DATE REVISED: March 14, 1998

PALOMAR COLLEGE COURSE OUTLINE OF RECORD FOR DEGREE CREDIT COURSE

X_____ Transfer course            X_____ A.A. degree applicable course

(check all that apply)

COURSE NUMBER AND TITLE: Botany 110: Botany of Spring Wildflowers

UNIT VALUE: 4

MINIMUM NUMBER OF SEMESTER HOURS: 96

BASIC SKILLS REQUIREMENTS:

Appropriate language and computational skills.

ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS: None

PREREQUISITE:

COREQUISITE:

RECOMMENDED PREPARATION:

SCOPE OF COURSE

The identification, distribution, and interrelationships of plants in their natural environment, ecological principles, and representative plant communities. Special emphasis will be given to the study of plant families and the use of taxonomic keys.

SPECIFIC COURSE OBJECTIVES:

Upon completion of this course, the successful student will be able to:

1. recognize and identify the common flowering plants (including native and naturalized herbs/grasses, trees and shrubs) of our local mountains, desert, coastal marshlands, and vacant fields using a dichotomous taxonomic key (regional flora);

2. compare and contrast the basic types of vegetative and reproductive anatomy, including leaves, stems, roots, flowers and fruits;

3. compare and contrast the mechanisms of pollination, including wind, water and insect pollination;

4. discuss phylogenetic trees at several taxonomic hierarchal levels using cladistical analysis of morphology and DNA sequencing;

5. apply the basic techniques of vegetation analysis.

CONTENT IN TERMS OF SPECIFIC BODY OF KNOWLEDGE:

I. Introduction

A. Required Textbooks and References

B. Course Objectives

C. Herbarium Methods: Collecting, Pressing, and Mounting Plants

D. Specimen Identification Labels and Field Notes

E. Topographic Maps & Use Of Global Positioning Satellite (GPS)

F. Native vs. Naturalized Plants

II. How To Use A FLORA OF SAN DIEGO COUNTY

A. Major Subdivisions of Vascular Plants

B. Binomial System of Nomenclature

C. Citation of Author's Names (Parenthetical Authorities)

D. Pronunciation of Scientific Names: Long (Grave) and Short (Acute) Accents

E. Use of Indented Dichotomous Key

F. Use of Computer Data Base Programs and Spreadsheets in Extensive Plant collections

III. Plant Taxonomy Terminology

A. Basic Vegetative Morphology

1. Subterranean Parts Including Roots, Rhizomes, corms, etc.

2. Leaf Types, Shapes, Margins, Phyllotaxy, etc.

1. Generalized Bisexual Floral Diagram

2. Unisexual Flowers--Monoecious vs. Dioecious

3. Monocot vs. Dicot Flowers

4. Inflorescence Types

5. Ovary Position and Placentation

1. Simple Fruits vs. Multiple and Aggregate Fruits

2. Dehiscence vs. Indehiscence

3. Seed Dispersal Mechanisms

E. Basic Characteristics of Conifers and Pteridophytes

IV. Plant Ecology and Vegetation Analysis

A. Major Vegetation Types (Biomes) In World

B. California Plant Communities and Altitudinal Life Zones

C. Quantitative Vegetation Sampling

D. Writing Scientific Papers

V. Taxonomy of Grasses, Sedges, and Rushes

VI. Phylogeny of Flowering Plants

A. General Trends in Angiosperm Evolution

B. Cladistic Analysis of Families, Genera & Species Using DNA Sequencing

C. Comparative Biochemistry of Angiosperm Families

D. Poisonous Flowering Plants

1. Lectins, Alkaloids, Glucosides, and Phenolic Compounds

2. Primary Plant Irritants & Allergic Contact Dermatitis (Nettles & Poison Oak)

VII. Pollination Adaptations

A. Insect, Wind, and Water Pollution

B. Significance of Floral Color, Scent, and Nectaries

C. Miscellaneous Insect Adaptations-Insect Galls and Jumping Bean Moth

D. Insect-Flower Relationships

1. Fig and Fig Wasp
2. Yucca Yucca Moth
3. Aristolochia Flower
4. Salvia Flower
5. Orchid/Hymenopteran Seduction
6. Arum Blossoms (Araceae)
7. Nocturnal Tropical Blossoms
8. Gardenia Thunbergia Blossom
9. Marine Angiosperms
10. Datura and Hawkmoth
11. Duckweed Pollination
12. Milkweek Pollination
13. Aristolochia Flower
14. Heterostyly
15. Protogyny and Protandry
16. Dioecism

VIII. Insectivorous Plants and Nitrogen Fixation

IX. Parasitic, Saprophytic, and Mycotrophic Wildflowers

REQUIRED READING:

Barbour, M.G. and J. Major. 1977, 1990. Terrestrial Vegetation of California. John Wiley & Sons, New York.

Hickman, James C. (Editor). The Jepson Manual of Higher PLants of California. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993.

Plant Communities of Southern California. CNPS Special Publication No. 2, 1976.

Selected journal articles on botanical subjects provided by the instructor. Including numerous articles about ecology and natural history on Wayne's Word®: An On-Line Textbook of Natural History, published on-line through Palomar College (https://www2.palomar.edu/users/warmstrong/index.htm).

SUGGESTED READING:

Beauchamp, R. M. A Flora of San Diego County. National City, CA: Sweetwater River Press, 1986.

Harrington, H. D. & L. W. Durrell. How to Identify Plants. Chicago: The Swallow Press, 1957.

Walters, D.R. and D.J. Keil. 1996. Vascular Plant Taxonomy. Kendall/Hunt Publishing Co., Dubuque, Iowa.

REQUIRED WRITING:

Each lecture exam includes several essay questions with each answer requiring one-half to one full page of writing. Other writing assignments may include short essays on specific topics, journal article reviews, and/or a five-page term paper on local plant communities written in scientific format. These assignments will total a minimum of ten pages of writing.

OUTSIDE ASSIGNMENTS:

Students are expected to spend a minimum of three hours per unit per week in class and on outside assignments.

Class preparation may include such activities as assigned reading in text and review of lecture material. Students will be required to assemble a plant collection of twenty-five plants, properly pressed, identified, and labeled according to the current rule of botanical nomenclature. Students will also be required to complete a five-page term paper on local plant communities.

INSTRUCTIONAL METHODOLOGY:

Check all that apply:

_____ lecture

_____ laboratory

x____ lecture-laboratory combination

_____ directed study

Classroom lectures supplemented with 35mm color transparencies, plant taxonomy, charts and models, living and preserved botanical materials. Laboratories with extensive use of dissection microscopes, living botanical material, various floras and regional taxonomic volume, and the Palomar College Herbarium (PASM).

This course may be offered as a distance education course and meets Title 5 regulations 55370, 55372, 55374, 55376, 55378, and 55380.

Yes _____      No  X _____

If yes, check all that apply. (See guidelines for preparation for definitions.)

____ telecourse

____ mediated instruction

____ computer assisted instruction

GRADING POLICY AND STANDARDS (include methods for determining whether the stated objectives have been met by students):

Final grade is based on total points accumulated during the semester. A minimum of three objective/subjective exams (multiple choice and essay), a comprehensive final, at least 12 keying-out quizzes involving one or more wildflowers or grasses, and several terminology quizzes on plant families and plant communities make up 50% of the course grade. A plant collection of 25 plants properly pressed, identified, and labeled makes up 25% of the course grade, and a five page term paper on local plant communities makes up the final 25% of the course grade.

The grade scale is based on the following percentages of the highest student (i.e., student with highest point total--excluding extra credit):

>95% (A)   >85% (B)   >65% (C)   >50% (D)   Less Than 50% (F)

IS COURSE REPEATABLE FOR REASON(S) OTHER THAN DEFICIENT GRADE?

Yes _____ No   X _____

Number of times course may be taken for credit:    1

If yes, identify specific provision of Title 5 Division 2 section(s) 55761-55763 and 58161 which qualifies course as repeatable:

CONTACT PERSON: WAYNE P. ARMSTRONG, x.2524

SIGNATURES:

By signing this form, I certify that this course outline of record meets all the minimum requirements for associate degree credit courses as specified in Title 5 section 55002.

Prepared by (signature & date):
____________________________________________________

Department Chairperson/Director (signature & date):
____________________________________________________

Division Dean (signature & date):
____________________________________________________

Curriculum Committee Representative (signature & date):
____________________________________________________

Course outlines should be reviewed regularly and revised as necessary.

NOTE: Some revisions to course outlines of record require Curriculum Committee approval, others may not. Please consult your dean or the Instruction Office if you need assistance.

November 16, 1995

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