Research Training in Field Botany
Instructor: Dr. Beth Lynch, Luther College
In this class you will learn the characteristics of about 25 common flowering plant families and how to identify plants using technical keys. In addition to lectures and lab activities, many days we will spend some or all of the class time outside. You’ll need to come to class have completed pre-lab assignments and be ready to take notes, participate in class activities, and go out in the field. I ask that you keep notes from lectures and field trips, and a field notebook for documenting the plants in your collection (more on that soon).
My goals for this course are to help students 1) learn the vegetative and reproductive structures of plants important for their identification, 2) learn the characteristics of common flowering plant families, 3) learn to identify plants using taxonomic keys, and 4) gain an appreciation of the diversity and ecology of flowering plants of the southern Rocky Mountains.
Prerequisites
One year of college biology.
Course requirements
Plant collection. The best way to learn to identify plants is to spend a lot of time finding and keying out plants. We will do some of this in class, but in addition you are also expected to work a minimum of 8 hours each week outside of class time. At the end of the class you will turn in a collection of plants that you have identified. I will provide more details about this in a separate handout.
Quizzes and tests. Each week there will be a quiz that will cover terminology, family characteristics, and/or plant identification with keys. There will also be a final test covering all aspects of the course.
This course will require strenuous hiking. Students are expected to be in strong physical condition.
Assessment
The final grade for the class will be based on the following components:
Plant collection 40%
Quizzes 30%
Final test 30%
Textbooks (available in Gothic):
"Colorado Flora: Western Slope" (2001) William A. Weber and Ronald C, Whittmann, University of Colorado Press, 3rd edition. (required)
Equipment required: 10X hand lens, pocket knife, field notebook, 8x10 index cards, pencils, plastic bags, daypack, water bottle, raincoat, sweater, sunscreen, sunglasses, and hiking boots. You will also need camping equipment (sleeping bag, pad, tent).
Class schedule (This is only a guess; be prepared for changes as we go along!)
All class sessions meet in Barclay Classroom East unless we make other arrangements. Please come on time.
Mon 28 June
am Lecture: Overview of course and plant communities of the Gothic area
Lecture/lab: Plant morphology for field id
pm Field lab/hike: Plant identification with dichotomous keys
Tue 29 June
am Lecture/lab: Plant families (eudicots and core eudicots) and plant classification
pm Field lab/hike: TBA
Field quiz: Morphological characters for plant identification
Mon 5 July
am Lecture/lab: Plant families (rosids, eurosids, asterids)
pm Field lab/hike: TBA
Tue 6 July
all day Field trip: TBA
Field quiz: Plant family recognition and identification with keys
Mon 12 July
am Lecture/lab: Plant families (eusasterids)
Laboratory: Preparation of herbarium specimens
pm Lecture/lab: Plant families (monocots)
Tue/Wed 13-14 July
2 days Field trip: location TBA
Field quiz: Plant family recognition and identification with keys
Mon 19 July
Final test
Plant collection due