HUDSON VALLEY COMMUNITY COLLEGE
TROY, NEW YORK
COURSE OUTLINE
Welcome to an overview of what Economic Botany has to offer.
It will be a distance learning course this spring 2000, so below are highlights of what I plan
to be doing in the TopClass format. This particular course outline is for the late-start
half-semester format!
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COURSE NUMBER AND TITLE: |
03074 - Economic Botany (Plants, People, and the Environment) |
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RESPONSIBLE DEPARTMENT: |
Biology |
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CURRICULUM SERVED: |
Any |
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CREDIT HOURS: |
2 Credit Hours |
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CONTACT HOURS: |
2 Two hour lectures/week for eight weeks |
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PRE-REQUISITES: |
High school and/or college biology, or consent of the instructor |
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FINAL EXAMINATION: |
No |
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TEXT: |
E. Levetin and K. McMahon, Plants and Society, 2nd ed., WCB McGraw-Hill, 1999. |
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PREPARED BY: |
Wilson Crone |
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COURSE DESCRIPTION: |
A short (eight-week) course highlighting useful aspects of plants, especially as these apply to environmental issues. Plants ranging from crops to medicinals will be presented from botanical, historical, and cultural points of view. |
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COURSE GOALS: |
To appreciate the essential role of plants underlying human and natural affairs. |
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REFERENCES: |
A. Lewington. Plants for People. Oxford University Press, 1991. J. F. Morton. Major Medicinal Plants. Thomas (Springfield, IL), 1977. And others to be supplied by the instructor |
BIOLOGY 03074 LECTURE OUTLINE FALL 1998
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Lecture/Date |
Lecture Topic |
Text |
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1: 10/26 |
Review: plant structure; fungi; chemistry |
2nd ed.: Chs. 1-4, 22 (pp. 371-386) 1st ed.: Chs. 1-4, 22 (pp. 340-354) |
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2: 10/28 |
Flowers; plant classification; ecology; agriculture |
for both ed.: Chs. 5, 6, 8, 11, 25 (aspects) |
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3: 11/2 |
Crops: cereal grains |
2nd ed.: Ch. 12 (pp. 188-205), Ch. 15 (aspects), Ch. 22 (pp. 386-392) 1st ed.: Ch. 12 (pp. 175-191), 15 (aspects) |
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4: 11/4 |
Crops: legumes |
for both ed.: Chs. 10, 13 |
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5: 11/9 |
Other major crops |
2nd ed.: Ch. 14 (pp. 222-227), Ch. 15 (p. 240), Ch. 18 (pp. 289-294, 308-309), Ch. 22 (pp. 386-387) 1st ed.: Chs. 14, 18 (pp. 266-270, 282-283) |
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6: 11/11 |
Spices, herbs, and ornamentals |
2nd ed.: Ch. 17, Ch. 21 (pp. 354-358) 1st ed.: Ch. 17 |
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--: 11/16 |
FIRST EXAM, COVERING LECTURES 1-6 |
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7: 11/18 |
Weeds and alien invaders |
2nd ed.: Ch. 6 (p. 96), Ch. 22 (pp. 392-393) 1st ed.: Chs. 21 (aspects), 22 (354-361) |
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8: 11/23 |
The lawn |
2nd ed.: Ch. 12 (pp. 205-206) 1st ed.: Ch. 12 (pp. 191-192) |
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--: 11/25 |
No class--Thanksgiving break |
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9: 11/30 |
Forests and forest products |
2nd ed.: Ch. 18 (pp. 298-308) 1st ed.: Ch. 18 (pp. 273-282) |
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10: 12/2 |
Rainforest issues |
for both ed.: aspects of Chs. 15, 19, 25 |
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11: 12/7 |
Beverage plants |
for both ed.: Chs. 16, 23 |
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12: 12/9 |
TERM PROJECT DUE; Medicinal and psychoactive plants |
for both ed.: Chs. 19, 20 |
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13: 12/14 |
Hemp/cannabis |
2nd ed.: Ch. 18 (pp. 296-297), Ch. 20 (pp. 336-339) 1st ed.: Ch. 18 (p. 272), Ch. 20 (pp. 306-309) |
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--: 12/16 |
SECOND EXAM, COVERING LECTURES 7-13 |
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INSTRUCTOR
Dr. Wilson Crone 303 FTZ; 270-7439 (has tape, so can leave messages); cronewil@hvcc.edu; http://www.hvcc.edu/academ/faculty/crone/index.html
Office hours: Tues 12-1 in Biology Study Center, AMZ 219; Tues 1-2 in my office; Tues 4-5 in BRN 002; Thurs 12-1 in AMZ 219; Fri 12-1 in my office; or by appointment
COURSE POLICIES
COURSE GRADE: 350 points total:
100 points first exam week 12 of semester
100 points term project due week 15 of semester, 10 point/day late penalty
100 points second exam week 16 of semester
50 points class participation
Term project, covering an aspect of economic/environmental botany of personal interest, may take the form of either:
1) a 4-6 page typed paper with a minimum of four references outside of textbook / encyclopedias
2) another format involving similar effort and research, e.g., poster, video, etc.
I will need to approve your topic, so see me as soon as possible with your ideas.
OTHER COURSE ISSUES:
You are expected to be at each lecture, and are personally responsible for covering material that you missed. The term project is to represent your own work. DO NOT MISS EXAMS: a missed exam will result in a grade of zero. If I am notified beforehand or right afterwards about a truly serious situation, e.g., documentable illness, death in the immediate family, family emergency, I may allow you to take a make-up exam. Giving or receiving assistance during an exam is not allowed. Any student requesting a regrade of an assignment or an exam should write out the reason for the regrade on a separate sheet of paper. You should make no additional marks on the assignment or exam in question. ANYONE COMMITTING SUCH ACTS OF ACADEMIC DISHONESTY WILL BE GIVEN AN"F" FOR THE COURSE.
Synopsis of topics:
1 Review of vegetative plant structure, fungi, and chemistry
Highlight major parts of the vegetative plant, using economic examples; review major aspects of fungi, especially from plant pathology point of view; review major aspects of chemistry and secondary plant chemistry
2 Flowers; plant classification; ecology and agriculture
Review flower and inflorescence structures; highlight the diagnostic features of major economic families (Poaceae, Fabaceae, Asteraceae, Solanaceae, etc.); review ecological roles of plants; highlight ecological affects of agriculture throughout history
3 Crops: cereal grains
Describe the botany and use of major food sources: wheat, rice, maize, along with consideration of their widespread use and environmental impact; e.g., Green Revolution
4 Crops: legumes
Illustrate the variety of beans used in diets, with consideration of nutritional impacts of plant foods; also, use of legumes for"replenishment" of soil
5 Other major crops
Will concentrate on five issues: the cruciferous crops (the domestication of Brassica oleracea); the potato (e.g., Irish potato blight); sugar (slavery in New World from sugar cane); cotton (role in antebellum South); and bamboo (multipurpose Orient plant)
6 Spices, herbs, and ornamentals
Discuss in terms of spice use, history of spice trade,"natural products" movement, and aesthetic/ecological roles of garden and city plants
7 Weeds and alien invaders
Not only their role in agriculture (briefly), but try to concentrate more on role in diminishing biodiversity (e.g., purple loosestrife, kudzu, water hyacinth)
8 The lawn
The American fascination with lawns and lawn expanses, and the environmental impact of lawncare
9 Forests and forest products
Wood and other temperate/northern forest products, approaches to forestry management, and discussions of sustainability
10 Rainforest issues
Concentrate on deforestation, the economic value of rainforest products, and suggestions on sustainable use
11 Beverage plants
Concentrate on alcohol, coffee, and tea, and their roles in history and economics
12 Medicinal and psychoactive plants
Highlight major medicinal plants, role of medicinal plants in pharmaceutical industries, psychoactive drugs in traditional cultures and current explorations, and discussion of herbal medicine as part of natural products interest
13 Hemp/cannabis
Finish course by an interdisciplinary look at Cannabis sativa and its many roles throughout history to today, from"rope to dope"
|main page| |background| |03028: Physiology| |03048: Anatomy|
|03050: Invertebrate Zoology| |03051: Vertebrate Zoology| |03074: Economic Botany|
Please send comments and questions to: cronewil@hvcc.edu
Copyright 1999 by Wilson Crone
External and unofficial links are not endorsed by Hudson Valley Community College
This page updated on October 4, 1999