René Fester Kratz - Botany For Dummies

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Botany For Dummies

by Ren Fester Kratz, PhD

Biology professor, Everett Community College, Everett, Washington

Botany For Dummies

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Copyright 2011 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published simultaneously in Canada

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2011930301

ISBN 978-1-118-00672-6 (cloth); ISBN 978-1-118-11082-9 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-11083-6 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-11084-3 (ebk)

Manufactured in the United States of America

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About the Author

Ren Fester Kratz, Ph.D., grew up near the ocean in Rhode Island. From a young age, she wanted to be a teacher (because she loved her teachers at school) and a biologist (because her dad was one). She graduated from Warwick Veterans Memorial High School and then went on to major in biology at Boston University. As she studied biology at BU, Ren was most interested by the stories about plants, fungi, and microbes organisms that are traditionally studied under the umbrella of botany. After Ren graduated with a B.A. in Biology from BU, she worked for two years in the Department of Botany at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst and then went on to get an M.S. and Ph.D. in botany from the University of Washington. At UW, Ren studied reproductive onset in Acetabularia acetabulum, a marine green alga that grows as single cells big enough to pick up with your fingers. When they enter reproduction, the cells of A. acetabulum form a flat disk or cup-shaped structure at the top, earning the alga the nickname of The Mermaids Wineglass.

Ren currently teaches biology and general science classes at Everett Community College in Everett, Washington. Ren spends most of her time introducing students to the wonders of cells and microbes as she teaches cellular biology and microbiology, but shes never forgotten her love of plants. Ren also has a strong interest in science education and science literacy for everyone. As a member of the North Cascades and Olympic Science Partnership, she helped create inquiry-based science courses for future teachers that are based on research on human learning. Ren loves teaching these courses because they make science accessible for all kinds of people. In the summer, Ren enjoys working with K12 teachers on the improvement of science education in the public schools. Ren also enjoys writing about science and is the author of Molecular & Cell Biology For Dummies, Biology For Dummies, 2nd Edition, and EZ Microbiology .

Ren loves living in the Pacific Northwest because she is near the ocean and her daffodils start blooming in February (when her family back East is still shoveling snow). She doesnt mind the rain and thinks the San Juan Islands are one of the most beautiful places on earth. Her husband, two sons, and two very bad dogs help her remember what is truly important, and her sisters help keep her sane. Ren loves to scrapbook, quilt, stitch, garden, and read.

Dedication

To the people who got me excited about plants and fungi: Drs. Gillian Cooper-Driver, Richard B. Primack, Walt Halperin, Fayla Schwartz, and Elizabeth VanVolkenburgh. And to my sister, Alyson, who helped me with my first plant collection when I was an undergrad.

Authors Acknowledgments

Thanks to Matt Wagner, of Fresh Books, Inc., for helping me find the opportunity to write this book. And thanks to all the great people at Wiley who made it happen: my editor, Kelly Ewing, who was always helpful and upbeat; the acquisitions editor, Stacy Kennedy, who helped get me started on the project; Alicia South, who coordinated the art; and Fayla Schwartz, Ph.D., and Linda Sigismondi, Ph.D., my technical reviewers. Thanks also to Sheree Montgomery, the project coordinator, and Kathryn Born, Karl Brandt, and Mark Pinto, who worked on the art.

A very special thanks to my colleague, Dr. Fayla Schwartz, for reviewing this book and also for teaching me about the plants of the Pacific Northwest when we were both graduate students at the University of Washington.