Botany For Dummies

Botany For Dummies®

by René Fester Kratz, PhD

Biology professor, Everett Community College, Everett, Washington

Botany For Dummies®

Published by
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Copyright © 2011 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published simultaneously in Canada

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2011930301

ISBN 978-1-118-00672-6 (cloth); ISBN 978-1-118-11082-9 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-11083-6 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-11084-3 (ebk)

Manufactured in the United States of America

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About the Author

René Fester Kratz, Ph.D., grew up near the ocean in Rhode Island. From a young age, she wanted to be a teacher (because she loved her teachers at school) and a biologist (because her dad was one). She graduated from Warwick Veterans Memorial High School and then went on to major in biology at Boston University. As she studied biology at BU, René was most interested by the stories about plants, fungi, and microbes — organisms that are traditionally studied under the umbrella of botany. After René graduated with a B.A. in Biology from BU, she worked for two years in the Department of Botany at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst and then went on to get an M.S. and Ph.D. in botany from the University of Washington. At UW, René studied reproductive onset in Acetabularia acetabulum, a marine green alga that grows as single cells big enough to pick up with your fingers. When they enter reproduction, the cells of A. acetabulum form a flat disk or cup-shaped structure at the top, earning the alga the nickname of “The Mermaid’s Wineglass.”

René currently teaches biology and general science classes at Everett Community College in Everett, Washington. René spends most of her time introducing students to the wonders of cells and microbes as she teaches cellular biology and microbiology, but she’s never forgotten her love of plants. René also has a strong interest in science education and science literacy for everyone. As a member of the North Cascades and Olympic Science Partnership, she helped create inquiry-based science courses for future teachers that are based on research on human learning. René loves teaching these courses because they make science accessible for all kinds of people. In the summer, René enjoys working with K–12 teachers on the improvement of science education in the public schools. René also enjoys writing about science and is the author of Molecular & Cell Biology For Dummies, Biology For Dummies, 2nd Edition, and EZ Microbiology.

René loves living in the Pacific Northwest because she is near the ocean and her daffodils start blooming in February (when her family back East is still shoveling snow). She doesn’t mind the rain and thinks the San Juan Islands are one of the most beautiful places on earth. Her husband, two sons, and two very bad dogs help her remember what is truly important, and her “sisters” help keep her sane. René loves to scrapbook, quilt, stitch, garden, and read.

Dedication

To the people who got me excited about plants and fungi: Drs. Gillian Cooper-Driver, Richard B. Primack, Walt Halperin, Fayla Schwartz, and Elizabeth VanVolkenburgh. And to my sister, Alyson, who helped me with my first plant collection when I was an undergrad.

Author’s Acknowledgments

Thanks to Matt Wagner, of Fresh Books, Inc., for helping me find the opportunity to write this book. And thanks to all the great people at Wiley who made it happen: my editor, Kelly Ewing, who was always helpful and upbeat; the acquisitions editor, Stacy Kennedy, who helped get me started on the project; Alicia South, who coordinated the art; and Fayla Schwartz, Ph.D., and Linda Sigismondi, Ph.D., my technical reviewers. Thanks also to Sheree Montgomery, the project coordinator, and Kathryn Born, Karl Brandt, and Mark Pinto, who worked on the art.

A very special thanks to my colleague, Dr. Fayla Schwartz, for reviewing this book and also for teaching me about the plants of the Pacific Northwest when we were both graduate students at the University of Washington.

On the home front, thanks to my husband, Dan, for all of his love and support. To Hueston and Dashiel for once again being patient when Mommy was glued to her computer.

Thanks to all of my students at Everett Community College for your enthusiasm and hard work. You have all inspired me to keep doing what I do. Thanks also to my Dean, Al Friedman, for letting me teach a reduced load for one quarter, so I’d have more time to write.

Publisher’s Acknowledgments

We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments at http://dummies.custhelp.com. For other comments, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002.

Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:

Acquisitions, Editorial, and Media Development

Project Editor: Kelly Ewing

Acquisitions Editor: Stacy Kennedy

Assistant Editor: David Lutton

General Reviewers: Fayla Schwartz, PhD, and Linda Sigismondi, PhD

Senior Editorial Manager: Jennifer Ehrlich

Editorial Supervisor and Reprint Editor: Carmen Krikorian

Editorial Assistant: Rachelle S. Amick

Art Coordinator: Alicia B. South

Cover Photos: (Front cover) © iStockphoto.com/Andres Peiro Palmer; (Back cover) © iStockphoto.com/Oliver Sun Kim, © iStockphoto.com/Natalia Kuzmina

Cartoons: Rich Tennant (www.the5thwave.com)

Composition Services

Project Coordinator: Sheree Montgomery

Layout and Graphics: Kim Tabor

Proofreaders: Jessica Kramer, BIM Indexing & Proofreading Services

Indexer: Cheryl Duksta

Special Art: Karl Brandt, Mark Pinto

Special Help
     Illustrations by Kathryn Born, M.A.

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