| Description: |
This class surveys the 500-million year evolutionary history of terrestrial plants, from the earliest spore-producing land plants to Darwin’s “abominable mystery” of flowering plant evolution. It introduces phylogenetic principles and methods for identifying, naming, and classifying plant diversity. A total evidence approach to phylogenetic systematics is presented where genetic, morphological, and paleontological data are used in reconstructing the evolutionary relationships of extant and extinct taxa. Labs will focus on plant classification and identification. The class meets three times a week for lecture and paper discussions and once a week for a two-hour lab. Credit: 4 undergraduate hours/4 graduate hours. |
