Plants form the backdrop of daily life, yet most of us can name only a handful of familiar species—those we eat, grow in gardens, or encounter in iconic landscapes. Our broader understanding of the botanical world is often built around potatoes and apples, or celebrated “charismatic” plants such as orchids, saguaros, and redwoods. This course invites students to look more closely, revealing the remarkable stories of plants that shape our economies, ecosystems, and lives in ways we rarely notice. Across five weeks, we will explore twenty-five species that are essential yet often overlooked. We begin with crops that provide foods, flavors, and oils, before turning to plants that yield medicines, industrial materials, or structural products. We then shift to species that define landscapes, support livestock, or quietly drive the functioning of natural ecosystems. Each class centers on a richly detailed vignette that illuminates a plant’s biology, the environments it inhabits, and the history of its interactions with humans.
Together, we will consider how botanists describe these plants, how and where they grow, how people have used and managed them over time, and why they matter so profoundly today. By uncovering both common threads and unexpected surprises, the course encourages students to see the plant world with renewed curiosity—and to appreciate the countless species that sustain human societies and the planet’s ecological balance.
Summer Registration Opens
Monday, March 30, 2026 at 8 AM (AZ Time)
