Kerry Woods, Dickinson 143, 440-4465, kwoods@bennington.edu,
office hours Tues and
Fri 10-12, Fri 2-4)Class meeting times: Monday 2:00-4:00, Thursday 2:00-6:00
This class is an exploration of plants -- mostly about plants
as whole organisms, and mostly about plants as they live in the wild.
But we will need to look into a certain amount of the underlying
plumbing (physiology, development, genetics, evolution) to enhance
insight into what's going on in habitat, and we won't hesitate to
explore tangents as seems appropriate (so long as they're about
plants). There'll be a fair amount of taxonomy; it's important to
be able to attach names to things just to talk about them, but
taxonomy also gives leverage for following evolutionary
relationships and, perhaps most importantly, good field taxonomy
requires
refined observational skills. You could just say that this class is about sophisticated 'seeing' of plants... Consequently,
there will be a lot of lab/field work -- the practicum of seeing -- both as a class
and individually, on your own.
EXPECTATIONS
AND EVALUATION:
There
will be a variety of field and
lab exercises and assignments, maybe some short quizzes or question
sets, and two larger
individual projects/papers. For those requesting grades,
these
two projects will account for about half of your evaluation; smaller
exercises and assignments about 30%; and other evidence of
participation and engagement the remainder.
Most importantly, much of the class will be about observation, participation, hands-on
exploration in the field and lab; general engagement and initiative is
important and will count for a lot. Consequently,
PRESENCE is very important. If you miss classes too
frequently
(more than 2-3 times). Attending scheduled LABS is
particularly
essential.
You'll be expected to spend a substantial amount of time in individual,
independent observation and exploration. This is essential to
gaining comfort and expertise as a naturalist (just as any skill
with tools or instruments requires practice), and it will be obvious
whether you've been doing it!
CLASS STRUCTURE
Class
time will be spent in various mixes of classroom, lab, and field.
EVERY THURSDAY, unless otherwise informed, you should come
to class prepared to go outside, with appropriate clothes and footwear
as well as field-guides, lens, and field notebook. Several
Thursday's will involve off-campus field-trips. When we have off-campus FIELD TRIPS, we'll use the FULL THURSDAY MEETING TIME for
field trip -- from 2:00 (or maybe earlier) to 6:00 -- so you MUST be on time!
More
detailed schedule later, but expect these from late April onwards
BOOKS AND READINGS AND RESOURCES:
There
is no general textbook required for this class, but if you'd like to
have a hard-copy, real book that's a comprehensive reference on plant
biology, the best is
"Biology of Plants" (the latest version is called "
Raven Biology of Plants").
It's gone through 9 or so editions; earlier ones were by Peter Raven;
then Raven, Evert, and Eichhorn; then Evert, Raven, and Eichhorn; and
now just Evert and Eichhorn.
Any of the last several editions would be fine, and they're available used for reasonable prices... There are also good web resources for general reference (see below).
What is required is that
you have books for identification of plants in the field. Various
combinations are possible, but a good starting combination is:
-
Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (very user-friendly, but relatively technically accurate), combined with
-
Muenscher's Keys to Woody Plants (a bit more demanding, but you're supposed to be getting the skills to use such resources!)
IF you are interested in a truly complete (and very good, but quite technical) regional flora, I recommend
- The New England Wildflower Society's
Flora Novae Angliae (you'll probably want to use it in combination with one or both of the above)
You must also each have:
- A good hand-lens -- at least 10X
- and a field notebook (something that's tough enough to take rough
treatment and wet weather, and convenient for carrying and writing on
in the field). You'll want to use PENCIL in the field. Some
people like to have two notebooks -- one for rough notes and sketching
in the field, and one into which all of that is transcribed in neater
more organized fashion.
Finally, here are some potentially useful web resources:
-
Go Botany is New England Wild-flower Society's on-line, interactive plant ID/key tool. It's excellent
- Wikipedia is pretty good on technical stuff, but
do be cautious
- There are various free online texts; most are not very good, but
- this ONLINE
BIOLOGY
TEXT
is not bad for illustrations, definitions and general background supporting
many topics: use chapter titles (e.g., Cell Division -- mitosis and
meiosis, Photosynthesis...)
- and t
his one also has some good materials, but not all of it is in English yet.
- A dictionary of
botanical
terms from the California Flora project
- and
another the Missouri Botanical Garden (a top place...)
- a large a
rchive of illustrations, photos, micrographs of many plant types and strucutres from Univ. of Wisconsin
These are just a beginning; explore.
SCHEDULE:This is approximate, and may change (chapters from recent edition of Raven's Biology of Plants if you wish...)
The
lab will be a mix of “survey” work -- getting acquainted with plant
anatomy and taxonomic groups -- and exercises focused on plant function
and ecology.
Expect to spend the full lab period, particularly on field
days.
ALWAYS bring a notebook to lab,
INCLUDING FIELD TRIPS, and assume that ANY LAB MAY BE OUT-DOORS unless
I say specifically otherwise in class before-hand. SO, come dressed and
prepared for the weather even if it's wet or cold. For only moderately
nasty weather, dress warmly or bring rain gear as appropriate.
Good FOOTWEAR is important; expect wet ground and off-trail walking.
Your
lab
notebook
should be suitable for use
outside (or get a separate field notebook) – easy to carry, robust,
attractive because other people may
see it. I recommend a waterproof notebooks (e.g.,
‘Rite-in-the-rain’; the bookstore will have some), but you can always
stick it in a clear plastic bag. BRING
A PENCIL TO LAB; ink runs when it gets wet.
ALSO ALWAYS BRING
hand lens, and
appropriate
identification
guides: the
tree/woody
plant book(s) for first few weeks; wildflower book starting April.
You may want to get some sort of field bag to carry
all this stuff, and for bringing back souvenirs.
Lab schedule will be flexible, dependent on weather and
projects, but first weeks of term, Mondays will be a mix of classroom,
lab, and field time on campus. After Long Weekend, we'll
spend
the FULL 2:00 - 6:00 IN THE FIELD, often off campus.
AND there will be one weekend field-trip, probably
either 7-9 May or 14-16 May -- probably to New Jersey pine barrens and
swamps, coastal barrier island, and New York Botanical
Garden.
This trip is
not
required -- but it
will be fun and a great opportunity to expand your botanical horizons.
Here is the evolving schedule for now:
Weeks
1-3: woody
plant
structure and identification: use of keys, winter
identification.
In adition to the keys in your field guides, check out:
The
Trees
of Wisconsin website --
keys and PHOTOS of buds and twigs, as well as leaves and other materials
A simple
twig
and bud key that might
be a good back-up for common species with links to good bud and
leaf-scar photo
s
Weeks
4-5: Mostly in
lab, microscopic and prepared materials, getting acquainted with
general plant strutures and anatomy.
Weeks
6-7: Mix of lab
and on-campus field-work, touring major plant groups and their main
features.
Rest
of term: Mostly
field-trips.