PHARMACEUTICAL BOTANY 



CHAPTER I 



FUNDAMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS 



Botany is the Science which Treats of Plants 



DEPARTMENTS OF BOTANICAL INQUIRY 



1. Morphology treats of the parts, or structure of plants. It is 

 divided into: 



(a) Macromorphology or Gross Anatomy which deals with the ex- 

 ternal characters of plants or their parts; (b) Micromorphology or 

 Histology which considers the minute or microscopical structure of 

 plants and plant tissues; and (c) Cytology which treats of plant cells 

 and their contents. 



2. Physiology deals with the study of the life processes or func- 

 tions of plants. It explains how the various parts of plants perform 

 their work of growth, reproduction, and the preparation of food for 

 the support of animal life from substances not adapted to that use. 



3. Taxonomy or Systematic Botany considers the classification or 

 arrangement of plants in groups or ranks in accordance with their 

 relationships to one another. 



4. Ecology treats of plants and their parts in relation to their 

 environment. 



5. Plant Genetics seeks to account for the resemblances and dif- 

 ferences which are exhibited by plants related by descent. 



6. Phytopathology treats of diseases of plants. 



7. Phytogeography or Plant Geography treats of the distribution 

 of plants upon the earth. The center of distribution for each species 

 of plant is the habitat or the original source from which it spreads, 

 often over widely distant regions. When plants grow in their 

 native countries they are said to be indigenous to those regions. 

 When they grow in a locality other than their original home they 

 are said to be naturalized. 



