When most people think "King Island," they think of a place synonymous with premium Australian dairy products. But hidden away from the lush, green pastures of grazing cows is an island teeming with invertebrate and plant species. You could probably eat some of those too, but that wasn't the intent of the Bush Blitzers who set off to…

Student interest in botany and enrolment in plant sciences courses tends to be low compared to that in other biological disciplines. One potential way of increasing student interest in botany is to focus on course material designed to raise student enthusiasm and satisfaction. Here, we introduce and evaluate virtual microscopy in botany teaching.…

Understanding flower structure is important from many perspectives such as keying out plants, understanding fruit structure, investigating pollinator biology and in plant breeding. Probably the most complicated parts of a flower are the female components (the gynoecium). Unfortunately, in many parts of the world, it is not possible for much of the…

Plant families are the level of the taxonomic hierarchy that many biologists use to organise their understanding of plant diversity. Consequently, from many perspectives, it is very useful to be able to recognise the major plant families "on sight". To this end numerous books and web sites have described and illustrated plant families,…

Summarizes the benefits of using hydroponics in school for investigational work. Lists requirements and includes advice on suitable plant choices. Outlines the various growing systems and growing media and provides suggestions for science investigations using hydroponics. (DDR)