PLBIO 3590 - [Biology of Grasses]

Spring (offered alternate years). 2 credits.

Prerequisite: a basic course in plant biology or permission of instructor.

J. I. Davis.

A survey of the diversity, systematics, and basic biology of grasses, with reference to related plant families (sedges, rushes, restios). Major topics include morphology, anatomy, phylogenetic relationships, taxonomy, physiology, reproductive biology, species biology, ecology, and biogeography. The roles of grasses and their relatives in natural and human-influenced environments, and the key features of these plants, as related to these roles, are examined. Origins of the major cultivated species (particularly maize, rice, and wheat) are examined as well. The laboratory focuses on the structural features of grasses and their relatives, and on the use of these features in the identification of natural groups of grasses (subfamilies and tribes), in the context of a survey of the diversity of grasses and related families.

Outcome 1: Describe the overall phylogenetic structure of the grass family, and the characteristics of the major groups, including morphological, anatomical, and biochemical features such as C4 photosynthesis.

Outcome 2: Dissect and interpret vegetative and reproductive structures of grasses and representatives of related families, using standard botanical terminology.

Outcome 3: Assign representative grasses to the major subfamilies and tribes, representatives of related plant groups to the proper plant families, and identify grasses using a standard taxonomic manual.

Outcome 4: Discuss the major structures and processes involved in the reproductive biology of grasses.

Outcome 5: Discuss the history of human utilization of grasses, including major and minor food and forage crops, and the processes involved in the domestication of grasses.

Outcome 6: Describe the major ecological settings in which grasses are dominant, and the processes that operate in these communities.