This class provides students with an understanding of the vegetable organisms, their diversity, structural organisation, and reproductive mechanisms. It also introduces criteria for the identification and classification of the main taxa. 

The various branches of Plant biology and historical notes. Principal characteristics of plants and their uses for man. The plant cell (shape, size, and organization). Structure and function of organelles. Plastids (structure, function, ontogenesis and interconversion). Chloroplasts (shape, ultrastructure, pigments, genome). Algal plastids. Vacuol. Dyctiosomes. Microbodyes. Cytoskeleton. Plant cell wall. Cell growth and differentiation. Programmed cell death.

Thallophytes, cormophytes and evolution of land plants.

Hystology and anatomy of vascular plants. Classification and function of tissues. Intercellular connections. Anatomy of leaf and primary and secondary structures of stem and roots.

Sexual plant reproduction (Angiosperms). Seed germination. Vegetative propagation. In vitro cultures.

Origin and evolutionary hystory of life on earth. Cyanobacteria and Proclorophytes. Life cycles of representative organisms from land plants.

Botanical description and keys to the identification of some families belonging to Dicotyledons and Monocotyledons.

Plant distribution in the different bioms.

The student will have to show that she/he knows the structure of vegetable organisms at the level of cell, tissues, and organs .

The student will have to prove he/she knows the foundations of biodiversity and taxonomy.

The student will have to be able to identify and classify plants by means of the analytical keys.

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

Slides. Seminars. Field trip. Lab exercises. 

Teaching

Lectures

Lab exercises: microscopy; use of nomenclature tables to identify vegetable species.

 

Attendance

Attendance is not compulsory, but it is highly recommended.

Course books

Pasqua e altri- Botanica generale e diversità vegetale. (Piccin)

Mauseth, Botanica. Fondamenti di biologia delle piante, III ed. it. (Idelson Gnocchi)

Speranza e Calzoni - Struttura delle piante in immagini.