# 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