Weber State University          Department of Botany

                                                    BTNY  LS1203 - Plant  Biology
 

Economic Botany: Past, Present, and Future Uses of Plants

1.  Food and related crops
    direct human consumption:  grains, legumes, fruits and vegetables, nuts, roots and tubers
    fodder, pasture
    products:  sugar, oils, starches, gums and gels
    flavor:   herbs, spices, flavorings (extracts)
    beverages:  tea, coffee, cocoa, beer, wine, distilled spirits

2.  Textiles and commercial fibers
    cotton, flax (linen)
    cordage
    dyes

3.  Wood and similar materials
    pulp
    lumber
    fuel

4.  Aesthetics
    perfumes
    ornamentals:  cut flowers, house plants, landscaping  
    natural habitats  
    the arts:  music, literature

5.  Ceremonial and Symbolic
    social customs
    religious practices

6.  Chemicals
    medicines:  quinine, vinblastine, taxol
    poisons:  strychnine, nicotine

Review

Why study plants
    food (be able to define), oxygen, photosynthesis
    humus, windbreak, erosion prevention
    textile fibers, dyes
    medicines, poisons
    flavors, scents
    latex
    wood:  lumber, fuel, paper
    fossil fuels:  coal, natural gas, petroleum

What is meant by the phrase economic botany?  What topics does it cover?

autotrophic, heterotrophic

producer, consumer, decomposer

Suggested Online Reading

Why Study Plants?  (from Ross Koning at Eastern Connecticut State University)

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27 August 2006.  Links checked 2 January 2011.