Plant Diversity (U Florida- BOT 2011C)

Thanks to my colleague and friend Dr. Stuart McDaniel’s sabbatical year, I get to teach this fantastic and carefully crafted online class.

In this integrative class students read Johnathan Silverton’s “Demons in Eden” and pair their readings with chapters from their textbook and activities designed to teach them about the unimaginable plant diversity and the drivers that might explain it.

This four credits class includes 13 modules, typically with 3 to 4 short assignments that are either individually conducted or in groups. Some of these modules contain virtual labs. The modules end with a short assessment quiz. Quizzes might seem challenging but they invite you to think critically and integratively. Check the Spring 2021 Syllabus!

What I bring to this class:

I come from a megadiverse country so I care about many aspects of diversity (documentation, exploration, conservation). I love plants and I believe that diversity is best learnt when you teach using phylogenetic frameworks. I am a systematist and work with gymnosperms and orchids.