Summer Flora 2014
From EEBedia
EEB 4272
Summer Session I
June 2nd to July 2nd
M/W/F 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm
TLS 179
Syllabus
Instructor
Nora Mitchell (nora.mitchell@uconn.edu)
Contact me for a permission number
Course description
New England is home to a diverse and thriving selection of plants, many of which reach their peak exuberance during the summer. Proper identification of plants and an understanding of their interactions with the environment are important facets that aid in the appreciation of our natural resources. In this course, students will:
- Learn to recognize by sight some of the more common plant species
- Develop a skill set for identifying unknown plant species
- Gain experience in plant census, collection and curation techniques
- Learn the system of classifying plant diversity and of naming plant species
- Learn about the diversity of plant habitats in New England
- Learn about invasive species and conservation issues in plant biology
The course focuses primarily on plant identification and classification, but students also will acquire skills that would serve them in any number of careers dealing with natural resource management.
Required equipment (all available from UConn Co-op)
- 30x hand lens (provided for you!)
- field notebook
- pencils
Course Texts
- Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide by L. Newcomb, 1989.
- Trees of Eastern and Central United States and Canada by W.M. Harlow, 1957.
- Fern Finder by A. C. Hallowell and B. G. Hallowell, 1981.
Grading
- Quizzes & Assignment 20%
- Mid-term exam 30%
- Final exam 30%
- Plant collection/preservation project 20%
- Rubric for assignments:
Tentative schedule: subject to weather!
Helpful Links
- UConn Plant Database (http://www.hort.uconn.edu/plants/)
- UConn Herbarium (http://bgbaseserver.eeb.uconn.edu/)
- UConn Arboretum Map (http://www.uconnarboretum.uconn.edu/map.php)
- USDA Plants (http://plants.usda.gov/java/)
- New England Wildflower Society (http://www.newenglandwild.org/)
- Go Botany Key (http://gobotany.newenglandwild.org/)
- Botanical Society of America (http://www.botany.org/)
- Invasive Plant Atlas of New England (http://www.eddmaps.org/ipane/)
- Taxonomic Information System (http://www.itis.gov/)
- CT DEEP Threatened Plants (http://www.ct.gov/deep/cwp/view.asp?a=2702&q=323482&deepNav_GID=1628)
- CT Botanical Society (http://www.ct-botanical-society.org/)