Field Botany will introduce you to most of the plants that grow in western Washington. You will learn to recognize most of the common plants and some of the more interesting less common plants, to recognize the families to which these plants belong, and to understand the natural history of and relationships among these plants. You will learn these plants both through field trips and by learning to use a technical key. Numerous in-class field trips are required. Prerequisites are Biology 111, 112, and 211.

Objectives:

• Learn to use a technical key to identify plants
• Learn to recognize local plants by sight, both in flower and vegetatively
• Learn to recognize families of plants by flower characters
• Understand some of the natural history of these plants

Mimulus lewisii
photo Copyright © Betsy Kirkpatrick, 2000