XIV INTRODUCTION 



day. From infancy to old age one sees, hears about, feels and tastes plants or 

 their products. The bulk of man's shelter (wood, fiber-board), food (cereals, 

 fruits, vegetables, condiments) and clothing (rayon, cotton, linen) comes from 

 the plant world. 



Almost everyone realizes that animals are dependent upon green plants for 

 food, directly or indirectly, in the marvelous though not completely understood 

 process of photos\nthesis. It is not always emphasized that the oxygen by- 

 product is very important in maintaining this element in the atmosphere for 

 animal use. 



Many students are familiar with the drugs derived from plants such as bella- 

 donna, digitalis, morphine, and strychnine. Not as many are aware of the fact 

 that the "wonder drugs" penicillin, aureomycin, streptomycin, and Chloromyce- 

 tin are products of the lowlv molds. The sale of antibiotics products in the 

 United States reaches hundreds of millions of dollars each year. It is surprising 

 to some to learn that bacteria are plants and, more astounding still, to find out 

 that most species of bacteria are harmless and not a few definitely beneficial. 



When a person speaks of plants seeking the light, roots searching for water, 

 and flowers blooming in the spring to avoid being shaded later by the trees of 

 the forest, they are being tclcological— thcv are ascribing human attributes to 

 organisms which do not think or feel as human beings do. In a book on plant 

 ph\siolog\- we find the statement: "Man's knowledge that water and light are 

 essential to plants is not evidence that plants are similarly aware of these facts." 

 The knowledge of plant hormones (auxins) and their functions is being put to 

 work to dispel much of this t}'pe of thinking. 



Through faulty training in their earlier years, students come to the botany 

 course with a ridiculous idea about respiration. It is difficult in many cases to 

 fix the notion that all living plants and animals respire all the time and when 

 they cease this activity, they are dead. They confuse cellular respiration with 

 breathing. 



Sex, being the number two driving force in the human being, is always of 

 interest to students. Plants are very "sexy" albeit unemotional or, more properly, 

 emotionless. This latter characteristic need not detract from the fact that plants 

 possess manv wonderful devices and structures designed for reproductive pur- 

 poses. Botanv brings home, or can, the similarity of pattem pervading much of 

 the biological world in regard to sex. Ignoring the few exceptions, we find that 

 the higher plants and animals all have sex cells or gametes, fertilization takes 

 place and, in a moist medium, a zygote results; and from this zygote the embno, 

 and subsequently the adult, will develop. 



Enough has been written to show that great benefits can result from the 

 study of botanv. The articles to follow will amplify what has been said and delve 

 deeper into the relationships of modern man and modem botany. 



