Botany in Medieval-Renaissance Period

Medieval - Renaissance Period

• The invention of printing presses and advancements in navigation led to the distribution of new books, making it easier to access knowledge about plants.
• Herbals were chief botanical books containing descriptions and illustrations of plants during this period.

German Fathers of Botany

• Hieronymus Bock (1498-1554) was one of the three German Fathers of Botany who began the transition from medieval to modern scientific botany through his books and system of classifying plants.
• Leonhard Fuchs (1501-1566) was another German Father of Botany who wrote notable commentaries on the history of plants and described 497 plants with over 500 woodcuts based on first-hand observation.
• Otto Brunfels (1488-1534) was the third German Father of Botany who created the Herbarium of Life-like Images in Imitation of Nature, a collection of original and detailed representations of live plants.

Other Botanists

• Gaspard Bauhin (1560-1624) wrote Phytopinax, which described and classified plants by drawing comparisons to the later binomial nomenclature of Linnaeus.

The Modern Period

• Exploration in the 18th century led to the discovery of thousands of new plants, and plant life was divorced from superstition, folklore, and mythology.
• Andrea Cesalpino (1519-1603) wrote De Plantis Libri XVI, which classified plants according to their fruits and seeds without illustrations.
• Carolus Linnaeus (1707-1778) is considered the Father of Modern Taxonomy and wrote The Species of Plants, which classified all known plants according to the binomial system.

Definition of Botany and Plants

• Botany is the scientific study of plants, including their structure, functions, physiology, classification, origin, and evolution.
• Plants are multi-cellular eukaryotic living things that produce their own food through photosynthesis and have rigid cell walls, stems, leaves, and roots.

The Scientific Method

• The scientific method involves making observations, formulating hypotheses, and testing these hypotheses through experimentation.

Origin and Evolution of Plants

• Primitive men distinguished between edible and poisonous plants through trial and error.
• Greeks pioneered the expression of plant science problems and principles for practical reasons.
• Aristotle studied the "nature" of plants and was familiar with a wide range of biological facts.
• Theophrastus is considered the Father of Botany and wrote History of Plants, which classified crude plants into flowering and non-flowering plants.

Ancient Period

• Ebers Papyrus is one of the oldest surviving medical records made by the Egyptians.
• Crateuas is considered the Father of Botanical Illustrations and made the first illustrated herbals and treaties on pharmacology.
• Pliny the Elder wrote Natural History, which described the biological, medicinal, and agricultural aspects of plants.
• Pedanios Dioscorides studied the medicinal values of plants and described the medicinal properties of about 600 plant species.

16th-17th Century Botanists

• De Jussieu explored plants primarily for their curative qualities, focusing on plant classification.

Modern Botany

• The theory of organic evolution prepared the way for a natural system of classification, where plants related to one another through common ancestry are grouped together.
• Charles Darwin introduced the scientific theory of natural selection, leading to a more intensive study of the laws of variation and inheritance.
• Gregor Mendel is considered the Father of Genetics and formulated Mendel's Law of Inheritance.

Importance of Plants

• Plants are a fundamental source of food, shelter, fuel, and medicines.
• Plants provide aesthetic purposes to the environment, help conserve biodiversity, and serve as buffers to climate change.
• Plants are used and developed into medicines, such as Akapulko, Ampalaya, and Yerba buena.

Characteristics of Plants

• Plants are highly organized, take in and use energy, respond to stimuli, grow and develop, and reproduce.
• Plants adapt to their environment through changes that occur over a long period of time.

Classification of Plants

• Plants are classified into Domains, Kingdoms, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, and Species.
• The binomial system of nomenclature is used to identify plants, such as Momordica charantia for Ampalaya.

Fields of Botany

• Taxonomy is the scientific study of classification and nomenclature of living things.
• Morphology is the scientific study of forms and structure of living things.
• Physiology is the scientific study of mechanisms and functions of living things.
• Plant ecology, phytogeography, paleobotany, economic botany, forestry, pharmacology, agriculture, soil science, agronomy, horticulture, and plant pathology are all disciplines of botany.