Raven PH, Evert RF, Eichhorn SE – Biologia delle piante. Zanichelli, sesta editore, Bologna.
Falusi M. - Appunti di biologia delle piante
Available on the teacher page of Moodle platform.
Signorini M. A., Appunti di Botanica sitematica. Available on the teacher page of Moodle platform.
Powerpoint slides. Available on the teacher page of Moodle platform.
Learning Objectives
Knolewdge acquired:
Knowledge acquired:
to know and understand
- material and energetic bases of living systems
- relations between plant structure and function and relations among living organisms
- plant diversity within an evolutionary approach, with special focus on flowering plants and on crop plants, in particular.
Competence acquired
- how plant cells work
- the main features of plants
- the main characteristics of different groups of green plants and of some relevant flowering plants of Italian flora.
Skills acquired (at the end of the course):
- ability to analyse and understand morphology and anatomy of plants, and also their function
- ability to analyse and understand plant diversity and to identificate the main plant crop species..
Prerequisites
Courses recommended:
Courses recommended General and inorganic Chemistry, Organic Chemistry
Teaching Methods
Total hours of the course (including the time spent in attending lectures, seminars, private study, examinations, etc...): 225
Hours reserved to private study and other indivual formative activities: 153
Contact hours for: Lectures (hours): 50
Contact hours for: Laboratory (hours):
Contact hours for: Laboratory-field/practice (hours): 18
Seminars (hours): 4
Stages: 0
Intermediate examinations: 0
Further information
Office hours. Make an appointment by mail: piero.bruschi@unifi.it
Type of Assessment
Oral
Course program
PRINCIPLES
Diversity of living organisms. Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes. The Five Kingdoms theory.
Evolution and natural selection.
Sexual and vegetative reproduction. Meiosis and fertilization. Gametes and spores. Gametophyte and Sporophyte. Alternation of generations.
General concepts of plant systematics. The species and the species name. Systematic classifications and Taxonomic units (taxa).
Notes on Prokaryotes, Fungi, Algae. Evolutionary relationships between Green Algae (Chlorophyta) and Land Plants.
TERRESTRIAL PLANTS OR TRUE PLANTS (EMBRYOBIONTA).
Evolutionary spurs for moving to dry land.
Main features of Bryophytes, their reproduction, life cycle, diversity, ecological importance.
The Vascular Plants or Tracheophytes. Vascular tissues. The origin of stem, leaf and root.
THE SEEDLESS VASCULAR PLANTS OR 'PTERIDOPHYTES'.
Main features of Psilotophyta, Lycopodiophyta, Equisetophyta. The Ferns (Polypodiophyta): main features, life cycle. Ecological and economic importance of seedless vascular plants.
Homospory and heterospory.
The Seed Plants (Spermatophytes). The ovule-seed, the pollen grain and their evolutionary importance.
GYMNOSPERMS (PINOPHYTA).
Main features. Reproductive structures and fertilization in different systematic groups of Gymnosperms.
THE FLOWERING PLANTS OR ANGIOSPERMS (MAGNOLIOPHYTA) Morphological and ecological diversity of Flowering Plants. Vegetative organs: root, leaf, stem and their modifications. Reproduction in Flowering Plants: gametophytes development, pollination, double fertilization. Reproductive morphology: flowers and inflorescences. Fruit, seed. Notes on angiosperms classifications. The evolutionary success of flowering plants.
LABORATORY:
Structure and ultrastructure of plant cell.
Anatomy of root, stem and leaf in Angiosperms and Gymnosperms.
Morphological features of vegetative and reproductive organs in flowering plants.
Some relevant crop plants cultivated in Italy.