ECONOMIC BOTANY – BSC 406/505 (3 cr hrs)
COURSE SYLLABUS 2012
TEXT: S - Simpson, B. and M. Conner-Ogorzaly. 2001. Economic Botany:Plants in Our World. 3rd Ed. McGraw-Hill, New York.
LECTURE TOPICS AND ACTIVITIES:
1. Introduction and objectives of the course
Reference material available
Responsibilities and course content
Abstracts (undergraduate students)
Research paper (graduate students)
Market surveys of botanical products
Discussion papers - To be assigned later in class
Group Project: Poster Preparation - To be assigned later
Grading procedure
Course and University policies to be observed Page 3
2. Diversity in the plant and fungi kingdoms (Handouts)
Plant classification and major groups of plants (Handouts)
Nature and Success of angiosperms (Handouts)
3. Medicinal plants (S- 262-285)
History of plants in medicine (Handout)
Medicinal plant chemistry (Handout)
Selected medicinal plants and active products (Handout)
4. Ethnobotany and Ethnomedicine
Ethnobotanical Approach to Drug Discovery, by A. Cox and M. Balick. Discussion paper to be assigned in class.
Intellectual Property of Indigenous People
Film: Green Medicine (film critique required)
PowerPoint: Searching for Medicinal Plants in the Upper Amazon Basin of Ecuador (PP
lecture critique required)
5. Poisons and psychoactive drugs from plants (S- 286-312)
Insecticides from plants
FIRST EXAMINATIONDATE: 16 FEB 2012 (estimated date)
6. Origins of agriculture (S- 67-83; Handouts)
Origin and dispersal of selected crop plants (Handouts)
7. Grains and forage grasses (S- 107-135)
The grass plant (Handout)
Origin and distribution of major grain crops (Handout)
Forage crops
SECOND EXAMINATION DATE: 5 APRIL 2012 (estimated date)
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8. Wood and wood products (S- 378-398; Handouts)
North American forests
9. Fibers, dyes, inks and tannins (S- 355-377; Handouts)
Classification, origin and use of plant fibers
Sisal, Flax, Jute, Cotton, Ramie
10. Stimulating Beverages (S- 313-331)
Coffee, tea, chocolate, mate, kola, guarana
Discussion paper to be assigned in class.
11. Spices, herbs and perfumes (S- 192-217)
History of spice trade
Distribution of spices in the world
Essential oils
12. Plant – Based BioFuels (Handouts)
FINAL EXAMINATION DATE: See Final Exam Schedule(Thur,3 May, 6-8PM)
Professor: Dan K. Evans PhD
Office: SCI 364Tel. 304-696-6467
Office Hrs: Mon – Thu 1:00 – 3:30 PM
PR: BSC 121 with grade of C or better or BSC 105 with B or better
Meeting Time and Place: 6:00-8:30PM Thu; SCI 374
Additional Assignments
Abstracts of journal publications – Undergraduate students. See instructions page 4
Research paper – Graduate students. See instructions page 6
Market survey of useful plants – Graduate and Undergraduate. See instructions page 4 and 5
Course Outcomes Expected
Be able to relate the principles of Economic Botany to other disciplines in biology.
Be able to relate useful plants to the affairs of mankind.
Be able to relate useful plants to the local and world economy.
Grading Procedure
3 Major Exams 300 points
Market Surveys 50 (2 x 25)
Abstracts (ugrad) 50 (5 x 10)
or
Research paper (grad) 50
Total Points 400 Points
Grades based on a 10% scale: 90%=A;80%=B;70%=C;60%=D;<60%=F
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IMPORTANTCOURSE AND UNIVERSITY POLICIES
Attendance and Participation. Attendance at all scheduled classes in required. If you must miss a class for any reason, it is your responsibility to contact my office prior to the class period. Written excuses for legitimate absences can be obtained through the Office of the Dean of Student Affairs (see
Students with Disabilities. The Marshall University H.E.L.P. Program is committed to providing assistance through individual tutoring, mentoring and support, as well as fair and legal access to educational opportunities for students diagnosed with Learning Disabilities (LD) and related disorders such as ADD/ADHD. If you have, or believe you may have, a handicap or learning disability that will make it difficult for you to complete this course as structured, please contact the H.E.L.P. office in Myers Hall at 696-6252 ( The H.E.L.P. program will assess your situation and provide information designed to help me meet your educational needs
Plagiarism Policy/Academic Honesty/Academic Integrity: Any form of academic dishonesty will be sanctioned by an automatic “F” grade. A report will immediately be filed for evaluation by the Student Affairs Office. It may result in academic probation at Marshall University. All students are responsible for knowing and understanding the university's policy regarding academic dishonesty. Information regarding this policy is available in the Office of the Dean of Student Affairs (Old Main). If needed, appeals can be filed through the BSC Chairperson’s office.
Responsibility. This is an upper level and graduate level class. At this point in your education you should no longer be “tape recorders” that are capable of taking up information and repeating it back verbatim. You should also strive to be more than “computers” that are capable of recovering the proper information only if someone taps on the correct keys. It is time to start critically examining the information that you encounter, and incorporating it into the context of your knowledge base. It requires effort on your part. More importantly, it requires that you take full responsibility for your learning experience. The amount that you get out of this course will depend upon the amount of work you are willing to put into it.
Dropping the Course. I hope every student who enrolls in BSC 405-505) will complete the course. However, I know that may not always be the case. So, be aware of the last day to drop a full-semester course. Make sure you know your standing in the class at that point so that you can make an informed decision.
Electronic Devices. Please turn off all cell phones, pagers, and other electronic devices when you enter the classroom. No electronic devices will be needed and none will be permitted during exams. The use or access of an electronic device during an exam will be considered evidence of academic dishonesty.
Office Hours. Feel free to drop by at any time although people who call ahead for an appointment will be given priority. An appointment is recommended if want to come by at times other than postedon my office door.
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INSTRUCTIONS FOR ADDITIONAL ASSIGNMENTS
Instructions for abstracting journal article – Undergraduate students
1. Objectives: To encourage examination of the contemporary scientific literature in the area of economic botany. To encourage the student to become familiar with literature sources, library and I-Net methods.
2. Selection of articles: Select five (5) articles from the following areas of economic botany. Do not use more than two articles from the same journal (i.e. Economic Botany, Forest History, American Journal of Botany, etc.). I will entertain your own ideas of other subjects. Write (word process) a short (approx. 3/4 page), clear and concise abstract illustrating the essential points of the article.
3. Areas of economic botany from which to select articles:
A. Medicinal Plants
B. Poisonous Plants
C. Ceremonial Plants
D. Food Plants Used by Primitive People
E. History and Development of Crop Plants (any crop plant)
F. Wild Species of that are a Crop Plants
G. Plants Used as Fibers
H. New Crop Plants
I. Religious Rites Involving the use of Plants
J. Intellectual Property Rights of Indigenous People
k. Plant based BioFuels
L. Other areas of your own choosing. Please check with the instructor before abstracting these articles.
4. Some guidelines in preparing the abstract:
A. Do not abstract articles from books, popular magazines (i.e. Readers Digest, Field and
Stream, newspapers, etc.)
B. An abstract is not the last few lines of the article. It is not the author's summary or
conclusions although these may be used in writing the abstract. It is not a repeat of
the published abstract that is often at the head of the article or which appears in
Biological Abstracts (Library Reference).
C. References from the internet must be from journal articles that are fully cited - author, date,
article title, journal title, volume, issue number, pages and Web site. Do not use blogs,
chat boards,online forums, etc. as sourcesof articles. Note example of how to cite the origin
of an article on page 7.
Instructions for surveys of useful plant products – Graduate and undergraduate students. Choose two of the three subjects below to survey. One (1) of the two must be PLANT MEDICINE. Note on the following page the format for survey information.
1. PLANT MEDICINE (15 kinds). This include 5 plant-based prescription drugs and 10 plant-based non-prescription drugs (i.e. herbal medicines; OTC; dietary supplements).
2. SPICES, FLAVORINGS, PERFUMES (15 kinds). These include fresh, dried, or bottled materials. Perfumes are those plant compounds that lend a special scent or aroma to soaps, creams, lotions as well as aromatic compounds in cologne, perfumes and toilet waters.
3. FRUITS AND VEGETABLES (20 Kinds). These include both fresh and dried fruits and vegetables.
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Note examples of plant products and the tabular form for presentation of data.
1. MEDICINAL PLANT SURVEY (15 examples – 5 prescription drugs; 10 non-prescription drugs)
CLASS OF MATERIAL: Plant Based Medicine
NAME/USE OF MEDICINE: Cough Syrup
LABELED USE: For coughs, sore throat, expectorant
NAME OF PLANT (Family,Genus and Species): Ex. Lamiaceae, Mentha arvense
NAME OF ACTIVE INGREDIENT: Menthol
MANUFACTURER/LOCATION: Yeager Drug Company, Columbus, OH
WHERE PURCHASED: Rite Aid, 2459 Third Avenue, Huntington, WV
PRICE AND AMOUNT: $4.98 per 5 ounce bottle
2. FRUITS AND VEGETABLES (20 examples)
CLASS OF MATERIALS: Fresh fruit
NAME OF PRODUCT: Apples
NAME OF PLANT(Family, Genus and species): Ex. Rosaceae, Malus domestica
VARIETAL NAME: Golden Delicious
NAME OF GROWER/MFG: Hudson Brothers Fruit, Inc.
LOCATION GROWN/PROCESSED: Visalia, CA
WHERE PURCHASED: Kroger, 1st Avenue, Huntington, WV
PRICE AND AMOUNT: $1.89 per pound
(The grower and /or processor of fruits and vegetables may not be readily apparent. If not, ask the produce manager for assistance.)
3. SPICES, FLAVORINGS, PERFUMES (15 examples)
CLASS OF MATERIALS: Perfume
PRODUCT: Soap with fragrance
LABELED USE: Face and body soap
NAME OF PLANT(S) (Family, Genus and Species): Ex. Rosaceae, Rosa alba
NAME OF ACTIVE INGREDIENT(S): Rose oil, Rose petals
MANUFACTURER/LOCATION: Emporium Cosmetics, Inc., London, England
WHERE PURCHASED: Lazarus, Inc., Mall, Barboursville, WV
PRICE AND AMOUNT: $5.00 per bar, 4.5 ounces
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Instructions for the writing the research paper – Graduate students only
1.OBJECTIVES
To encourage the advanced student to read the contemporary literature in the area of economic botany, to become familiar with library and internet research methods, and to write in a scientific format.
2.TOPICS FOR RESEARCH
There are many areas in economic botany that will serve as research topics. Several are listed below and you may have some of your own ideas for library research. Please discuss your topic with me before beginning the work.
Medicinal Plants (regional, new medicines, a particular species)
Poisonous Plants (of a region, economic aspects, etc.)
Psychoactive Plants
Ceremonial Plants
Food Plants (used by primitive people, rediscovered, etc.)
New Crops (insecticides, medicinal, food, etc.)
Perfume and Plants
Plants as new energy sources (alternatives to petroleum, i.e. biofuels)
Intellectual Property of Indigenous People – Case Study
The Herbal Medicine Market
Others (consult the instructor regarding your choice of subjects)
3.THE PAPER
A cover page should include the title of the paper, course for which the paper was written, date of the paper, and your name. The text of the research paper should be at least 10 word processed pages and not over 20 pages. There should be at least 20 references cited in your paper. Internet references must be journal articles with journal title, title of article, date, volume, number and pages, author. Web site should also be given in the citation. Do not use blogs, forums, etc. The paper will be kept and added to the Economic Botany library in the herbarium. The text should be double spaced, spelled checked, and grammar checked. The paper should be organized in scientific format including:
Abstract (short paragraph)
Introduction (nature of the subject, why subject is important, etc.)
Literature Review (pertinent literature cited)
Summary (bring together important points)
Literature Cited (references in science format)
4.REFERENCES
References should be cited in a manner commonly used in scientific journals. In selecting research articles are careful to choose good scientific literature and avoid popular writings (Readers Digest, Field and Stream, newspapers, etc.). However, some semi-popular publications are quite acceptable (Natural History, The Smithsonian, National Geographic). At least one-half of your references must come from scientific journals.
Abstracts, surveys and research papers due: Thursday, 19 APR 2012. Hard copy only. Do not e-mail.