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What is botany?

What is botany?. The scientific study of plants. What is a plant?. What distinguishes a plant from other forms of life?. Why is knowledge of plants important?. We are dependent on plants. Plants are producers. Genesis 1: 29-30.

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What is botany?

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  1. What is botany? • The scientific study of plants

  2. What is a plant? • What distinguishes a plant from other forms of life?

  3. Why is knowledge of plants important? • We are dependent on plants

  4. Plants are producers

  5. Genesis 1: 29-30 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beast of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.

  6. Plants as a food source

  7. Photosynthesis and sugars

  8. Cacao - chocolate

  9. Plants & the carbon cycle

  10. Photosynthesis and oxygen

  11. Plants & the nitrogen cycle

  12. Legumes & rhizobium

  13. Beverages

  14. Coffee - $65B retail US sales (2001) • 25 million coffee producing family farms • Provides for non-intoxicating social interaction

  15. Wines

  16. Cork

  17. Spices • $2 billion retail sales (U.S., 1994) • U.S. – largest producer & consumer of spices

  18. Plants & health • Natural compounds • Lycopene • Yohimbine • Medicines • taxol

  19. Saponins • Ginseng • Stomach disorders • Nervous disorders

  20. Alkaloids • Ephedrine Ephedra – Mormon tea plant

  21. Alkaloids • Quinine (feverbark tree) • Anti-malarial • 2-3 million deaths per year

  22. Phenolics • Salicin • Aspirin precursor

  23. Essential oils • Menthol (Eucalyptus)

  24. New antibiotics • Oregon grape • Berberine & 5-methoxyhydnocarpin

  25. Recreational Drugs

  26. Wood products

  27. U.S. wood consumption • Per capita consumption (1999) – 250 boardfeet • Lumber – 51 billion board feet (1999) • Industrial roundwood – 17 billion cubic feet (1999) • Wood imports – 19.9 billion boardfeet (1999) Canada (93% of imports)

  28. Paper • 10.3 million tons wood pulp (US, 2003)

  29. Textiles

  30. Plants & transportation

  31. Plants as fuel Europe – 21 million tons air-dried peat (1999)

  32. Worldwide peat distribution

  33. Horticultural peat • US, Canada, South Africa top producers >100,000 HA >800 companies

  34. Coal • U.S. production (2004): 1.07 billion tons • U.S. consumption (2004): 1.09 billion tons World coal stats Source: http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/coal/quarterly/qcr_sum.html

  35. Plants & emotions • Floriculture - $77 billion worldwide retail value (2000) • U.S. – largest floral producer

  36. Landscaping

  37. Musical instruments

  38. Plants and sports

  39. Personal care products

  40. Plant-related inventions

  41. Velcro – George de Mestral 1907-1990

  42. Conservation biology & plant resources • How do we better maintain worldwide natural resources, in the face of increasing global demand and exponential human population growth?

  43. Plants, food and population growth

  44. World population growth link

  45. In the next 50 years, can we double our food supply? • Increase land used for agriculture? • Increase crop productivity? • Convert to vegetarian diet?

  46. Worldwide land resources

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