Introductory Botany: Plants, People, and the Environment

Abstract

The past 10 years have witnessed an explosion of knowledge in all disciplines of plant biology. The second edition of Introductory Botany: Plants, People, and the Environment, published 10 years after the first edition, updates and expands the first-edition presentation of basic biological concepts as they relate to plants. Like the first edition, Introductory Botany: Plants, People, and the Environment, Second Edition, is intended primarily as an introductory text for undergraduate students, both nonscience and science majors. It is written so that it will be easily understood by students with little or no background in plant biology. One of my principal goals in developing this edition has been to share with beginning botany students an appreciation of the diverse organisms we call plants, including their remarkable adaptations to the environment and their evolutionary and ecological relationships. Special emphasis has been placed on ecology, particularly the role of plants in the biosphere, and relevant environmental issues have been integrated into many chapters.