Botany Career Guide and Counseling

Question: How did botany adn astonomy go had in hand in the Middle Ages? On page 372 of The Eye of the Lynx, it says that Cesi wrote Galileo about his botanical research. And that “those, of course, were the days in which botany and astronomy went intensely hand in hand.� What does he exactly mean by this? Did they rely on one another or just coincide? I was just wondering how exactly they made this work out. I mean how did they consider that both did in fact have an effect on or with one another?

Answer: Stonehenge is an observatory. Think this way - the farmers use the stars to decide when to plant and when to reap. Thus, you have astronomy & botany, depending upon each other.

Question: What are the best colleges for studying botany? I want to study botany as an undergraduate, and eventually work with the government, or be an ethnobotanist. I want to get the best education I can.

Answer: Which continents/countries are you thinking of? Here are three very good Botany departments in North America: http://www.botany.ubc.ca/ http://www.plantbiology.ucr.edu/ http://www.botany.wisc.edu/

Question: What part of botany deals with toxic plants? What catergory for showing resistance or toxic to bugs and amphibians and other ugly things? Also what is the botany key for finding them?

Answer: The closest I can come up with for the study of poisonous plants is toxicology, or phytotoxicology (plant toxicology) to be more specific. You might also pursue pharmacology, which is how chemical substances in general react in a living body. Phytopathology is actually the study of plant diseases and toxins which harm plants.

Question: Is there any botany journal subscription for about $40? How many journals per year? ? I want to major in botany, but I have little experience with it. I barely started college. Is there a journal subscription I can use to gradually help me out? I'm willing to go to 50 and 60 dollars

Answer: You must subscribe to several journals to keep up to date in the field. The premier journal in your field is http://www.amjbot.org/, but you also need to subscribe to Science, and (perhaps) several other authoritative "journals."

Question: Where can i find an educational resources for teaching botany to college students? I need an educational source for video and presentations of botany stuffs for teaching. Thanks in advance.

Answer: I know the place you want. The Noble Foundation http://www.noble.org/

Question: what kind of schooling is required for a career in botany? what kind of jobs would you expect to have with an undergraduate degree? with a masters? do you get a degree specifically in botany or is it biology as well?

Answer: Depends on where you attend university. Check out the Botanical Society of America page for careers. http://www.botany.org/careers/ There are additional links at the bottom of this page. http://www.botany.org/bsa/careers/

Question: Would an anthropology major with either a botany or nutritional sciences minor be difficult to keep up with? Especially if I run college cross country? I'm currently a junior and am considering the University of Wisconsin--Madison and Ohio State University. I'm going to major in anthropology, and want to minor in either botany or nutritional sciences. I'm up for a difficult course load, but I don't want to bury myself in so much work that I can't handle it.

Answer: Absolutely not. It is a very good idea to have a double major or minors. In this bad economy, it is best to not place all of your eggs into one basket. ss

Question: what would be an interesting topic to do an investigatory project about botany? I need some ideas about the different topics that I could use in making an investigatory project regarding the study of plants. I really don't have any idea about botany so please help me! I would gladly appreciate any suggestions from you!

Answer: You could research on how cross-breeding came about and the effects it has had on society. You could grow plants under different conditions and see which way works the best. You could test out fertilizer claims (makes plants 50% bigger!) by doing controlled experiments.

Question: Is there any place to see good botany prints on the internet? I'm trying to find a good, bigger thn thumbnail picture of aconite/wolfsbane from one of those old botany books. I've tried google and yahoo, but everything is thumbnail sized, I've found.

Answer: Some examples for Aconitum http://www.digibib.tu-bs.de/view_page.php?max_page=194&minpage=1&url=http://bib1lp1.rz.tu-bs.de/docportal/servlets/MCRFileNodeServlet/DocPortal_derivate_00002022&suffix=jpg&derivate_id=2022&page=96 This site is a digital library for copper engravings of ( medicinal ) plants ( It`s a German site, but plant names > Links are scientific ones ) http://www.digibib.tu-bs.de/start.php?suffix=jpg&maxpage=194&derivate_id=2022 http://www.sammlungen.hu-berlin.de/dokumente/19189/ http://mdzx.bib-bvb.de/codicon/Blatt_bsb00001428,48v.html

Question: Where is the best place to study the field of Medicinal Botany? I'm looking to major in medicinal botany along with psychology. If there is anyone who could lend even the slightest information, it would be greatly appreciated. Also, to anyone currently in the field, I would be very grateful if I could ask you a few questions, thanks again. Chris Jackson

Answer: A popular book on the topic is: Lewis, Walter H. and Memory R. F. Elvin- Lewis (2003) Medical Botany: Plants Affecting Human Health. 2nd ed. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, NJ. There is an online program offered by the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine: http://www.swsbm.com/homepage/ Most colleges/universities that have a Botany department will offer a medical botany course or, more commonly called, ethnobotany. An example of what is covered in one of these courses can be found here: http://www.ars-grin.gov/duke/syllabus/

Question: What will the college course of general botany be like? Hi, I am taking my second science in college this coming semester and I am signed up for general botany. All that I know about the subject going into the course is that it is about plants. Any input would be helpful so I will know what to expect (please do not leave retarded answers that has nothing to do with the question or you will be reported). Thanks in advance!!!

Answer: Well, my intro class covered the entire plant kingdom, and basic anatomy/biology thereof. You will start with the cell- because every intro biology course has too... it is written somewhere, I am sure. You will discuss algae. Because they are cute. And produce Oxygen. You might even move into rhodophyta, chlorophyta, phaeophyta,... Then come the vascular plants. Moving up through complexity... Trees may be near the end... unless you begin to study reproductive structures in detail. This can take a while. I mean, I don't know how detailed your professor is likely to be. Will you discuss the different cuts of wood and the cells viewable at each aspect? Will you look at fruiting bodies, flowers, fruits, propagation structures (stolons, rhizomes, corms, bulbs...)? Will you examine the fruits present in a straw"berry?" You might really have to study alternation of generations- some folks have trouble with it. Parthenogenesis? Photosynthesis- definitely! I & II- maybe. Calvin cycle and thalloid membranes? Ah, this brings back happy memories... I may have to go sit in another class next semester...

Question: I am interested in a career in Botany. What do I need to know about it and are there jobs? I am interested in career in Botany. Is there anything I may need to know?

Answer: you must get a horticultural degree. this requires all plant ID, soils, design, and 75 other credits. get ready for hard physical labor rain sleet or snow

Question: What is monopodium, sympodium and hypanthodium in botany? These words are in my botany books but not clearly explained and no diagrams to make it worse.

Answer: 1) Monopodium- It is a botanical term for 'True Axis'. When a stem or its branch grows as a result of the continued growth of the SAME bud then the resultant axis is a Monopodium. When a sunflower grows from a seedling to a mature plant ; its main stem is a Monopodium. See below the monopodial axis of vanda orchid and Vinca plant. http://pix.botany.org/set09/09-011h_300.jpg http://botany.cs.tamu.edu/FLORA/dcs420/mi07/mi07025.jpg 2) When an axis is the result of fusion of many lateral branches then it is a false axis or sympodium http://home.manhattan.edu/~frances.cardillo/plants/angio/helicyme.gif 3) Hypanthodium - Is the inflorescence and fruit as well of ficus or fig family . In this the receptacle is hollow ,cup like and the flowers ( and then fruits ) are located on its inner surface. The fruit has a small opening called ostiole. http://www.steve.gb.com/images/vegetable_empire/veg/fig.jpg

Question: Does anyone know a good site to find facts on Botany? I am doing a research in Botany, the job, the facts that I need are the job skills required,and history. I tried a few websites and it didn't mention much. I need simple facts where there's not so much explaining in vocabulary to do.

Answer: Here's a great website about being a botanist etc... http://www.botany.org/bsa/careers/sb-econ.html Hope that helped.

Question: Best way to study for a Botany test? I have a botany test tomorrow, and Basically I've got all the Short answer questions that are going to be on the test. There's like 10 of them and he chooses three. The answers are like a paragraph each... What is the best way to study those?

Answer: Memorize the answers to th 10 questions./

Question: How to take care of a Japanese Honeysuckle and Oregano? (For Botany Class)? For botany class, we had to choose 2 plants to grow. I have a young japanese honeysuckle plant and some oregano seeds. The packet for the oregano give general instructions, but I'm not sure how much water the honeysuckle needs. Any websites that might help? Thanks.

Answer: Watering your Japanese Honeysuckle: "Normal Watering for Outdoor Plants... Normal watering means that soil should be kept evenly moist and watered regularly, as conditions require. Most plants like 1 inch of water a week during the growing season, but take care not to over water. The first two years after a plant is installed, regular watering is important for establishment. The first year is critical. It is better to water once a week and water deeply, than to water frequently for a few minutes. " The site listed below gives full care instructions for the honeysuckle. As for the oregano follow the instructions given on the packaging. Good Luck!!!