Herbs/ Botanicals

Botany is the scientific study of plantlife. As a branch of biology, it is also sometimes referred to as plant science(s) or plant biology. more...

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Botany covers a wide range of scientific disciplines that study the structure, growth, reproduction, metabolism, development and diseases of plants.

Scope and importance of botany

As with other life forms in biology, plant life can be studied from different perspectives, from the molecular, genetic and biochemical level through organelles, cells, tissues, organs, individuals, plant populations, and communities of plants. At each of these levels a botanist might be concerned with the classification (taxonomy), structure (anatomy), or function (physiology) of plant life.

Historically, botany covers all organisms that were not considered to be animals. Some of these \"plant-like\" organisms include fungi (studied in mycology), bacteria and viruses (studied in microbiology), and algae (studied in phycology). Most algae, fungi, and microbes are no longer considered to be in the plant kingdom. However, attention is still given to them by botanists, and bacteria, fungi, and algae are usually covered in introductory botany courses.

The study of plants is important for a number of reasons. Plants are a fundamental part of life on earth. They generate the oxygen, food, fibres, fuel and medicine that allow higher life forms to exist. Plants also absorb carbon dioxide, a significant greenhouse gas, through photosynthesis. A good understanding of plants is crucial to the future of human societies as it allows us to:

Feed the world; Understand fundamental life processes; Utilise medicine and materials; Understand environmental changes;

Feed the world

Virtually all of the food we eat comes from plants, either directly from staple foods and other fruit and vegetables, or indirectly through livestock, which rely on plants for fodder. In other words, plants are at the base of nearly all food chains, or what ecologists call the first trophic level. Understanding how plants produce the food we eat is therefore important to be able to feed the world and provide food security for future generations, for example through plant breeding. Not all plants are beneficial to humans, some weeds are a considerable problem in agriculture and botany provides some of the basic science in order to understand how to minimise their impact. However, other weeds are pioneer plants which start an abused environment back on the road to rehabilitation, underlining that the term 'weed' is a very relative concept, and that broadly defined a weed is simply a plant which is too successful. Ethnobotany is the study of this and/or other relationships between plants and people.

Understand fundamental life processes

Plants are convenient organisms in which fundamental life processes (like cell division and protein synthesis for example) can be studied, without the ethical dilemmas of studying animals or humans. The genetic laws of inheritance were discovered in this way by Gregor Mendel, who was studying the way pea shape is inherited. What Mendel learnt from studying plants has had far reaching benefits outside of botany. Additionally, Barbara McClintock discovered 'jumping genes' by studying maize. These are a few examples that demonstrate how botanical research has an ongoing relevance to the understanding of fundamental biological processes.

Read more at Wikipedia.org