Life on Land: Plants

Course outline:
Terrestrial plants inhabit a broad range of environments, that are distinguished by their abiotic (e.g. light, temperature, water, nutrients) and biotic (e.g. animals, plants, microbes) features. Adaptation to contrasting habitats has generated a diversity of form in plants, as well as a fascinating array of ecophysiological and ecological strategies. Starting with roots, stems and leaves, and finishing with reproductive structures (flowers and seeds) and life-histories, this course explores plant structure and function, and the manner in which this has changed through the course of evolutionary history. This is followed by an introduction to the diversity of vascular plants, with an emphasis on flowering plants, particularly those that typify the Cape flora. Finally, the biology of bryophytes (mosses and relatives) is considered, highlighting the very different solutions they employ for a life on land.