Botany

Botany, also called plant science(s), plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology.  A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specializes in this field.  The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek word βοτάνη (botanē) meaning "pasture", "herbs", "grass", or "fodder";  βοτάνη is in turn derived from βόσκειν (boskein), "to feed" or "to graze".  Traditionally, botany has also included the study of fungi and algae by mycologists and phycologists respectively, with the study of these three groups of organisms remaining within the sphere of interest of the International Botanical Congress.  Nowadays, botanists (in the strict sense) study approximately 410,000 species of land plants of which some 391,000 species are vascular plants (including approximately 369,000 species of flowering plants), and approximately 20,000 are bryophytes.

History of Botany

The history of botany goes back to 4th-century B.C.E.  Man's curiosity about plants led to many discoveries in Botany which shaped our current lives in many ways.  At present, various sub-fields of botany have already emerged.  These include the following: plant pathology, plant ecology, paleobotany, and forensic botany.

Among the earliest of botanical works, written around 300 B.C.E., are two large treatises by Theophrastus, a philosopher and disciple of Aristotle: On the History of Plants (Historia Plantarum) and On the Causes of Plants.  Together these books constitute the most important contribution to botanical science during antiquity and into the Middle Ages.  As a result, Theophrastus is considered the founder of botany. 

The Roman medical writer Dioscorides in the first century C.E., provided important evidence on Greek and Roman knowledge of medicinal plants.  He categorized plants based on their medicinal, culinary, or aromatic value. 

In 1665, using an early microscope, Robert Hooke discovered cells in cork and a short time later in living plant tissue.  The German Leonhart Fuchs, the Swiss Conrad von Gesner, and the British authors Nicholas Culpeper and John Gerard published information on the medicinal uses of plants.

In 1753, Carl Linnaeus published Species Plantarum, which included 6,000 plant species.  He established the binomial nomenclature, which has been used in the naming of living things ever since.

1818: Chlorophyll was discovered.

1847: The process of photosynthesis was discovered by Mir.  Hoover, was the 1862 Remand A Meister Intel mechanism.

1862: The exact mechanism of photosynthesis was discovered while starch was formed in green cells under the microscope.

Earle 20th Century: The Processes of Nitrogen Phosphates, Nitrifiers, and Immunofacts Was Discovered.

 1903: The two bands of chlorophyll—A and B—were discovered.  Lauren turned

1936: Through his experiment, Alexander Wipern demonstrated the mechanism of the synthesis of organic matter from inorganic molecules.

1940s: Ecology became a separate discipline.  Technology has helped specialists in botany to see and understand the three-dimensional nature of cells, and genetic engineering of plants.  This had greatly improved agricultural crops and products.

Until the present, 2023, the study of plants continues as botanists try to understand both the structure, behavior and cellular activities of plants.  This endeavor is to develop better crops, find new medicines, and explore ways of maintaining an ecological balance on Earth to sustain both plant and animal life.