Plant Systematics I

Abstract

This fundamental course provides an introduction to the basics of botany and forms a solid foundation of knowledge for the following semesters. The course covers the following areas: Species knowledge of native shrubs and trees in autumn and winter conditions and their habitat requirements, introduction to the identification of plants and consolidation of botanical terms.

Objective

Students will be introduced to botany and after the course they will be able to identify about sixty native trees and shrubs in order to use them appropriately in their designs. They will be familiar with botanical terms, which will enable them to understand information wirtten in botanical literature.

Content

This course focuses on excursions with a botanical expert. In addition, the students are supported by theoretical and conceptual lectures. This gives the students a good basis of botanical knowledge, which can be professionally integrated into their designs. The module is divided into different subject areas: 1) Consolidation of botanical terms. These form the basis for the identification and recognition of plants. The most important technical terms are explained and illustrated with suitable plant material. 2) Species knowledge is taught on regular field excursions and supplemented with theoretical input. The species can also be studied in the classroom using fresh material. In addition to site characteristics and seasonal changes, growth forms are also taught. 3) Through the introduction to identification, the students will understand how a simple identification key is constructed and how it is used, so that unknown species can be identified independently. 4) Besides the species knowledge the students will get a basic introduction into systematic botany to better navigate through the content of this week. 5) Making sketches enables close observation of the structures and shapes of leaves The weekly schedule is published on the course website (and is included in the reader).

Resources