Postgraduate Course: Diversity of Angiosperms (PLSC11010)
Course Outline
| School | School of Biological Sciences |
College | College of Science and Engineering |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course explores the most diverse and abundant group of plants - the Angiosperms (flowering plants). These incredibly diverse organisms define most terrestrial ecosystems and the course delves into the evolutionary and ecological reasons underpinning this, as well as developing professional-level identification skills. It is taught through lectures, laboratory practicals, immersive walks in the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh's world-class collections and a residential field trip to a high biodiversity area. |
| Course description |
The angiosperms, flowering plants, are the most diverse and abundant group of land plants. They dominate terrestrial ecosystems and form the environment and habitat for most other terrestrial organisms. In this course you will learn about the evolution and diversity of angiosperms and how the major groups of angiosperms relate to each other following Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classifications. You will learn about the evolution and diversity of floral characters and their occurrence across the angiosperms. You will learn botanical field skills with a focus on understanding vegetative characters. Lastly, you will integrate these approaches gain expertise in plant identification. Through a combination of short lectures and supported practical sessions in the lab and across the botanic garden's living collections, you will learn to examine the floral structures of the key groups of angiosperms. On the field component of the course you will gain an immersive experience in botanical field skills and the identification of angiosperms using vegetative characters. Assessment is through a field-identification practical based on non-flowering material (20%), a field skills portfolio (30%) and an assessed practical on floral evolution and identification (50%).
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2026/27, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 15,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 6,
Supervised Practical/Workshop/Studio Hours 30,
Fieldwork Hours 50,
Online Activities 8,
Feedback/Feedforward Hours 2,
Revision Session Hours 15,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
70 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Assessment 1 (20%) Sterile field-identification practical. Identification of plant families based on non-flowering material. This assessment would ideally be conducted on the field trip [LO 1, LO3, LO4].
Assessment 2 (30%) Field skills portfolio. A field notebook, and specimen collections, including the specimens themselves and associated data and images [LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5].
Assessment 3 (50%) Floral evolution (theory) and identification assessed practical. Identification of plant families from material in the laboratory, emphasising critical approaches to justify identifications, and placing interpretations in wider evolutionary and ecological contexts [LO1, LO2, LO3]. |
| Feedback |
Assessment 1: Sterile field-identification practical - Verbal group feedback following assessed practical, written summative feedback for final grade.
Assessment 2: Field skills portfolio - Verbal formative feedback throughout development phase, and written summative feedback for final grade.
Assessment 3: Floral evolution (thoery) and identification assessed practical - Verbal group feedback following assessed practical, written summative feedback for final grade. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Critically observe, recognise and interpret morphological characters in the angiosperms.
- Critically interpret morphological characters in the angiosperms in phylogenetic & ecological contexts.
- Apply standard and specialised techniques to identify major angiosperm plant families using floral characters.
- Apply standard and specialised techniques to identify major plant families using sterile characters.
- Demonstrate a range of specialist botanical field skills and techniques.
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Reading List
Gentry, AH & Vasquez, R (1993) A Field Guide to the Families and Genera of Woody Plants of Northwest South America (Colombia, Ecuador, Peru). With Supplementary Notes. University of Chicago Press. 920 pp.
Ronse De Craene, L (2010) Floral Diagrams. An Aid to Understanding Flower Morphology and Evolution. Cambridge University Press. 441 pp. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
This course develops and supports graduate mindsets, with a particular emphasis on Enquiry and lifelong learning, and Aspiration and personal development.
This course develops and supports graduate skills, with a particular emphasis on Research and enquiry, Personal and intellectual autonomy and Personal effectiveness. The course offers numerous opportuntities to explore these invaluable skills in the laboratory, among the collections and in the field.
This course and its assessments emphasise skills development in: Evaluation, Critical Analysis, Problem Solving, Communication, Autonomy, Teamwork and Accountability. |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Alex Twyford
Tel: (0131 6)50 5455
Email: Alex.Twyford@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Madeleine Ferris
Tel: (0131 6)50 8649
Email: mferris@ed.ac.uk |
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