The Botanist’s Eye: Identifying the Plants around You

Course Overview

Join an experienced botanist for 24 richly illustrated lessons on how to identify and appreciate the marvelous diversity of plant species.

Course No. 9054
With over 300,000 plant species on Earth, most of us walk past botanical wonders every day without seeing them. Dr. Catherine Kleier transforms this plant blindness into appreciation by teaching you to:

• Decode plant taxonomy using the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system
• Master field identification of 50+ common North American plant families
• Understand evolutionary relationships from ancient mosses to modern roses
• Recognize edible/medicinal plants like mustards, mints, and nightshades

Through vivid examples (corpse flowers! exploding cucumbers!), you’ll gain skills to name backyard plants and discover their fascinating stories.

Video Lectures

Module 1: Botanical Foundations

1. Why Learn Plant Names? (30 min)

• How taxonomy organizes life (ponderosa pine case study)

1. Plants Are Named Like People (32 min)

• Linnaean system vs. modern genetic classification

1. The Language of Botany (32 min)

• Key terms for roots, stems, leaves, and flower symmetry

Module 2: Ancient Plant Families

2. Before Flowers Existed (30 min)

• Mosses, ferns, and gymnosperms like Gingko trees

2. Monocots vs. Eudicots (26 min)

• Pollen structures distinguishing ancient plant groups

2. Bulb Monocots (28 min)

• Liliaceae (Easter lilies), Araceae (corpse flower)

Module 3: Major Eudicot Families

10. Buttercups & Poppies (28 min)

• Ranunculaceae floral formulas and toxic beauties

10. Peas and Beans (27 min)

• Fabaceae’s “wings, banner, keel” flower pattern

10. The Mustard Family (30 min)

• How Brassica oleracea became kale, broccoli, and cabbage

Module 4: Economically Important Plants

13. Rose Family (28 min)

• Stone fruits (peaches, almonds) and their relatives

13. Chocolate & Coffee (29 min)

• Malvaceae (cacao) and Rubiaceae (coffee plants)

13. Mint Family (28 min)

• Square stems and lipped flowers of Lamiaceae

Module 5: Advanced Identification

22. Sunflower Family (31 min)

• Asteraceae: From dandelions to artichokes

22. Deadly Parsleys (27 min)

• Apiaceae’s edible herbs vs. poison hemlock

22. Botany’s Future (29 min)

• How DNA is reshaping plant classification