| Unit name | Flowering Plants |
|---|---|
| Unit code | BIOL31131 |
| Credit points | 10 |
| Level of study | H/6 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1A (weeks 1 - 6) |
| Unit director | Professor. Hiscock |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites | |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | School of Biological Sciences |
| Faculty | Faculty of Life Sciences |
Flowering plants are the most important and most speciose group of land plants. This unit will describe the diversity and biology of flowering plants within an evolutionary and phylogenetic context to assess reasons for the extraordinary success of this group of plants. Specific areas to be addressed will include: 1) the origins and evolution of flowering plants, paying particular attention to the evolution of the flower; 2) key innovations of angiosperms the flower, double fertilization, endosperm and the pollen-pistil interaction; 3) key aspects of the reproductive biology of angiosperms, including flower development, male (pollen) and female (embryo sac/ovule) development, pollen-pistil interactions and fertilization; 4) angiosperm breeding systems (outbreeding, selfing and apomixis); 5) pollination systems, plant-pollinator interactions and the role of flower-pollinator co-evolution in the adaptive radiation of angiosperms; 6) modes of speciation in angiosperms; 7) the evolution of crop plants and crop improvement. The unit will conclude with a synthesis of current opinion on flowering plant evolution and diversification.
