Ethnobotany

Code

Course teacher

Associate teachers

Status of the course

Course objectives

Student will get the basic knowledge on importance of plants in biosphere, on wild and cultivated plants and they role in human diet.

Course enrolment requirements and entry competences required for the course

Learning outcomes expected at the level of the course (4 to 10 learning outcomes)

After the passing the exam, students will be able to:
- explain the importance of plants in biosphere
- analyse the connection between human and plants since ancient time till today
- explain the importance of plant cultivation
- recognise the mail varieties of grains, their origin and explain their importance for human
- define the major pulse plants, their orignin and nutritive value
- make differences between major vegetables, know their origin and explain their use
- decribe wild plants
- analyse the differences between different varieties of fruit, define their origin and decribe its importnace in human diet
- describe some mithological data for different fruits
- describe the major characteristics of coffee, tea and coccoa and their impact on human health
- analyse the production process of different beverages and its impact on human health
- clasify major plants from different biomas on Earth, and analyse their role and application
- define major plants that are used as spices
- make differences between toxic plants and know their influence on human health
- decribe transgenic plants and their role in biodiversity

Course content broken down in detail by weekly class schedule (syllabus)

1st week: The importance of plants for human
2nd week: Plants as food, plant cultivation
3rd week: Plants in diet
4th week: Grains
5th week: Pulses and vegetable
6th week: Fruit
7th week: Wild but edible plants
8th week: Coffee, tea and coccoa
9th week: Alcoholic beverages
10th week: Wood and fibers
11th week: Spices
12th week: Toxic substances from plant- part 1
13th week: Toxic substances from plant- part 2
14th week: Psychoactive components
15th week: Transgenic plants
Final exam
Seminars: Selected themes connected to the lectures and discussion
Field work: Getting the basic knowledge, preparation of herbarium and photographing plants

Format of instruction:

Student responsibilities

Regular attendance class, seminar paper, making herbaruim.