Branches of botany

Botany is a natural science concerned with the study of plants. The main branches of botany (also referred to as "plant science") are commonly divided into three groups: core topics, concerned with the study of the fundamental natural phenomena and processes of plant life, the classification and description of plant diversity; applied topics which study the ways in which plants may be used for economic benefit in horticulture, agriculture and forestry; and organismic topics which focus on plant groups such as algae, mosses or flowering plants.

Core topics

• Cytology – cell structure
• Epigenetics – Control of gene expression
• Paleobotany – Study of fossil plants and plant evolution
• Palynology – Pollen and spores
• Plant biochemistry – Chemical processes of primary and secondary metabolism
• Phenology – the timing of germination, flowering and fruiting
• Phytochemistry – Plant secondary chemistry and chemical processes
• Phytogeography – Plant Biogeography, the study of plant distributions
• Phytosociology – Plant communities and interactions
• Plant anatomy – Structure of plant cells and tissues
• Plant ecology – Role and function of plants in the environment
• Plant evolutionary developmental biology – Plant development from an evolutionary perspective
• Plant genetics – Genetic inheritance in plants
• Plant morphology – Structure of plants
• Plant physiology – Life functions of plants
• Plant reproduction – Processes of plant reproduction
• Plant systematics – Classification and naming of plants
• Plant taxonomy – Classification and naming of plants

Applied topics

• Agronomy – Application of plant science to crop production
• Arboriculture – Culture and propagation of trees
• Astrobotany - The study of plants in space
• Biotechnology – Use of plants to synthesize products
• Dendrology – Study of woody plants, shrubs, trees and lianas
• Economic botany – Study of plants of economic use or value
• Ethnobotany – Plants and people. Use and selection of plants by humans
• Forestry – Forest management and related studies
• Horticulture – cultivation of garden plants
• Marine botany – Study of aquatic plants and algae that live in seawater
• Micropropagation – rapid propagation of plants using cell and tissue culture
• Pharming (genetics) – Genetic engineering of plants to produce pharmaceuticals
• Plant breeding – Breeding of plants with desirable genetic characters
• Plant pathology (Phytopathology) – Plant diseases
• Plant propagation – propagation of plants from seed, bulbs, tubers, cuttings and grafting
• Pomology – Fruit and nuts
• Seed technology - Seed technology is the science dealing with the methods of improving physical and genetical characteristics of seed.

Organismal topics

groups of organisms - clades, grades and guilds

• Agrostology, or graminology – Poaceae (grasses)
• Batology – Rubus subg. Rubus (brambles)
• Bryology, or muscology – mosses (sensu stricto) or mosses, liverworts, and hornworts (sensu lato)
• Caricology – Carex (sedges)
• Charology – Charales (stoneworts)
• Citrology – Citrus
• Cycadology – Cycads
• Dendrology – trees
• Hepaticology, or hepatology – Marchantiophyta (liverworts)
• Lichenology – lichens
• Mycology, mycetology, or fungology – fungi
• Orchidology – Orchidaceae
• Phycology, or algology – Algae
• Pteridology, or filicology – ferns and their allies
• Rhodology – Rosa
• Sphagnology – Sphagnum
• Synantherology – Asteraceae (composites)

study of chronological dating using plants

• Acanthochronology – Cactaceae
• Dendrochronology – wood