(GIST OF SCIENCE REPORTER) Bringing Field Botany Alive

(September-2023)

The throbbing and rich discipline that today’s Botany is, owes a lot to its founders who travelled all over the face of Earth to see how and which plants were growing in different parts and geographical niches of the world.
Equipped with a keen sense of observation, these founders gave birth to the fascinating discipline of Field Botany that records all about the habit and habitat of a plant and assists in taxonomic identification of plants including the ones that look alike but are in reality different.
Field study is an essential and integral part of learning about living organisms including plants, animals and the teeming microbes that outnumber all plants and animals taken together. Learning biology in field settings is a real-time experience which helps in the development of creativity, environmental awareness and a sense of accountability towards nature among students.
Observations on the natural habitats, plant habit, ecology, growth cycle and biology provide deep insight about the plants that are important sources of food, fuel-wood, timber and medicine.
Since neither the environment nor the diverse living organisms inhabiting a constantly changing interconnected world remain the same, field botany is never static and requires monitoring by the days, weeks, months and years.