This revised text provides a comprehensive introduction to the fascinating world of plant science. From the basic requirements for plant growth, to genetic engineering and biotechnology, this easy- to- understand book is ideal for the high school level agriscience curriculum or college freshman level plant science course. Students will learn about the origins of cultivated plants, structure and anatomy, photosynthesis, respiration, propagation, production of major agronomic crops, and more.

If you look around right now, chances are you'll see a plant. It could be a succulent in a pot on your desk, grasses or shrubs just outside your door, or trees in a park across the way. Proximity to plants tends to make us happy, even if we don't notice, offering unique pleasures and satisfactions. Open your eyes to the phenomenal and exciting world of botany!

The Sixth Edition of Botany: An Introduction to Plant Biology provides a modern and comprehensive overview of the fundamentals of botany while retaining the important focus of natural selection, analysis of botanical phenomena, and diversity.

Explains the patterns method of plant identification, describing eight key patterns for recognizing more than 45,000 species of plants, and includes an illustrated reference guide to plant families.

Forensic botany is the application of plant science to the resolution of legal questions. A plant's anatomy and its ecological requirements are in some cases species specific and require taxonomic verification; correct interpretation of botanical evidence can give vital information about a crime scene or a suspect or victim. The use of botanical evidence in legal investigations in North America is relatively recent. The first botanical testimony to be heard in a North American court concerned the kidnapping and murder of Charles Lindbergh's baby boy and the conviction of Bruno Hauptmann in 1935. Today, forensic botany encompasses numerous subdisciplines of plant science, such as plant anatomy, taxonomy, ecology, palynology, and diatomology, and interfaces with other disciplines, e.g., molecular biology, limnology and oceanography.Forensic Plant Science presents chapters on plant science evidence, plant anatomy, plant taxonomic evidence, plant ecology, case studies for all of the above, as well as the educational pathways for the future of forensic plant science. - Provides techniques, collection methods, and analysis of digested plant materials - Shows how to identify plants of use for crime scene and associated evidence in criminal cases - The book's companion website: http://booksite.elsevier.com/9780128014752, will host a microscopic atlas of common food plants