Textbook in PDF format

In Plant Science: An Introduction to Botany, Dr. Catherine Kleier invites us to open our eyes to the phenomenal world of plant life and to the process she calls “Natura Revelata,” the joy of celebrating and learning from the secrets of nature. As Dr. Kleier shares her knowledge with contagious excitement for her subject, she emphasizes the middle ground: Instead of focusing on cell microbiology or the study of ecosystems and habitats, she stresses the basic biology, function, and the amazing adaptations of the plants we see all around us. Dr. Kleier proposes and establishes that there is pleasure to be found in being able to identify and understand the workings of that tree outside the window. With almost 400,000 known species and thousands more identified every year, the variety of plant life is almost overwhelming - from the microscopic to the largest organism on Earth. In this course, you will learn about the fascinating adaptations that have allowed plants to thrive in almost every corner of the world and the unique plants that have evolved as a result. You’ll learn about the latest discoveries regarding plant communication, the myriad ways they manage and shape their own environments, and why botanists are still debating what it really means to be a unique species.
The Joy of Botany
Plants Are like People
Moss Sex and Peat's Engineered Habitat
Fern Spores and the Vascular Conquest of Land
Roots and Symbiosis with Non-Plants
Stems Are More Than Just the In-Between
The Leaf as a Biochemical Factory
Photosynthesis Everyone Should Understand
Days and Years in the Lives of Plants
Advent of Seeds: Cycads and Ginkgoes
Why Conifers Are Holiday Plants
Secrets of Flower Power
The Coevolution of Who Pollinates Whom
The Many Forms of Fruit: Tomatoes to Peanuts
Plant Seeds Get Around
Water Plants Came from Land
Why the Tropics Have So Many Plant Species
The Complexity of Grasses and Grasslands
Shrublands of Roses and Wine
The Desert Bonanza of Plant Shapes
How Temperate Trees Change Color and Grow
Alpine Cold Makes Plants Do Funny Things
Bad Plants Aren't So Bad
Modifying the Genes of Plants