well that they crowd out the original parental types,
and the plant population finally contains only the type with large leaves.
INTRODUCTION

2. Approach
To understand the Big needs to understand the Small

Our journey begins here.

Simple to Complex – Life’s Levels of Organization

INTRODUCTION

3. Life
As Botany = study of plant life, then what is life?
• If we were to list the criteria for defining life
what would they be?
– All living things are composed of cells
– They have self regulating metabolisms
– They move
– Respond to stimuli
– Reproduce
– Adapt to environment
INTRODUCTION

• Plant life means

1. Organization: Being composed of one or more
Cells, which are the basic units of life.
2. Metabolism: Consumption of energy by converting
nonliving material into cellular components
(anabolism) and decomposing organic matter
(catabolism)
3. Growth: Maintenance of a higher rate of synthesis
than catalysis
4. Adaptation: The ability to change over a period of
time in response to the environment
5. Reproduction: The ability to produce new
organisms (the production of new cells in the
process of growth )
• Historically, botany covers all organisms that
were not considered to be animals
• Some of these organisms are:
– Plants
– Plant-like organisms
include fungi, (studied in mycology), bacteria , and
viruses (studied in microbiology), and algae (studied
in phycology).
• The study of plants has importance for a
number of reasons:
1. Plants has a fundamental part of life on Earth.
2. They generate the oxygen, food, fibers, fuel and
medicine that allow higher life forms to exist.
3. Plants also absorb carbon dioxide through
photosynthesis, that in large amounts can effect
global climate.
4. Biology Systems
• Biology organizes living things
along certain levels.
– at a chemical level, looking at the
biochemistry of organisms, or
– at a cellular level where interest in the
structure and functions of cells and cell
physiology is considered, or
– at the levels of tissues or organs.
5. CELL
• All life begins in one cell which consists of organelles
– Organelles consist of molecules
– Molecules consist of chemical elements
–  chemistry of life
• The CELL is the smallest unit of living matter. The
smallest living things are one-celled animals (certain
bacteria and algae)
• Larger organisms are collections of cells in which cells
are differentiated by function by act in concert, that is
they are organized and cooperate.
• Cells are the basic and fundamental unit of structure,
physiology, and organization of all living organisms.
• Knowing the composition of cells and how cells work
is fundamental to all of the biological sciences
 Scope and importance of botany
• The study of plants has importance for a number of
reasons.
• Plants are a fundamental part of life on Earth. They
generate the oxygen, food, fibres, fuel and medicine
that allow higher life forms to exist.
• Plants also absorb carbon dioxide through
photosynthesis, a minor greenhouse gas that in large
amounts can affect global climate.
• A good understanding of plants is crucial to the
future of human societies as it allows us to:
1. Produce food to feed an expanding population
2. Understand fundamental life processes
3. Produce medicine and materials to treat diseases
and other ailments
4. Understand environmental changes more clearly
 Human nutrition
• foods eaten  come from plants, (directly from staple
foods and other fruit and vegetables, or indirectly
through livestock or other animals, which rely on plants
for their nutrition.
• Plants are the fundamental base of nearly all food chains
 they use the energy from the sun and nutrients from
the soil and atmosphere and convert them into a form
that can be consumed and utilized by animals.
• Botanists also study how plants produce food we can eat
and how to increase yields and therefore their work is
important in mankind's ability to feed the world and
provide food security for future generations, for example
through plant breeding.
• Botanists also study weeds, plants which are considered
to be a nuisance in a particular location. Weeds are a
considerable problem in agriculture, and botany provides
some of the basic science used to understand how to
minimize 'weed' impact in agriculture and native
ecosystems
 Fundamental life processes
• Plants are convenient organisms in which
fundamental life processes (like cell division
and protein synthesis for example) can be
studied, without the ethical dilemmas of
studying animals or humans.
• The genetic laws of inheritance were
discovered in this way by Gregor Mendel,
who was studying the way pea shape is
inherited. What Mendel learned from
studying plants has had far reaching benefits
outside of botany.
• These are a few examples that demonstrate
how botanical research has an ongoing
relevance to the understanding of
fundamental biological processes.
 Medicine and material
• Many medicinal and recreational drugs, like
tetrahydrocannabinol, caffeine, and nicotine come
directly from the plant kingdom.
• Popular stimulants like coffee, chocolate, tobacco,
and tea also come from plants.
• Most alcoholic beverages come from fermenting
plants such as barley (beer), rice (saki) and grapes
(wine).
• Plants also provide us with many natural materials,
such as cotton, wood, paper, linen, vegetable oils,
some types of rope, and rubber.
• Sugarcane, rapeseed, soy and other plants with a
highly-fermentable sugar or oil content have
recently been put to use as sources of biofuels,
which are important alternatives to fossil fuels, see
biodiesel.
 Environmental changes
• Plants can also help us understand changes in on our
environment in many ways.
• Understanding habitat destruction and species
extinction is dependent on an accurate and complete
catalog of plant systematics and taxonomy.
• Plant responses to ultraviolet radiation can help us
monitor problems like the ozone depletion.
• Analyzing pollen deposited by plants thousands or
millions of years ago can help scientists to reconstruct
past climates and predict future ones, an essential part
of climate change research.
• Recording and analyzing the timing of plant life cycles
are important parts of phenology used in climate-
change research.
• Lichens, which are sensitive to atmospheric
conditions, have been extensively used as pollution
indicators.
 Subdisciplines of Botany
• Agronomy—Application of plant science to crop production
• Bryology—Mosses, liverworts, and hornworts
• Economic botany—The place of plants in economics
• Ethnobotany—Relationship between humans and plants
• Forestry—Forest management and related studies
• Horticulture—Cultivated plants
• Paleobotany—Fossil plants
• Palynology—Pollen and spores
• Phycology - Algae
• Phytochemistry—Plant secondary chemistry and chemical
processes
• Phytopathology—Plant diseases
• Plant anatomy—Cell and tissue structure
• Plant ecology—Role of plants in the environment
• Plant genetics—Genetic inheritance in plants
• Plant morphology—Structure and life cycles
• Plant physiology—Life functions of plants
• Plant systematics—Classification and naming of plants
DIVERSIFICATION OF
PLANT STUDY
• Plant anatomy, which is concerned
chiefly (terutamanya) with the
internal structure of plants, was
established through the efforts of
several scientific pioneers
• Plant physiology, which is concerned
with plant function . including how
plants conduct materials internally;
how temperature, light, and water are
involved in growth; why plants flower;
and how plant growth regulatory
substances are produced, to mention
just a few.
• Plant taxonomy (also called plant
systematics), which is the oldest
branch of plant study, began in
antiquity (jaman dulu). Plant
taxonomists often specialize in
certain groups of plants.
• For example, pteridologists
specialize in the study of ferns,
while bryologists study mosses
and plants with similar life cycles.
• Plant geography, the study of how
and why plants are distributed
where they are
• Plant ecology, which is the study of
the interaction of plants with one
another and with their
environment
• Plant morphology, the study of the
form and structure of plants,
• Genetics, the science of
heredity, was founded by the
Austrian monk Gregor Mendel
(1822–1884), who performed
classic experiments with pea
plants. Today, various branches
of genetics include plant
breeding, which has greatly
improved yields and quality of
crop plants, and genetic
engineering
• Cell biology (previously
called cytology), the science
of cell structure and
function, received a boost
from the discovery of how
cells multiply and how their
various components perform
and integrate a variety of
functions, including that of
sexual reproduction
• Economic Botany and ethnobotany, which involve
practical uses of plants and plant products, had their
origin in antiquity as humans discovered, used, and
eventually cultivated plants for food, fiber, medicines,
and other purposes
 Summary
1. It is difficult to define a plant. It is more
important to develop a familiarity with
plants and understand how they differ from
animals, fungi, protists, and prokaryotes.
The differences are presented in later
chapters.
2. The scientific method requires that all
information be gathered through
documented, repeatable observations and
experiments. It rejects any concept that can
never be examined, and it requires that all
hypotheses be tested and be consistent
with all relevant observations.
3. Science and religion address
completely different kinds of
problems. Science cannot solve
moral problems; religion cannot
explain physical processes.
4. Living organisms have evolved by
natural selection. As organisms
reproduce mutations cause some
offspring to be less fit, some to be
more fit. Those whose features are
best suited for the environment
grow and reproduce best and leave
more offpsring than do those that
are poorly adapted.
5. For any particular environment,
several types of adaptation can
be successful.
6. Our knowledge of the world is
incomplete and inaccurate; as
scientific studies continue,
incompleteness diminishes and
inaccuracies are corrected.