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BIO
337 Taxonomy
of Vascular Plants |
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Syllabus
for Spring 2008 4 credit
hour (2 hours lecture + 2 hours lab) Prerequisite: BIO 215 (Botany) or consent of instructor |
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Instructor: |
Dr. Andrew
Madison Office: 134 in White Hall Phone: 661-5127 Email: amadison@uu.edu (BUT, I prefer that you
email me through BlackBoard) Web
site:
http://www.uu.edu/personal/amadison |
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Office hours: |
Monday,
Wednesday, & Friday — 9:00 – 10:00 AM Tuesday
& Thursday — 9:30 – 10:30 AM These are
the hours that I am guaranteed to be in my office, excepting specially called
meetings or off-campus activities. Please
note: I may also be in WH 108 setting
up for a lab. FEEL FREE to drop by at
other times. If I am in my office or
in the lab, I’ll be happy to speak with you. |
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Course Objectives: |
The primary
focus of this class is identification of native plants in west Tennessee. Some emphasis will be placed on learning common
plants native to the southeastern US, although not necessarily west
Tennessee. The lectures will be primarily
oriented on general plant taxonomy and habitat associations of plants. Some emphasis will be placed on habitat
management and dealing with exotic plants.
The laboratories will be dominated with field trips, emphasizing
on-site plant identification and collection. |
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Are You “Field Ready?” |
I hope that
you love the great outdoors because we will be taking numerous local and
distant field trips. We will be going
on these field trips rain or shine!
(Excepting really severe weather, of course.) Nothing can be more miserable, though, than
to be ill-prepared for trampling around in brush and forests. Here are some suggestions (NOT
REQUIREMENTS) for having a comfortable time out in the field: 1) Wear
long pants. Even when it is hot,
light-colored long pants should be worn, primarily to protect against
ticks. Deer ticks are very abundant in
west Tennessee and they are known to carry Lyme disease (I’ve known several
people in the area to develop the disease).
I usually tuck my pants into my boots and douse the lower portion of
my pants with DEET to maximize tick protection. You also will want to check yourself for
ticks every time you leave the field. 2) Wear
“field worthy” clothing. This would
include either clothing you don’t minding getting ripped to shreds over the
semester or wearing tougher clothing.
Cabela’s® and other outdoor supply companies sell brush pants or brush
guards that make walking through thorns or low brush very easy. I have also found that an Army field jacket
is a good investment (they are tough and very roomy so you can wear multiple
layers, if needed). 3) Obtain a
good pair of water-proof boots.
Gore-tex® lined boots are the best and there are many types available
(Gander Mountain™ has a wide variety in their local store). I also have a pair of water-proof socks
(available though Cabela’s®) which simply add another level of protection
(even some water-proof boots will begin to leak over time). 4) When it
is cold, dress in layers (and don’t forget your legs). It is always much better to wear multiple
layers of clothing (although it may be heavier) than to put on one really
heavy coat. If you dress in layers,
you can take one or two layers off as needed if you begin to warm up after
traipsing around in the woods. Also,
be sure to obtain some long underwear for your legs. Regular long underwear can be purchased at
Wal-Mart™, but Cabela’s® sells some very cold-weather varieties. And, don’t forget a good pair of gloves,
too. 5) A good
hat. The type will largely depend on
the weather. I have a wide-brimmed
floppy hat that I can store in a pocket for warmer weather and a wool cap
when it is cold (and when it is REALLY cold, a balaclava). 6) Rain
suit or poncho. We will be going on
these field trips even if it is raining.
This will be a true test of your field readiness. I actually enjoy going out in the rain, if
I am properly dressed, because it seems “quieter”. Vinyl rain suits and ponchos are really
cheap and can be picked up at Wal-Mart™ or Gander Mountain™. I picked up a “DriDucks” rain suit at
Gander Mountain™ for around $16. If you
worry about having to purchase all of this, DON’T. You don’t have to purchase ANY of it. You can have a wonderful time in the great
outdoors without having to purchase all of this equipment, but it will make
your field trips more comfortable if you do. If you are concerned about the
cost, these clothing items are a good investment. Several items that I own have been used for
years. |
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Required Textbook: |
None are
required, but there are several good plant identification field guides that
you can purchase to assist you with this class (all of the below and others will
be available in WH 108): Harlow,
William H. 1946. Fruit Key & Twig Key to Trees &
Shrubs. Dover Publications, Inc. Amazon Price: $4.95 Newcomb,
Lawrence. 1977. Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide. Little, Brown and Company. Amazon Price: $13.59 (although for the
northeastern US, it has many plants in this area and a very interesting,
useful key). Peterson,
Roger Tory, and Margaret McKenny.
1996. Peterson Field Guide
Series - A Field Guide to Wildflowers: Northeastern and North-central North
America. Houghton Mifflin
Company. Amazon Price: $12.92 Petrides,
George A. 1972. Peterson Field Guide Series – A Field Guide
to Trees and Shrubs: Northeastern and
north-central United States and southeastern and south-central Canada. Houghton Mifflin Company. Amazon Price: $12.92 |
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BlackBoard |
You have been
provided with a BlackBoard account for this class. It is password protected and will provide
access to course information and provide a medium to track progress in the
course. I will be posting grades and
instigating occasional online discussions.
BlackBoard can be accessed from ANY computer with an internet
connection. This is NOT an online
class, but is more properly referred to as a “web enhanced” course. . |
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Method of
Evaluation: |
You will be
responsible to know any plant that we identify during class time, in the
laboratory, or on field trips. Every
lab practical and quiz is cumulative (although, I will be constantly “dry”
quizzing you on plants we observe in the field). Quizzes — When in the
field, I can have a “pop quiz” at any time, asking you to identify a
particular plant we come across. I
will hand out note cards and you will put your name and then the
identification of the plant. These
will be done individually. |
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Lab Practicals & Exams – At the
beginning of the semester, there will be a lab practical that covers basic
botanical terminology. Lecture exams
will cover management and habitat associations discussed during the
course. They will be a mixture of
multiple choice and short answer questions. |
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Attendance: |
I expect
you to be at every weekly session and field trips. If you know that you are going to miss a session,
I expect the professional courtesy of a phone call or email informing me IN
ADVANCE of your absence (non-emergency absences will NOT BE EXCUSED after the
fact, even for legitimate reasons).
Legitimate and excusable absences include (but are not limited to): 1)
personal illness (must be verified by a nurse/doctor excuse), 2) Union
University sponsored functions (I normally receive a notice concerning your
participation in these functions, but double-checking with me is always a
good idea), 3) death in the family or extreme family problems, and 4) civic
responsibilities (jury duty, military responsibilities, etc.). Attendance
will be taken at the beginning of each class.
I expect you to be on time. If
you have more than 3 unexcused absences from the weekly sessions, it will
result in automatic failure of the course.
It is VITALLY important that you show up ON TIME for off-campus field
trips. If you are late, you WILL be
left behind! |
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Cheating and
Plagiarism: |
I encourage
you to work with others in this class.
Make plant collections together, meet in the lab to review plants, go
out into the field to identify plants together. Just
don’t copy from each other’s work on exams or quizzes! Plagiarism,
intentional or unintentional, is prohibited.
Webster defines plagiarism as “the stealing and passing off of the
ideas or words of another as one’s own”.
Further, the MLA Handbook states, “Plagiarism may take the form of
repeating another’s sentences as your own, adopting a particularly apt phrase
as your own, or even presenting someone else’s line of thinking in the
development of a thesis as though it were your own.” In other words: do your own work. If you are
caught cheating on lab practicals, quizzes, or exams, you will receive an
automatic failing grade for this course and the incident will be
reported to the Dean of Arts and Sciences for further reprobation. |
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Last day to drop: |
If you know
that excessive absences will interfere with progress in this class, you
should consider taking another semester.
You can drop this course before March
4, 2008 without penalty. After this date you will receive a failing
grade, even if you drop the class (except for extenuating circumstances). |
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General Course
Outline: |
Lecture: This is the first time that I have taught this course and
I have NO IDEA of how long it will take me to cover the following topics, so
I just place them in order here as we should cover them:
Field
Trips: Technically,
we have lab every Saturday morning.
However, I have condensed ALL of the Saturday labs into 4 field
trips: two local just-Saturday field
trips and two weekend field trips.
This schedule is subject to change and revision. Feb 1 – In
Lab Only: Learning How to Use a
Botanical Key Feb 8 –
Around Union’s Campus Feb 15 –
Around Union’s Campus Feb 22 –
Dr. Huggin’s Farm Feb 29 –
Hatchie River National Wildlife Refuge Mar 1 –
Saturday Field trip to Land Between the Lakes Mar 7 –
Mrs. Crossett’s Farm Mar 14 –
Cypress Grove Natural Area Mar 15 –
Saturday Field trip to Reelfoot Lake Apr
4-6 – Field Trip to
the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and Jekyll Island, Georgia Apr 11 – Dr. Weaver’s Farm Apr
18-20 – Field Trip
to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park Apr 25 – Chickasaw State Park May 2 – Natchez
Trace State Park May 9 – TBA |
