Botany is the scientific study of plants and is also commonly referred to as “plant biology”, “plant science”, or “phytology”. Botany is a branch of biology. There are many branches within botany as well. Humans have been involved in the study of plants since the beginning of human history. It makes sense: plants are the most important source of life on earth. Plants are responsible for sustaining ecosystems and food chains, maintaining our atmosphere, and providing unlimited resources for us. Let’s take a look at the branches of botany that I find the most interesting.

Archaeobotany

Archaeobotany is the study of ancient plants and how people used these plants in the past. Some of these uses could include foods, fuels, religious purposes, tools, medicine, building, and crafting. Archaeobotanists mainly focus on the retrieval of materials to study, and interpreting the relationship between what plant materials they find and the people of that time period.

The materials that archaeobotanists study include plant fossils, charred plants, and charred wood. The stories that archaeobotanists can uncover through the study of plant fossils is amazing.

Paleobotany

Paleobotany is similar to archaeobotany in that they both study ancient plants. However, paleobotany is not as concerned with the plant-human relationship. Paleobotany focuses more on the overall picture of what plants were like in different areas in the past.

Paleobotanists also study plant fossils. Many plant fossils are categorized as “microfossils”, which are less than 1mm in size. A microfossil could be a tiny seed, pollen, fruit, or plant fragment. There are several plant fossil collections in North America – such as the Harvard Botanical Museum and the Burke Museum – that have over 60,000 specimens. Paleobotany is the perfect combination of plants and history.

Plant Pathology

Plant pathology is the study of plant diseases. Plants are plagued by viral, bacterial, and fungal diseases – just like humans. Preventing and treating plant diseases is essential for keeping our food sources secure.

Plant pathologists could be called the doctors for plants. They mainly work in agriculture or its related fields. Plant pathologists are highly desired by any institution that grows plants because they are the experts when it comes to studying, preventing, and treating plant disease.

Forensic Botany

Forensic botany is the study of plants for criminal investigations. Forensic botanists help law enforcement solve crimes by analyzing plants or plant parts from crime scenes. How cool is that?

Many plant parts such as pollen, seeds, or fragments can be tiny (less than 1mm in size). Their small size, ability to stick to clothing and objects for long periods of time, combined with a potentially highly specific habitat or locality can offer a lot of information for an investigation. The findings of forensic botanists can be used in court.

Astrobotany

Astrobotany is the study of plants in space. Astrobotany is an emerging field that could have future implications for human spaceflight and for growing plants in space environments. Studying anything in space is difficult due to limited resources and other challenges. Just like humans, there are a lot of struggles that plants can encounter in space. Radiation, lack of gravity (this effects the water that plants need, too), and lack of oxygen just to name a few.

Understanding how plants react to growing and living in space can also give us more ideas about the potential for life on other planets. The plants and plant-microbes that can survive space-like conditions also have the potential to help us grow more hardy plants here on earth as well.

Biotechnology

In short, biotechnology is the combination of biology and engineering to create products or services.

Plant biotechnology commonly uses plant genetics to select for desired traits. In agriculture these are known as “genetically engineered” or “GE” crops.

Sometimes genetically engineered crops can get a bad rep. However, biotechnology actually enables us to grow crops that are more resistant to pests and this in turn reduces the need for applying chemical pesticides and herbicides. Most of the food we eat today is the result of biotechnology.

Plant Taxonomy

Plant taxonomy, I believe, is one of the most underrated fields in botany.

Plant taxonomy is the discovery, identification, naming, and describing of plants. Plant taxonomy is like the library of all plants that we know of on earth and how they are classified. There are still new plants discovered every year that have never been named before. Plant taxonomy helps us figure out how to identify plants or classify new plants.

In 2022, Victoria boliviana was identified and classified for the first time. It is now the largest species of water lily in the entire genus!

Leave a comment and let me know which branch of botany is your favorite, especially if you have one that wasn’t on the list!