Plant of the day

Statement of Purpose IV. The mission of Campbell

University, as a community of Christian scholars, is to

A. Provide students with a Christian worldview

Is there a Christian view of botany?

Caretakers of the garden– Should we consider how our lifestyles

impact the natural plant communities around us?

Does Christianity influence our use of plants?– Plant-derived chemicals

Christianity and botany Spiritual symbolism of plants

– Identification with Christ – John 15:5

I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing

Christianity and botany Spiritual symbolism of plants

– Revelation 22:1-2 Then the angel showed me the river of the

water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.

Why is knowledge of plants important?

We are dependent on plants

Plants are producers

Genesis 1: 29-30

Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beast of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.

Plants as a food source

Photosynthesis and sugars

Plants & the carbon cycle

Cacao - chocolate

Photosynthesis and oxygen

Plants & the nitrogen cycle

Legumes & rhizobium

Beverages

Wines

Cork

Wormwood - absinthe

Spices

Plants & health Natural compounds

– Lycopene– Yohimbine– Medicines

taxol

Wood products

Landscaping

Paper

Plants and sports

Musical instruments

Textiles

Plants & transportation

Plants as fuel

Coal

Recreational Drugs

Plants & emotions

Personal care products

Plant-related inventions

Velcro – George de Mestral

1907-1990

History of plant use & study

Stone Age (prior to 15,000 BC.)– Plants as a source of

Fuel Food Medicines

The Dawn of Agriculture

Plant domestication

15,000 – 10,000 BC.

Selection in the Brassica family

Teosinte – ancestor of corn

Plant Science in the Ancient World

Egypt (1500 B.C.) – documented herbal uses

Greece (400-300 B.C.)– Physicians/botanists– Theophrastus – “Father of Botany”

History of Plants Causes of Plants

Age of Herbals (1500-1700 A.D.)

Otto Brunfels - 1541

Doctrine of Signatures

Green Revolution (1940-60s)

Use of high-yield varieties Altered agricultural practices

– Irrigation– Use of synthetic fertilizers

Wheat yield quadrupled in 20 yrs. Corn yield: 20bu/ha to 100-250 bu/ha

Modern Plant StudyAgronomyBryologyEconomic BotanyEthnobotanyForestryHorticulturePaleobotanyPalynologyPhycologyPlant anatomy

Plant breeding Plant ecologyPlant geneticsPlant geographyPlant molecular biologyPlant morphologyPlant pathologyPlant physiologyPlant systematicsPlant taxonomy

Plants, food and population growth

World population growth

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World food supply

6.3 billion fed a basic vegetarian diet 4.2 billion fed with a 15% meat diet 3.2 billion fed with a 25% meat diet

In the next 50 years, can we double our food supply?

Increase land used for agriculture? Increase crop productivity? Convert to vegetarian diet?

Worldwide land resources

Distribution of arable land

Soil salinization

Areas of salinization

Deforestation in the U.S.

Deforestation in the U.S.

Yield increases are declining

What causes reduced crop productivity?

Human activities

Air pollution affects photosynthesis

Human impact on pollination

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Disease

Reduce crop yields 10-20% despite control efforts

Wheat rust reduces grain yield

Insects

Insect pests reduce crop productivity

Reduce crop yields 15% despite control efforts

Mite damage - eggplant

Mite damage in a bean field

Weeds

Reduce crop yields 12% despite control efforts

Foxtail in corn

Drought

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Drought

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Drought increases stress

Black shank disease in tobacco

Drought and irrigation

Temperature stress

Temperature tolerance Enzymatic activity Quality

Plant biology is essential

Crop research needed– Resistance to insects, disease– Tolerance to environmental variables– Improved productivity– Improved nutritional qualities

Genesis 3:17-19To Adam he said, “Because you listened

to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat of it’, cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.”