EFB 435/635 Flowering Plants: Diversity, Evolution, & Systematics
State University of New York, College of Environmental Science & Forestry, Syracuse, NY

Course Info
 

Come learn about the fascinating world of flowering plants. In this course you’ll get a broad overview of the diversity and evolution of flowering plants (the most diverse and economically important plant group in the world!), and explore their ecological, economic, and cultural significance. You’ll develop practical (marketable!) plant identification skills needed for characterizing wildlife habitats, designing landscapes with natural plant communities, developing conservation plans for natural areas, or carrying out ecological monitoring or biodiversity research. On our field trips to attractive field settings (Clark Reservation State Park, Green Lakes State Park, Labrador Hollow Unique Area, Rand Tract & Webster Pond) you’ll observe plants in their natural habitats. Hands-on laboratories will allow you to develop skills for working with plant material and dichotomous keys to identify unknown species from globally widely distributed plant families, with an emphasis on taxa found in the northeastern US. Lectures will cover major topics in flowering plant evolution and systematics (e.g., morphology, pollination biology and reproduction, origins and evolution of plant diversity, classification systems, and introductory molecular systematics), as well as taxonomy and evolutionary relationships of approximately 60 major flowering plant families. We’ll examine the selected plant families in detail to gain an appreciation of the ecological and evolutionary significance (and beauty!) of plant forms and flower structures.

Class Times: Lecture- MW 8:25–9:20; Field Trips & Labs- F 12:45–3:35 pm
Instructor: Martin Dovciak, Contact Info, Dovciak Lab in Plant Ecology

Course Study Materials Field Trip Links
Syllabus (Fall 2021) Clark Reservation State Park
Lectures & Labs on Blackboard Green Lakes State Park
SUNY-ESF Greenhouses Labrador Hollow Unique Area
  Rand Tract
  Long Branch Park


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