This course is a field-based botanical study of vascular flora, with a focus on spring and summer wildflowers. Students learn plant systematics and advanced field identification skills through intensive field exercises and exploration of a variety of habitats. Emphasis is on learning botanical terms and concepts through exploring the field-observable characteristics of flowering plants. The program includes extensive use of botanical keys and field guides, as well as daily hands-on experience with the flora. Accompanying lecture topics include the evolution of plants, plant taxonomy, flower morphology, pollination ecology and a survey of the angiosperm families.
Course Faculty
David Scott Gilligan
David grew up on the Eastern Seaboard but came of age in the American West. After beginning his studies in Philosophy and Religion at Flagler College in Northeastern Florida, he…
Emily Brodsky
Emily abides by Mary Oliver’s instructions for living (from the poem “Sometimes”): “Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.” Emily’s insatiable curiosity about the natural world results in daily astonishment,…
