Branches of botany

Botany is a natural science concerned with the study of plants. The main branches of botany (also referred to as "plant science") are commonly divided into three groups: core topics, concerned with the study of the fundamental natural phenomena and processes of plant life, the classification and description of plant diversity; applied topics which study the ways in which plants may be used for economic benefit in horticulture, agriculture and forestry; and organismic topics which focus on plant groups such as algae, mosses or flowering plants.

Core topics

• Cytology – cell structure, chromosome number
• Epigenetics – Control of gene expression
• Paleobotany – Study of fossil plants and plant evolution
• Palynology – Pollen and spores
• Plant biochemistry – Chemical processes of primary and secondary metabolism
• Phenology – timing of germination, flowering and fruiting
• Phytochemistry – Plant secondary chemistry and chemical processes
• Phytogeography – Plant Biogeography, the study of plant distributions
• Phytosociology – Plant communities and interactions
• Plant anatomy – Structure of plant cells and tissues
• Plant ecology – Role and function of plants in the environment
• Plant evolutionary developmental biology – Plant development from an evolutionary perspective
• Plant genetics – Genetic inheritance in plants
• Plant morphology – Structure of plants
• Plant physiology – Life functions of plants
• Plant reproduction – Processes of plant reproduction
• Plant systematics – Classification and naming of plants
• Plant taxonomy – Classification and naming of plants

Applied topics

• Agronomy – Application of plant science to crop production
• Arboriculture – Culture and propagation of trees
• Biotechnology – Use of plants to synthesize products
• Dendrology – Study of woody plants, shrubs, trees and lianas
• Economic botany – Study of plants of economic use or value
• Ethnobotany – Plants and people. Use and selection of plants by humans
• Forestry – Forest management and related studies
• Horticulture – cultivation of garden plants
• Marine botany – Study of aquatic plants and algae that live in seawater
• Micropropagation – rapid propagation of plants using cell and tissue culture
• Pharming (genetics) – Genetic engineering of plants to produce pharmaceuticals
• Plant breeding – Breeding of plants with desirable genetic characters
• Plant pathology (Phytopathology) – Plant diseases
• Plant propagation – propagation of plants from seed, bulbs, tubers, cuttings and grafting
• Pomology – Fruit and nuts

Organismal topics

• Agrostology – Grasses
• Batology – Brambles
• Bryology^[1] – Mosses, liverworts, and hornworts
• Lichenology – Lichens
• Mycology, or fungology – Fungi
• Orchidology – Orchids
• Phycology,^[2] or algology – Algae
• Pteridology – Fern and their allies
• Rhodology – Roses
• Synantherology – Compositae

References

Biology
Subdisciplines	Anatomy Astrobiology Biochemistry Biogeography Biological classification Biomechanics Biophysics Bioinformatics Biostatistics Botany Cell biology Cellular microbiology Chemical biology Chronobiology Cognitive biology Computational biology Conservation biology Developmental biology Ecology Epidemiology Epigenetics Evolutionary biology Feminist biology Genetics Genomics Histology Human biology Immunology Lipidology Marine biology Mathematical biology Microbiology Molecular biology Mycology Nanobiotechnology Neuroscience Nutrition Origin of life Paleontology Parasitology Pathology Pharmacology Physiology Quantum biology Reproductive biology Structural biology Systematics Systems biology Toxicology Virology Virophysics Zoology
Hierarchy of life	Biosphere >  Ecosystem > Community (Biocoenosis) > Population >  Organism > Organ system > Organ > Tissue > Cell > Organelle > Biomolecular complex > Molecule (Macromolecule, Biomolecule) > Atom
Foundations	Cell theory Ecology Energy Transformation Evolution Genetics Homeostasis Synthetic biology Taxonomy
Principles	Evolution Adaptation Genetic drift Gene flow Macroevolution Microevolution Mutation Natural selection Speciation Ecology Biodiversity Biological interaction Community Ecosystem Habitat Niche Population dynamics Resources Molecular biology Cell signaling Development Epigenetics Gene regulation Meiosis Mitosis Post-transcriptional modification Biochemistry Carbohydrates Lipids Metabolism Nucleic acids Photosynthesis Proteins
Glossaries	Botanical terms Ecological terms Plant morphology terms
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History of botany
Fields and disciplines	Agriculture Biogeography Bryology Cladistics Comparative anatomy Cytology Economic botany Ethnobotany Floristics Forestry Genetic engineering Horticulture Lichenology Molecular phylogenetics Mycology Natural history Numerical taxonomy Paleobotany Palynology Phycology Phytochemistry Phytogeography Plant anatomy Plant ecology Plant genetics Plant morphology Plant pathology Plant physiology Pteridology
Institutions	Jardin des Plantes Natural History Museum, London Orto botanico di Padova Orto botanico di Pisa Rothamsted Research Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Publications	Historia Plantarum and Causes of Plants of Theophrastus c. 300 BC De Plantis of Nicolaus of Damascus c. 1st-century BC De Materia Medica of Dioscorides c. 60 AD Naturalis Historia 77–79 AD De Vegetabilibus of Albertus Magnus c. 1256 Herbarum Vivae Icones 1530 Libellus De Re Herbaria Novus 1538 Kreütterbuch of Hieronymus Bock 1539 De plantis libri XVI of Caesalpino 1583 Stirpium Historiae 1583 Herball, or Generall Historie of Plantes 1597 Prodromus Theatrici Botanici 1620 Pinax theatri botanici 1623 Anatome Plantarum 1675 Anatomy of Plants 1682 Historia Plantarum of John Ray 1686–1704 De Sexu Plantarum Epistola 1694 Éléments de botanique 1694 Vegetable Staticks 1727 Systema Naturae 1735 Genera Plantarum 1737 Philosophia Botanica 1751 Species Plantarum 1753 Systema Naturae, 10th ed. 1758–9 Familles des Plantes 1763–4 Experiments Upon Vegetables 1779 Die Metamorphose der Pflantzen 1790 Traité d'Anatomie et de Physiologie Végétale 1802 Recherches Chimiques sur la Végétation 1804 Beyträge zur Anatomie der Pflanzen 1812 Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis 1824–73 Nepenthaceae Die Vegetabilische Zelle 1851 Vergleichende Untersuchungen 1851 On the Origin of Species 1859 Experiments on Plant Hybridization 1865 Die Vegetation der Erde 1872 Plantesamfund 1895 Pflanzengeographie auf Physiologischer Grundlage 1898 Variation and Evolution in Plants 1950 Ontogeny and Phylogeny 1977 An Integrated System of Classification of Flowering Plants 1981
Theories and concepts	Alternation of generations Cell theory Center of diversity Phylogenetic nomenclature Spontaneous generation Taxonomy Ultrastructure
Influential figures	Theophrastus c. 371–287 BC Pliny the Elder 23–79 AD Pedanius Dioscorides c. 40–90 AD Otto Brunfels 1464–1534 Hieronymus Bock 1498–1554 Valerius Cordus 1515–1544 William Turner 1515–1568 Rembert Dodoens 1517–1585 Andrea Cesalpino 1519–1603 Gaspard Bauhin 1560–1624 Joachim Jungius 1587–1657 John Ray 1623–1705 Nehemiah Grew 1628–1711 Marcello Malpighi 1628–1694 Joseph Pitton de Tournefort 1656–1708 Rudolf Jakob Camerarius 1665–1721 Stephen Hales 1677–1761 Bernard de Jussieu 1699–1777 Carolus Linnaeus 1707–1778 Michel Adanson 1727–1806 Jan Ingenhousz 1730–1799 Joseph Banks 1743–1820 Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 1749–1832 Carl Ludwig Willdenow 1765–1812 Nicolas-Théodore de Saussure 1767–1845 Alexander von Humboldt 1769–1859 Aimé Bonpland 1773–1858 Thomas Nuttall 1786–1859 Joakim Frederik Schouw 1789–1852 Matthias Jakob Schleiden 1804–1881 Alexander Braun 1805–1877 George Engelmann 1809–1884 Asa Gray 1810–1888 August Grisebach 1814–1879 Joseph Hooker 1817–1911 Gregor Mendel 1822–1884 Nathanael Pringsheim 1823–1894 Wilhelm Hofmeister 1824–1877 Julius von Sachs 1832–1897 Eugenius Warming 1841–1924 William Gilson Farlow 1844–1919 Andreas Franz Wilhelm Schimper 1856–1901 Nikolai Vavilov 1887–1943 Barbara McClintock 1902–1992 G. Ledyard Stebbins 1906–2000 Eugene Odum 1913–2002 Arthur Cronquist 1919–1992
Related topics	Botanical garden Herbal Plant taxonomy History of plant systematics Systems of plant taxonomy Herbalism History of agricultural science History of agriculture History of biochemistry History of biotechnology History of ecology History of evolutionary thought History of genetics History of geology History of medicine History of molecular biology History of molecular evolution History of paleontology History of phycology History of science Natural philosophy Philosophy of biology Timeline of biology and organic chemistry
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Horticulture and gardening
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