SES 002

Definition of Botany
- It is the science that deals with the study of plants
Scope of Botany
Botany deals with the study of plants from many points of view. The scope of Botany
include:
- investigation of the internal and external structures of plants
- adaptations of plants to varying environmental conditions
- Plant distribution in space and time
- Life history of plants
- relationships among plants and and their classification
- laws involved in their evolution from lower and simpler forms to higher and more
complex ones
- laws of hereditary
- uses of plants
- different methods that can be adopted to improve plants for the use of mankind
Branches of Botany
Botany can be studied from two angles:
1. Pure Botany
2. Applied or Economic Botany
Pure Botany deals with the study of plants as they form a part of nature while applied
botany deals with the study of plants as it is applied to the well being of mankind.

The branches of botany include:

1. Morphology: deals with the study of forms and features of different plant organs
such as roots, stems, leaves, flowers, seeds and fruits. The study of the internal
structures of such organs is termed histology or anatomy
2. Histology: The study of the detailed structure of tissues making up a particular
organ
3. Anatomy: The study of the gross internal structure of a plant organ, as seen in a
section
4. Physiology: deals with the various functions that plants perform. The functions may
be vital or mechanical
5. Ecology: deals with the inter-relationships between plants and the environment they
live in
6. Plant Geography: deals with the distribution of plants over the surface of the earth
and the factors responsible for this distribution
7. Taxonomy or systematic Botany: deals with the description and identification of
plants and their classification into various natural groups according to the similarities
and differences between their morphological characteristics.
8. Organic evolution: deals with the sequence of descent of more complex, more
recent, more advanced types of plants (and animals) from the simpler, earlier and more
primitive types through successive stages over the centuries.
9. Genetics: deals with the facts and laws of inheritance (variation and heredity) of
parental characteristics by the offsprings.
10. Palaeobotany: deals with the amount forms of plants preserved in the form of
fossils in various strata of the earth during past geological ages.
11. Applied or Economic Botany: deals with the utilization of plants and plant
products for the well-being of mankind, and the various scientific methods employed
for the improvement of plants from the point of view of their utility.
The branches of applied or economic botany include:
- Agronomy: deals with the cultivation of field crops for food and industry.
- Horticulture: deals with the cultivation of gardens plants for flower and fruit.
- Plant pathology: deals with the diagnosis, cure and prevention of plant diseases
(mainly in field crops and other useful plants), commonly caused by fungi and bacteria
and also deficiency diseases.
- Pharmacognosy: deals with the study of medicinal plants with special reference to
preparation and preservation of drugs
- Forestry: deals with the study and utilization of forest plants for timber and other
forest products
- Plant breeding: deals with the cross-breeding of plants to evolve improved types with
desired characteristics e.g. higher yield and better quality.

Origin of life and characteristics of living things

Life and its origin still remain a mystery. It is assumed that many millions of years ago.
Life first came into existence in water as a speck of protoplasm from inorganic or non-
living materials as a result of certain chemical and physical changes in them under
adventitious circumstances. The protoplasm is continuous from generation to
generation through reproduction.
Characteristics of living things
1. All living things follow a definite life-cycle of birth, growth, reproduction, old age
(senescence) and death.
2. Cellular structure: All living things are composed of characteristics types of
structural units called cells. A cell is an organized mass of living substances called
protoplasm, with a nucleus in it, surrounded by a membrane or wall. The cellular
structure is an exclusive feature of all living organism.
3. Protoplasm: Life cannot exist without protoplasm. It is the actual living substance in
both plants and animals, and it is the physical basis of life. It is a highly complex
mixture of proteins and a variety of other chemical compounds occurring in particular
proportions and in particular patterns and interacting in a harmonious and consistent
manner. The property we call life depend on the coordinated action of these
substances.
4. Respiration: All living things respire continuously day and night and for this
process they take in oxygen from the atmosphere and give out an almost equal volume
of carbon dioxide. It is an energy-releasing process i.e. the energy stored up in food is
released by this process and made used of by the protoplasm for its manifold activities.
5. Reproduction: living things give rise to new young ones like themselves. Non-living
objects do not reproduce. Living things may mechanically break down into a number
of irregular parts. They follow certain definite modes of reproduction and give rise to
offspring of the same kind.
6. Metabolism: This includes constructive (anabolic) and destructive (catabolic)
changes that the protoplasm is constantly undergoing
7. Nutrition: Living things require food. These are ultimately digested and assimilated
by the protoplasm for its own nutrition and growth.
8. Growth: Living things grow
9. Movement: Movements in plants are restricted as most of them are fixed to the
ground, while most animals move freely. Movements in plants and animals may be
spontaneous or induced.
Spontaneous movement refers to movement of an organism or parts of a plant or
animal of its own accord. i.e. without any external influence. This occurs in plants like
euglena, Chlamydomonas, volvox etc. and also in animals e.g. involuntary movements
of the nucleus of the oesophagus etc. Induced movements/ irritability: refers to
movements of living organisms in response to external stimuli.
Distinctions between plants and animals
1. Growth: The regions of growth are localized in the case of plants, lying primarily at
the extremities (i.e. root apex and stem apex) and also in the interior i.e. growth is both
apical and intercalary. In the case of animals, growth is not localized to any definite
region i.e. all parts grow simultaneously. In plants growth proceeds until death; while
in animals growth ceases long before death.
2. Chlorophyll: This is present in all plants with the exception of fungi and total
parasites. Chlorophyll and plastids are absent in animal cells.
3. Cell wall: Although both the plants and animals have cellular composition, plant
cells are surrounded by distinct but dead wall called cell wall. The cell wall is almost
immensely present in all plants and is the most conspicuous part of the cell. The cell
wall is absent in animal cells, Instead animal cells have extremely thin membrane
called plasma membrane which are also present in plant cells. This is made up of fat
and protein.
4. Cellulose: The cell wall of plants has cellulose except in fungi. Cellulose is absent
in animal cells.
5. Food: Green plants absorb food materials (i.e. water and inorganic salts) from the
soil and the air (i.e. carbon dioxide). These are used by plants to prepare organic food
substances with the help of chlorophyll in the leaves and in the presence of sunlight.
Animals cannot manufacture their own food. Instead, they depend on plants for food.
Also, plants take in food in the form of solution while animals can ingest solid food.
6. Utilization of carbon dioxide: plants possess the ability to utilize carbon dioxide
from the atmosphere. During the day, the chloroplast of the leaf absorbs carbon
dioxide from the surrounding air and this is used to manufacture food in the form of
sugar or starch through the process of photosynthesis. During the process they give out
oxygen. Animals do not have this ability.
7. Movement: Plants do not move from place to place since they grow while
remaining fixed to the ground or attached to some support. Animals can move freely
from place to place I search of food and shelter.

Importance of green plants

1. Gren plants are essential for the existence of all kinds of life, including human life,
in that, they are the only natural agents able to purify the atmosphere by absorbing
carbon dioxide from it and releasing oxygen into it.
2. Green plants are also essential because they prepare food (such as starch) using
carbon dioxide from the air and water from the soil in the presence of sunlight through
the process of photosynthesis.
Uses of plants
1. Plants provide the three basic necessities of man. They provide food in form of
cereals (e.g. rice, wheat, maize. oat, rye and barley), pulses, vegetables, fruits and
vegetables oils etc.
2. They are indispensable sources of fibre for the manufacture of garments.
3. Plants products like wood, bamboo, thatch grass etc. are very useful in providing
shelter
4. Plants are valuable as machines and sources of pharmaceutical products