Botn 301 and 328 for Spring 99 

The laboratory will consist mostly of demonstrations of material covered in lecture. You should be able to identify plant products in terms of their structure, name (common & scientific) and place members of major plant families in their correct family. Attendance is required, excused absences only.

Term paper: Students should select topics from list or discuss alternative topics with instructor. It is more efficient to use PC-based unformation retrival systems (AGRICOLA, SCI, etc.) to locate references. Paper should include but is not limited to: methods of cultivation, origin(s), distribution, related wild species, uses, economic importance (past and present) and associated human cultures. The paper should be type-written and not more than 5 pages in length and contain at least five references in a "Literature Cited" section. Beware of using the www as your sole source of information, very few sites are externally reviewed and many contain numerous errors and falsifications. The paper is due Nov 12

What's that in your food? Prepare or obtain an unusual food. If you prepare it yourself, supply a recipe. Describe the cultural history of the dish and the major plant components (common and scientific names, origins, etc.). This information and any necessary warnings will be displayed with the dish. The dishes will be consumed by the class, T.A. and instructor. Consult with your T.A. before committing to a selection.

Worldwide Web (WWW) Pages. The class notes are available on the www at "http://www.isc.tamu.edu/FLORA/328Fall96/syllabus1.html". There are links to other sites at the end of the online syllabus. These sites will be of use to you in reviewing material in this course, researching paper topics, and just learning more about plants. You can access these "pages" from any computer connected to the Internet that has a www browser program. We will demonstrate the use of this program and help you get started on it. Class readings covering current topics will be assigned every week. These readings are taken from a listserv group that focuses on Plant Breeding.

2 Lecture exams at 100 points ea.--------------------200

Final exam-------------------------------------------150

Term paper--------------------------------------------50

2 Lab practicals at 50 points ea.--------------------100

What's that in your food?-----------------------------25

Total------------------------------------------------525 

EXAM 2 SAMPLE

FINAL EXAMPLE SAMPLE

Grading scale will be 90-100%=A, 80-89%=B, 70-79%=C, 60-69%=D, <60%=F. 

Date	Lecture	Text reading	Lab	Current topics
1 Sep	Introduction	1-15		Reading 1
3 Sep	Vegetative Morphology	15-24	Vegetables	Reading 2
8 Sep	Reproductive Morphology	24-36		Reading 3
10 Sep	Plant Classification - (Intro) (History)		Flowers	Reading 4
15 Sep	Origins of agriculture	66-83		Reading 5
17Sep	Genetics & Breeding	37-65	Fruits	Reading 6
22 Sep	Grasses I	159-200		Reading 7
24 Sep	Grasses II	159-200	Grasses & Legumes Fermentation demonstration	Reading 8
28 Sep	Legumes I	201-228		Reading 9
1 Oct	Legumes II	201-228	Field trip	Reading 10
6 Oct	Exam I
8 Oct	Major Plant Families		Major Plant Families	Reading 11
	Apiaceae
	Asteraceae
	Brassicaceae
	Cucurbitaceae
	Liliaceae
	Rosaceae
	Solanaceae
13 Oct	Ornamental plants	570-613		Reading 12
15 Oct	Oils & waxes	315-348	Lab Practical I	Reading 13
20 Oct	Leaves, stems & roots	229-277		Reading 14
22 Oct	Spices, herbs & perfumes	278-314	Spices & Perfumes	Reading 15
27 Oct	Wood, cork & bamboo	542-569		Reading 16
29 Oct	Fibers, dyes & tannins	504-541	Woods & Papers	Reading 17
3 Nov	Medicinal Plants	376-406		Reading 18
5 Nov	Plant drugs	407-445	Field trip	Reading 19
10 Nov	Plant poisons	407-445		Reading 20
12 Nov	Alcoholic beverages	471-503	Field trip	Reading 21
17 Nov	Exam II
19 Nov	Nonalcoholic beverages	446-470	Lab Practical	Reading 22
24 Nov	Hydrogels, latexes & resins	349-375		Reading 23
1 Dec	Temperate fruits & nuts	84-114		Reading 24
3 Dec	Tropical fruits & nuts	115-158	What's that in your food? (see above)	Reading 25
8 Dec	Agriculture vs. agribusiness	650-684		Reading 26
16 Dec	Final Exam 8-10 a.m

Absinthe

Almond

Alternative paper sources

Amaranth

Bamboo

Bananas

Brewing beer

Black-Eyed Pea or Cowpea

Bottle Gourd

Breadfruit

Buckwheat

Cacti

Carob

Carrot

Clove

Cocaine

Coconut

Construction of musical instruments

Cut Flowers

Favism

Genetic engineering of crop plants

Ground Covers

Hemp

Jojoba

Kiwi Fruit

Lettuce

Mandrake

Marijuana

Opium and derivatives

Orchids

Peyote

Pineapple

Purple coneflower

Quinoa

Sorghum

Strawberry

Sweet Potato

Sustainable agriculture

Taxol

Tamarind

Tee Tree Oil

Tomato

Tulips

Turf Grasses

Vanilla

Wine

Wood products

Yams