Portraits of Wildflowers

Perspectives on Nature Photography

Botany Primer

with 28 comments

In recent years I’ve regretted not taking an introductory botany course in college, so I was glad when I got an e-mail the other day pointing to a 79-page document called Botany Primer.

Written by Steve Schwartzman

April 19, 2015 at 12:38 PM

Posted in nature photography

Tagged with , ,

28 Responses

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  1. I recently bookmarked a JSTOR resource called “Global Plants in the Classroom: Botany 101.” It’s a beautifully designed site, easy to use and extraordinarily interesting. It’s interactive, and links to a library of resources. I suspect it would be a nice complement to the resource you’ve provided.

    shoreacres

    April 19, 2015 at 1:11 PM

    • I compliment you for quickly offering a worthy complement to the botany primer linked in this post.

      Steve Schwartzman

      April 19, 2015 at 1:16 PM

  2. That looks like a very comprehensive and attractive document. It is in my bookmark folder now.

    Jim in IA

    April 19, 2015 at 6:41 PM

    • Let’s hope that not too far down the road we’ll have absorbed a good part of that information.

      Steve Schwartzman

      April 19, 2015 at 9:38 PM

  3. That’s one of my regrets, too. Thank you (and your reader) for the links.

    mrsdaffodil

    April 19, 2015 at 9:49 PM

  4. That is pretty great. When I transferred colleges, for some reason I didn’t want to take botany so I convinced my adviser that I’d had the equivalent of a course rolled into Biology 101. Sort of true, and I didn’t think it would matter as I was intending to be a veterinarian. All these years later here I am teaching myself botany~ I never saw that coming! The joke is on me but then, I’m happier doing things my own way.

    melissabluefineart

    April 20, 2015 at 8:12 AM

  5. Thanks for linking this, Steve. I will go through the lessons too.

    Steve Gingold

    April 20, 2015 at 12:35 PM

  6. Great, thanks for sharing!

    photoleaper

    April 20, 2015 at 6:58 PM

  7. You know a lot about plants!

    jane tims

    April 21, 2015 at 1:37 PM

    • Oh, would that it were so. In just the first dozen pages of the Botany Primer I’ve learned a bunch of things.

      Steve Schwartzman

      April 21, 2015 at 2:13 PM

  8. Thanx for sharing – through photography I have begun to learn the names of birds and various plants. Sources like this can be very helpful so that you’re not calling the subject “some sort of purple wild flower” etc –

    norasphotos4u

    April 21, 2015 at 4:07 PM

    • I know what you mean, Nora, having been there myself. I’ve advanced since my early days but there’s still so much more that I don’t know.

      Steve Schwartzman

      April 21, 2015 at 4:37 PM

  9. Very useful link. Thanks!

    navasolanature

    April 30, 2015 at 5:15 PM

  10. I have had similar regrets. Unfortunately, the link no longer links to the PDF document, but that’s not surprising nine years later.

    tanjabrittonwriter

    February 7, 2024 at 6:15 PM

    • Thanks to your comment, I updated the link. Unfortunately I didn’t succeed in updating the link that had been in the first comment.

      Steve Schwartzman

      February 7, 2024 at 6:59 PM

      • Thank you for doing that. There are many interesting botanical articles on that website.

        tanjabrittonwriter

        February 7, 2024 at 9:51 PM

        • Imagine if we could reach back into our own pasts and make changes.

          Steve Schwartzman

          February 8, 2024 at 5:51 AM

          • It’s something I have wished for many times.

            tanjabrittonwriter

            February 8, 2024 at 10:07 PM

            • Now you’ve got me wondering if there’s anyone who hasn’t wished that.

              Steve Schwartzman

              February 9, 2024 at 7:08 AM

              • I think most “normal” mortals harbor feelings of regret, even if it would be better for us not to.

                tanjabrittonwriter

                February 9, 2024 at 10:49 AM

                • “Normal” is the operative word. From time to time we hear about a crime committed by a psychopath who may not have any regrets.

                  Steve Schwartzman

                  February 9, 2024 at 11:18 AM

                • That’s one extreme. I also thought of individuals who practice mindfulness and try to avoid regret because it’s not a helpful emotion. In my mind’s eye I see a Buddhist who is trying to leave some of the all-too-human sentiments behind…

                  tanjabrittonwriter

                  February 9, 2024 at 12:09 PM

                • Good point. I hadn’t thought about that extreme.

                  Steve Schwartzman

                  February 9, 2024 at 12:37 PM


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