Catalogue Description:

A comparative survey of the diversity of form and structure of vascular plants, including a consideration of the historical origins and relationships of modern land plants and their ancestors.

Prerequisites:

Botany 105, or its equivalent.

Course Content:

The field of vascular plant morphology involves an understanding of the external form and internal structure of land plants through a study of living and extinct specimens. The student will become acquainted with the defining characteristics of vascular plant taxa, and develop an appreciation for the morphological diversity within these major groups of land plants. Through a comparison of extant plants with their fossil ancestors, the student will consider relationships between these groups, and the phylogenetic origins of their characteristics. Following this comparative study, the students will be expected to be able to recognize representatives of the major groups of land plants, and to distinguish between these taxa on the basis of vegetative and reproductive forms and structures.

Lectures will parallel the laboratory topics, serving as an introduction to the following laboratory period. While orienting the student to the topic of the laboratories, the lectures will also be structured to supplement the assigned reading in the textbook.

Goals:

The overall goals of this program of instruction are the student's development of an appreciation of the diversity of form and structure of the major groups of land plants. In the process, each student will learn:

1.  to distinguish between major groups of higher plants.
2.  to comprehend the reproductive cycles of the different types of land plants.
3.  to appreciate the history of the conquest of the terrestrial environment by plants.
4.  to communicate with botanists by using the specialized vocabulary of vascular plant morphology.

Attendance:

You must attend every class meeting during the first five days of the term. By University policy, your place in the class may be assigned to another student if you are absent during the first week without notifying the instructor-in-charge (D. Walker, Room SC 106, telephone #826-3650) or the Department office (Room SB 223, telephone #826-3245). The roll call will be discontinued after the first week, and attendance will not be used as a factor in the calculation of final grades. However, the subject matter of the class meetings is the basis for the examinations. Therefore, students are encouraged to attend and actively participate in all activities of the class.

Testing:

Grading Policy:

A - Total Final Score greater than 90% of highest score in class
B - Total Final Score greater than 80% of highest score in class
C - Total Final Score greater than 70% of highest score in class
D - Total Final Score greater than 60% of highest score in class
F - Total Final Score lower than 60% of highest score in class

A choice of a CREDIT, or a NO CREDIT, grade may be available if this course is not required for your degree . Students who intend to be graded on a Credit/No Credit basis must select the "Credit/No Credit Mode" during Web Registration. No student will be allowed to choose the CR/NC grading option after the date listed in the academic calendar. You can access it here.

INCOMPLETE grades will only be assigned to students who cannot complete the requirements in this course due to circumstances beyond their own control. The incomplete is a temporary grade that must be changed to a letter grade after the completion of the unfinished work. Failure to complete that work within one year will automatically result in a conversion of the incomplete to a letter grade of F. An incomplete is not a way for a student to avoid a bad grade!

Drop Policy:

If your space in the course is assigned to another student during your absence, you must file an official drop according to University policy.

The last day to drop this class "without serious and compelling reasons" is listed in the academic calendar. You can access it here. The departmental policy defines "serious and compelling reasons" as circumstances beyond the control of the student which prevent the completion of course requirements. An overloaded schedule of classes, or a failing performance in the class, do not qualify as circumstances beyond the student's control.

The deadline to drop classes with "serious and compelling reasons" is listed in the academic calendar. You can access it here.

Note: Enrollees should be aware that if you fail to complete the course without official withdrawl (i.e. you don't show up for the final examination, or you simply stop coming to class, without consulting with the instructor to arrange for an alternative to a letter grade) you will receive a grade of Unauthorized incomplete. For the purposes of grade point average, a grade of "U" is equivalent to an "F". In fact, a "U" may be worse than an "F" for those students who wish to repeat the course later. Petitions to replace a grade earned in this course with a better grade may be denied if the student has withdrawn from this course unofficially.