Beginners’ guide to botany

This lively, informative, hands-on course offers complete beginners a relaxed introduction to the world of botany. With plenty of plant material to look at in the classroom, we will investigate the vegetative (leaves, stems and roots) and reproductive (flowers, fruits and seeds) parts of flowering plants, and start to understand the roles that they perform. Outside in the Garden we can visit the Rising Path to consider the domination of the angiosperms (flowering plants) in the broader context of the whole plant kingdom, and we will make use of the plant collections to explore plant adaptations and the variety of flower forms. There will be time to explore how to use a field guide, with the opportunity to practice and develop your own plant identification skills.

Karen van Oostrum has a love of plants and the environment, underpinned by a solid understanding of plant adaptability, physiology, and genetics. A Biology graduate of Oxford University with a Ph.D. in wheat genetics, Karen was Head of Education at Cambridge University Botanic Garden from 2006 – 2012. Karen specialises in running taster courses for adults in Botany, Microscopy, Genetics, and Plant Breeding, and supporting the teaching of plant science in Primary Schools.