Branches of Botany and their interrelationship

The word Botany derived from 3 Greek words;

1). botanikos = botanical

2). botane = plant or herb

3). boskein = to feed

‘The word botany’

What is Botany?

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Botany is the scientific study of plants. "Plants," to most people, means a wide range of living organisms from the smallest bacteria to the largest living things - the giant sequoia trees. By this definition plants include: algae, fungi, lichens, mosses, ferns, conifers and flowering plants. Today scientists believe bacteria, algae and fungi are in their own distinct kingdoms, but most general botany courses, and most Botany Departments at colleges and universities, still teach about these groups.
Because the field is so broad, there are many kinds of plant biologists and many different opportunities available. Botanists interested in ecology study interactions of plants with other organisms and the environment. Other field botanists search to find new species or do experiments to discover how plants grow under different conditions. Some botanists study the structure of plants. They may work in the field, concentrating on the pattern of the whole plant. Others use microscopes to study the most detailed fine structure of individual cells. Many botanists do experiments to determine how plants convert simple chemical compounds into more complex chemicals. They may even study how genetic information in DNA controls plant development. Botanists study processes that occur on a time scale ranging from fractions of a second in individual cells to those that unfold over eons of evolutionary time.



The results of botanical research increase and improve our supply of medicines, foods, fibers, building materials, and other plant products. Conservationists use botanical knowledge to help manage parks, forests, range lands, and wilderness areas. Public health and environmental protection professionals depend on their understanding of plant science to help solve pollution problems.

Egypt and Botanical Beginnings

There’s an old Egyptian saying, “Once you drink from the Nile, you are destined to return”.

However I knew from the moment I stepped out into Cairo’s warm night air, heavy with the sweet scent of jasmine, twenty five years ago, that Egypt would always be a part of my life.

 

 

Whilst living in Egypt, there was nothing that I loved more than to go off and explore the Egyptian countryside, always bringing my sketchbook and my camera . Once you escape the hustle and bustle of Cairo, it’s so easy to imagine that you have stepped back in time- cattle grazing in marshy pastures along the Nile, long-robed men working in the fields, children scampering down to the river’s edge to play and splash in the cool waters, tall palm trees standing silhouetted against a balmy sky.  It was scenes like this that inspired me to learn how to paint in watercolour.

 

 

 Saqqara afternoon

 

 

The Temple of Flora

“Let the beauty we love be what we do. There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.”

True to his word , he bequeathed to the Irish State , which never in my life, books, manuscripts , paintings and oriental art collection amassed the most incredible . Collection home , a small museum was built on the grounds of Dublin Castle .Only a part of the museum collection of artwork is being archived with the rest , may be displayed at any time is very high . Among these hidden treasures , some are rare and most beautiful botanical art books .
So this week , has been given special permission is needed , mahogany bookcases lined with yourself in an ornately carved ceiling and a beautiful room with walls being taken there . I tried the botanical treasures carefully , by Henry Charles Andrews Temple of Flora by Robert Thornton , and botanist's repository , laid on the table . A magnifying glass , a book and a small reading lamp easily snake was nearby . " Take your time " the librarian said with a smile . Heaven !