BOTANY 328 - HOUR EXAM II - (sample)

 Please use separate sheets of paper, and place your name on each sheet. Also, please organize your response BEFORE you write, write clearly, and identify each response option that you select.

 1. Provide a brief definition for ten (10) of the following terms: (10 points)

geocarpic, culm, glume, fruit, testa, lodicule, endosporic, gluten, amphiploid, aleurone, sake, teosinte, triticale, androperianth, chicha, hectare, legume, okara, pulque, ligule, mead, hypanthium, maté
 2. Identify (genus, species, family, and common name) five (5) of the following plants: (25 points) a. Domesticated Pyroideae grown for production of the HYPANTHIUM.

b. Amylase producer in the brewing process, possibly the first domesticated cereal.

c. In terms of direct human consumption, the world's most important crop.

d. Monoecious vine of South America, produces the largest angiosperm fruit.

e. Dioecious vine that has served as a flavoring agent in the brewing process since the early 1500s.

f. Domesticated Prunoideae grown for production of the SEED.

g. Second only to Glycine max as a world legume crop, staple of the Aztec.

h. Domesticated Rosoideae grown for production of the RECEPTACLE.

i. Monoecious grass with multiple fruit and the largest angiosperm pollen.

 3. Indicate the floral features that define the ROSACEAE as a flowering plant family, define features of the gynoecium that mark those subfamilies that include economically important species, and identify one such species from each of those subfamilies with regard to common name, technical name, and area of origin. (10 points)

4. Select one question and respond: (20 points)

  a. Fermentation is a basic biological process that is closely linked to the 'decomposers' of the biosphere, the fungi. However, human-mediated ethanol production centers on a single fungal genus. Identify the genus, its important species, and discuss features of these organisms that explain their importance in commercial ethanol production.

  b. Compare and contrast Wine, Beer, and Whiskey in terms of the fermentation process. Focus your discussion on the plant species involved and how these species contribute to the fermentation process.

  c. Species of the genera Vitis and Quercus are distributed worldwide. Discuss North American and Eurasian species of these genera that have been involved in wine production. Include a full description of all roles played by both genera and how the genus Phylloxera brought North American species into play.

5. Compare (point out similarities) and contrast (point out differences) between two angiosperm fruit types. Select from the following: (5 points)

pepo, hesperidium, caryopsis, legume, berry
6. Select two (2) of the following individuals and describe their role in Economic Botany: (10 points)
Paul Mangelsdorf, Henry Ford, Col. Robert Gibbon, Hugh Iltis, John H. Kellogg, Theophrastus

7. Select one question and respond: (20 points)

a. Agroecosystems that developed in Asia, the Near East, and South America featured dominant species of two families; the Fabaceae and the Poaceae. Identify at least one major, domesticated species of each family that is associated with each of the three areas and, in terms of human nutrition, discuss the basis for independent domestication of species from the same two families in three separate parts of the world.

b. Aside from characteristics associated with human nutrition, members of the Poaceae and Fabaceae show basic biological features that represent 'pre-adaptations' for human selection. In terms of plant structure, ecology, distribution, etc., why were bean and grass species more likely to be drawn into the agroecosystem than species of other families?

c. Identify the three plants that form the foundation of the Native American agricultural system and discuss their association in terms of human nutrition, ecological balance, and relationship to modern, commercial agriculture.
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