Course format:  Seminar.  One hourly meeting per week at a time to be
arranged to accommodate registrants' schedules.

Requirements:  Graduate standing in biology or consent of instructor.

Course description:
	This seminar is based on the book ECONOMIC BOTANY, PLANTS IN OUR
WORLD (© 1995) by Beryl B. Simpson and Molly C. Orgazaly of the University
of Texas at Austin.  We will read usually one chapter in advance of each
weekly meeting and then spend the weekly hour's meeting discussing whatever
aspects of the chapter are of particular interest or need
clarification/explanation.  To the extent that my botanical/taxonomic
background can help to provide a context or other explanation for the
chapter being discussed, I will be happy to provide that as part of the
discussion, but I do not intend to lecture or to recap the chapter in order
to direct, organize, or stimulate/force discussion.  I anticipate that the
subject matter of each chapter will be sufficiently engaging and that only
students truly interested in the subject will register for this seminar.
Thus discussion should need no extraordinary stimulation from me.  If you
know that you will register for this seminar please email me
(gastony@indiana.edu) so I'll know how many copies of the text to order.
The topics covered in this text are described below.  The current price of
this book is said to be about $65.00.  There will be one copy on reserve in
the biology library.

	In their preface to this second edition, the authors say the
following.  	"...We provide detailed coverage of the major uses of
plants in the United States today.  Rather than being encyclopedic, we
concentrate on species of major economic importance in the western world.
We have tried to provide a balanced treatment of the plants discussed by
including aspects of heir history, morphology, chemistry, and modern use.
The material presented is still directed toward students with a scientific
background but two introductory chapters, one on plant morphology and
chemistry and one on general genetics are included to orient students with
little or no biological training and those unfamiliar with plant biology.
. . .  	Chapters 4 to 19 deal with important crop species.  We have tried
to include in them as many new findings as possible.  In the first five of
these chapters, we group food plans by the parts of the plants (fruits,
leaves, stems, and roots) that are harvested for food.  Legumes and grains
are treated individually because of their importance in human nutrition.
In the discussions of plant organs that provide food, we emphasize their
primary ecological functions and the ways in which humans have exploited
them.  An example is fruit pulp, which is important in nature for seed
dispersal by animals.  The sweet pulp serves as a food that "pays off" such
dispersers.   Another is the starch stored in tubers or roots, which serves
as a carbohydrate reservoir for some plant species.  Such natural
accumulations of carbohydrates were independently discovered by human
beings in many parts of the world and incorporated into the repertoire of
food plants.
	Chapters 9 to 17 present products that are primarily extracted from
plant parts.  Included are substances such as volatile oils, alkaloids,
latexes, and fibers.  These products are grouped according to their use:
spices and perfumes, textile fibers, bioactive compounds, and so on.  For
each group of plant products we explore the natural occurrences,
chemistries, and functions within the plants in which they occur.  Because
of the economic importance of bioactive substances, we have devoted
separate chapters to medicinally important plant products, psychoactive
drugs, caffeine-containing plants, and alcoholic beverages.
	Chapter 18 concludes our survey of the current uses of flowering
plants by explaining the history and current importance of ornamental
plants.  The primary contact with growing plans many people have today
involves ornamentals, either landscape or house plants.
	In response to the many individuals who felt that we slighted the
seaweeds, we have added a new chapter (19) on algae that includes many
original illustrations by Molly Ogorzaly and photographs generously
provided by numerous members of the phycological community.  Chapter 20 has
been revised to look back at what happened to predictions from a decade ago
and to look forward to what the future may bring." For more information
contact Dr. Gastony at (gastony@indiana.edu).

	Following an introductory chapter on "Features of Flowering Plants
and their Products" and one on "Variation, Selection, and Evolution in
Flowering Plants" are the following chapter titles.
3.  Origins of Agriculture
4.  Fruits and Nuts of Temperate Regions
5.  Fruits and Nuts of Warm Regions
6.  Cereal Grains and Forage Grasses
7.  Legumes
8.  Foods from Stems, Leaves, and Roots
9.  Spices, Herbs and Perfumes
10.  Vegetable Oils and Waxes
11.  Hydrogels, Elastic Latexes, and Resins
12.  Medicinal Plants
13.  Psychoactive Drugs and Poisons from Plants
14.  Stimulating Beverages
15.  Alcoholic Beverages
16.  Fibers, Dyes, and Tannins
17.  Wood, Cork, and Bamboo
18.  Ornamental Plants
19.  Algae
20.  Uses of Plants in the Future