Jump to: Basic Biological Concepts | Plant Structure and Function | Botanical Diversity Excluding Plants | Plant Diversity | Ecology and Field Botany | Copyright | Acknowledgements

About the Collection

This collection of resources was originally organized to serve the needs of the students and instructors of the introductory course General Botany (Botany 130). While these resources target the needs of one specific course, others will find them useful for references and as a source of teaching materials. The UW-Madison Botany Department prefers that the botany images and movie clips be used for any educational purpose as long as they are not incorporated into a mass-distributed work. Specifically, the UW-Madison Botany Department does not want the images or movies copied and incorporated onto another web server, nor used in a publication without permission from the Department of Botany. These may be copied and used in Power Point presentations, and in any other instructional context as long as they are delivered to a limited local audience. For more information contact Michael Clayton This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , the coordinator of General Botany and curator of this collection.

General Botany is an introductory life-science course offered through the Department of Botany. It encompasses five basic areas which are reflected in the organization of this collection. For more information on Botany 130, go to the University of Wisconsin Botany Teaching Collection Information Page.

1. Basic Biological Concepts
   These topics are not specific to botany, and are a central part of any biology curriculum. The resources for each topic are not universal but mirror the specific set of activities conducted in each lab exercise.
   • Microscope
   • Organic Compounds
   • Diffusion, osmosis and imbibition
   • Plant cell
   • Respiration
   • Photosynthesis
   • Mitosis
   • Meiosis
2. Plant Structure and Function
   Plant structure is a major component in any basic botany course. In General Botany, we try to link our study of structure to how a plant functions to survive in its environment, and to the evolutionary process responsible for the development of plant strcuture.
   • Plant morphology (external plant form)
   • Embryogenesis and early development of the plant body (embryogeny and seedling development)
   • Cells and tissues of the plant body (vascular plants)
   • Root structure
   • Stem structure
   • Leaf structure
   • Secondary growth (plant structure resulting from the growth of lateral meristems (cambia))
   • Wood
   • Transport (in the xylem and phloem)
   • Tropisms (plant growth responses to environmental stimuli)
   • Plant growth substances (chemical messengers which regulate plant growth responses)
   • Plant modifications and evolution (evolutionary modifications in response to specific environmental challenges)
3. Botanical Diversity Excluding Plants
   The course surveys a sampling of the major groups of organisms included in the discipline. These include all the organisms considered to be plants back when all organisms were considered to be either plants or animals. This collection consists of reference images of groups still included in botany, but which are not considered to be true plants.
   • Bacteria
   • Protists
   • Fungi
   • Green algae
4. Plant Diversity
   This collection includes examples from each of the major groups of true plants.
   • Bryophytes
     1. Mosses
     2. Hornworts
     3. Liverworts
   • Fern Allies
     1. Psilophytes
     2. Lycophytes
     3. Horsetails
   • Ferns
   • Gymnosperms
     1. Conifers
     2. Cycads
     3. Ginkgo
     4. Gnetophytes
   • Angiosperms
5. Ecology and Field Botany
   • Symbiosis
   • Spring field trip to the Arboretum (Succession)
   • Trees and shrubs on campus
   • Botany on campus

Copyright

Copyright © University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents.

This digital version of the University of Wisconsin - Madison Botany Department Teaching Collection is published by the Libraries of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

These images may be freely used in lectures, in lab classes as a reference, and in any other mode of communication restricted to a local audience. They may not be copied to a web page, or used in a printed work, or mass distributed in any way without permission through the Department of Botany at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Requests for use of these materials for mass distribution may be directed to Michael Clayton ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ).

Acknowledgements

Special thanks are due to Steven Dast, Amy Rudersdorf, Charles Dean, and Tom Durkin with the University of Wisconsin Digital Collections Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Library. This publication of the collection, as presented in its current form, would not have been possible without their hard work and patience.