Why is the science of plants called botany? Botany - the science of plants

Each person closely interacts with the world of living nature and is itself a part of it. And if in general the laws of the existence of the living world are studied by biology, then the plant is in the sphere of botany as its integral part.

Why is the science of plants called botany

Plants were in the sphere of human interests long before the formation of botany as a science, from the most ancient times. The study of flora was directly related to the issue of survival: plants - food, building materials, material for making clothes, medicine and (in no case should be forgotten) dangerous poisons. The accumulated knowledge and observations required systematization. So there was a need for the formation of a science about plants.

In search of an answer to the question of why the science of plants is called botany, we need to move to the depth of centuries, because this teaching is one of the oldest natural sciences in the world. Form of a harmonious system of knowledge botany (the science of plants) finally acquired during the second half of the XVII - beginning of the XVIII century.

The name of science, like many others, has Greek roots. It comes from the ancient Greek botan. This word had several meanings, in the sense of "pasture", "feed" was used no less often than in the meaning of "plant", "grass". It included everything that could be considered a plant: flowers, mushrooms, algae, trees, mosses and lichens. The word "botany" is derived from "botan", it denotes everything that was related to plants. That is literally: botany is the science of plants. Therefore, wondering why the science of plants is called botany, the answer must be sought in the Greek sources of systematizing knowledge about the plant world in the form of science.

The origin of botany as a science

In his great work on animals, Aristotle also announced a similar scientific work on plants. It is for sure not known whether it is finished or not. Only some of its fragments have survived to this day. Therefore, by right, the founding father of botany as a science is Theophrastus - the author of two fundamental works, which became the basis of botany for the next 1500 years. And in the modern world, the value of the knowledge set forth by Theophrastus in his writings is undeniable. This is the answer to the question why the science of plants is called botany. The Greek philosopher could not call it otherwise.

But research in the field of botany is not limited only to the achievements of Western civilization. China also made a significant contribution, perhaps even an exchange of scientific achievements, taking into account the functioning of the Silk Road.

History of botany

The science of botany in the modern view originated in the era of colonialism as an area of study by farmers of grasses and trees prevalent in the region, as well as plants that people brought with them from distant wanderings. But the person's deep interest in flora begins its history from the Neolithic times. People not only tried to determine the medicinal properties of plants, vegetation period, edibility, resistance to low-temperature climatic conditions, yield and nutritional properties, but also to preserve this knowledge.

Before the appearance of botany as a science, man has already studied plants from the scientific point of view. This circumstance explains not only the widespread use by people, from ancient times, of the medicinal properties of plants grown in the wild. Since the Bronze Age, cultivation practices have been widely used.

A new stage in the development of science - new knowledge

At the end of the 16th century a microscope was invented, which determined the beginning of a special stage in the development of botany, and opened up new opportunities for studying plants, spores and even pollen. Then science stepped even further, opening the veil in matters of reproduction, metabolism, previously closed to humans.

Botany developed in close connection with the development of biology in general. As a result of scientific research, the whole living world was divided into kingdoms:

• Bacteria;
• Mushrooms;
• plants;
• Animals.

Botany studies the kingdom of bacteria, fungi and plants. The development of botany as a science was of colossal importance. But at the dawn of its inception, people were engaged in plants on their own, and most of the botanical gardens, which were particularly popular in the Western world, were devoted to the classification, labeling and trade of seeds. And only after centuries they became the most important research centers.

The Kingdom of Plants

Plants can be found everywhere: on land (meadows, steppes, fields, forests, mountains), in the water (in fresh water, lakes and rivers, in marshy areas, in the seas and oceans). Almost all plants differ in a fixed way of life, the ability to convert solar energy into organic compounds, have rich chlorophyll reserves, convert carbon dioxide to oxygen, for which the plant cover of the planet is called the Earth's lungs.

Unfortunately, due to different circumstances, many plants are among the rare or endangered, and this list is only replenished every year. Many representatives paid for their beauty: people, not reflecting on what a huge damage to nature, blasphemously destroy plants for the sake of a bouquet-one-day. Such a bitter fate befell the lily of the valley forest, water lilies, sleep-grass.

To protect rare plant species from extinction, they are entered in the Red Book and protected at the legislative level. The science that studies plants is the basis of knowledge for this document. And now it is our common task to preserve the flora for future generations so that our children and grandchildren can see the unique beauty of the plant world that we were lucky to see.