Botaniky

Botaniky is the scientific study of plants, including their structure, function, diversity, evolution, and interactions with the environment. It covers green plants, algae, and related life forms, while fungi are studied in mycology. The field seeks to explain how plants grow, reproduce, obtain energy, and adapt to changing conditions, and it applies this knowledge to areas such as agriculture, medicine, conservation, and ecosystem management. The term derives from Greek botane, meaning plant, and logia, meaning study.

Botany has a long history, with early descriptions of plants by Theophrastus and the later development of a formal taxonomy by Carl Linnaeus. The 19th and 20th centuries brought advances in plant physiology, genetics, and biochemistry, while molecular biology opened new ways to investigate plant genomes and evolutionary relationships. The discipline comprises numerous subfields, including plant anatomy and morphology, physiology and biochemistry, genetics and genomics, taxonomy and systematics, ecology and biogeography, paleobotany, ethnobotany, economic botany, horticulture, and agronomy.

Researchers employ methods ranging from field observations and herbarium studies to microscopy, chromatography, and modern sequencing and bioinformatics. Applications of botany include crop improvement, sustainable agriculture, medicine, conservation, and the management of natural resources. Plants are primary producers, driving photosynthesis, food webs, and biogeochemical cycles such as carbon sequestration. By documenting plant diversity and distribution, botany also informs climate research and biodiversity policy.