Botany 101

1.) Botany for Herbalists: Introduction, Naming, Evolution & Classification of Plants

Our first lesson will introduce botany, the scientific study of plants, and focus on its relevance to students of herbal medicine. This discussion includes major evolutionary categories of plants, how they are classified & their naming. The usefulness & importance of scientific names will be highlighted.
2.) Plant Anatomy, Terminology & Identifying Characteristics

Plant identification is primarily 2 things: pattern recognition & attention to detail. This lesson brings our attention to the details of plants that we observe and the language used to describe these observations. Students can look forward to a richer understanding of the living world as well as a growing skill-set for identifying and discussing the plants that they encounter.
3.) Plant Families & other Groupings of Plants

Picking up where the first session left off, this class will further discuss classification of plants based on their evolutionary history. Of most practical relevance for plant identification purposes and for herbal practitioners is understanding these groupings at the family level. Plant family recognition skills will allow students to more quickly identify common & medicinal plants as well as extrapolate medicinally useful information about plants within those families.

Course curriculum