COURSE STRUCTURE AND CONTENT

There are 10 lessons in this course:

Lesson 1: Introduction to Taxonomy 

• Introduction to Plant Taxonomy
• Scientific Vs. Vernacular Names
• Linnaeus
• Binomials
• Uniformity
• Protein Analysis
• Ranks and Language
• Ranks of Classification - KPCOFGS
• Plant Phyla
• Plant Families
• Genus and Species
• Latin Names
• Gardener's Ranks
• Hybrids
• Subspecies
• Varieties
• Cultivars
• International Code of Botanical Nomenclature
• The Basic Ideas
• Principle of Priority
• Legitimate Naming
• Recent Changes to the Code
• International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants
• Taxonomic Name Resolution Service
• International Plant Names Index
• Trademarks & Patents
• Plant Breeders Rights
• The Rise of Molecular Data
• The Impact of Molecular Data

Lesson 2: Describing Plant Parts

• Habit
• Stems
• Hairs
• Leaves
• Compound and Simple Leaves
• Leaf Shapes
• Leaf Margins
• Leaf Structure
• Leaf Arrangements
• Leaf Venation
• Leaf Modifications
• Roots
• Root Modifications
• Terminology
• Flowers
• The Inflorescence
• Fruits
• Dry Fruits
• Fleshy Fruits
• Compound Fruits
• A Key to the Main Types of Fruits
• Terminology

Lesson 3: Recording & Analysing Plant Descriptions

• HERBARIA - Collecting and Preserving a Plant
• Fresh Material
• Arranging Plants for Pressing
• Pressing Difficult Specimens
• The Drying Process
• Herbarium Specimens
• Photographs
• The Problem of Colour
• The Law Relating to Plant Collecting
• Describing a Plant on Paper
• The Equipment You Need
• Botanical illustration
• Floral Diagrams
• Floral Diagram Technique
• Floral Formulae
• DNA Barcoding
• Process of Using DNA Barcoding for Plant Identification
• Applications of DNA Barcoding
• CHEMICAL ANALYSIS (Chemotaxonomy)

Lesson 4: Taxonomic Techniques 

• The advantages of using keys and their limitations
• Using a key
• The rules when making a key
• Lamiaceae (Simplified Key)
• Rules When Writing Couplets
• Best Practice Points
• Making a key
• Why botanical families are so useful when identifying plants

Lesson 5: Primitive Plants

• The Bryophytes
• Mosses
• Liverworts
• Hornworts
• VASCULAR PLANTS or tracheophytes
• Vascular Tissue and Why it is Important in Evolution of Life on Earth
• A glossary to help you
• The Lycopodiopsida (or Lycophytes)
• Clubmosses - Plants in the family Lycopodiaceae
• Quillworts - Plants in the Family Isoetaceae
• Spike Mosses or Lesser Clubmosses – Plants in the Family Selaginellaceae
  the euphyllophytes – the seed plants, horsetails, and ferns
• The Seed Plants
• Horsetails
• The Ferns

Lesson 6: Seed Plants

• The gymnosperms
• The cycads – 1 order, 3 families, 10 genera, 285 species
• Ginkgo - 1 order, 1 families, 1 genus, 1 species
• The Gnetidae - 3 orders, 3 families, 3 genera, 71 species
• Welwitschiaceae - 1 Genus, 1 Species
• Gnetaceae - 1 Genus, 30 Species
• The conifers - 3 orders, 6 families, 69 genera, 591 species
• The Conifers’ Life History
• The Cycads, Ginkgo, and Gnetidae — How they Differ from the Conifers
• The Six Families of Conifers
• The Angiosperms
• Flowers and Why they are Important in Evolution of Life on Earth
• The Flowering Plant’s Life History
• The Diversity of Angiosperms
• Phylogeny of Land Plants
• Introduction
• Darwin’s Tree of Life Metaphor - The Hidden Bond of Descent
• Why Use DNA Sequences for Classification?
• The Principle of Monophyly

Lesson 7: The Phylogeny of Land Plants

• The major changes in flowering plant taxonomy
• The End of the Monocot-Dicot Split
• Finally, Some Resolution Within the Monocots
• Some Surprises
• Name Changes Resulting from the Increase in Evidence
• When Applying the Principle of Monophyly Results in Name Changes
• What we can learn from phylogenies

Lesson 8: Monocotyledons

• Summary of Important Families
• The Monocots — SIGNIFICANT FAMILIES
• Arecaceae
• Aizoaceae (syn. Ficoidaceae)
• Dioscoraceae
• Liliaceae
• Orchidaceae
• Iridaceae
• Amaryllidaceae
• Asparagaceae
• Arecaceae
• Pontederiaceae
• Musaceae
• Bromeliaceae
• Poaceae
• Cyperaceae
• Juncaceae

Lesson 9: Dicotyledons (Part I)

• Important Dicot Families
• Key to Selected Angiosperm Families
• Lower-growing Soft-wooded Plants
• Apiaceae
• Asteraceae
• Brasicaceae
• Crassulaceae
• Lamiaceae
• Euphorbiaceae
• Gesneriaceae
• Ranunculaceae

Lesson 10: Dicotyledons (Part 2)

• Fabaceae - Papilionoideae, Mimosoideae, Caesalpinoideae
• Fagaceae
• Ericaceae
• Malvaceae
• Myrtaceae
• Ongaraceae
• Rosaceae
• Proteaceae
• Rutaceae
• Rubiaceae

COURSE AIMS

• Explain how plants are classified, including both benefits of and contradictions within the scientific system as followed by horticulturists and botanical scientists across different parts of the world
• Examine and describe parts of a plant, both sexual and asexual, at various stages of the plant’s life cycle.
• Process descriptive information about a plant using taxonomic techniques that involve processing that data to create a better understanding and/or record of that information.
• Explain a variety of tools used in taxonomic work.
• Explain the taxonomy of land plants that do not produce seeds.
• Explain taxonomy of a range of significant, seed producing plants, including gymnosperms.
• Explain the relationship between different types of plants (i.e. phylogeny), and how molecular information impacts on this in taxonomic considerations.
• Differentiate between at least 10 different families of monocotyledon plants, through inspection and identification of a range of commonly shared characteristics within that family.
• Differentiate between at least 10 different families of dicotyledon plants which predominantly contain lower growing soft wooded plants or herbs; through inspection and identification of a range of commonly shared characteristics within that family.
• Differentiate between at least 10 different families of dicotyledon plants which predominantly contain woody trees and shrubs; through inspection and identification of a range of commonly shared characteristics within that family.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Yes -definitely. You not only learn a broad framework of all sorts of plants from the simplest to the most complex species; but you are given field work tasks throughout the course that sees you observing different plants and discussing them with other people near to where you live,. That helps deepen and broaden your understanding of local plants no matter where you live

Do I learn to understand botanical terms used to describe plants?

Yes; you learn to closely observe plants and the structural features of flowers, leaves and other parts, which distinguish one plant species from another. You will greatly increase your ability to not only read and understand a plant description, but also to describe a plant in terms of it's differentiating characteristics.

How Practical is the course?

It is a balanced mix of theory and practical with field work tasks inserted throughout the whole course.

Do I need to buy additional equipment or reference materials?

No. The school has built up a great deal of resource material over decades of teaching plant identification; and a significant range of material is available in digital form, for our academic support staff to access when they need to support you.  You won't need to purchase any costly extra equipment. A magnifying glass, tweezers and a razor blade may sometimes be useful, but nothing more elaborate than that.

This includes dozens of illustrated ebooks and produced a lot of videos to explain different plant families, and well over 1000 articles - some from the hundreds of magazines we have written for. others from elsewhere.  In short we have extensive and unique resources to support our students.