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 strictu) or mosses, liverworts, and hornworts (sensu lato)
 * Caricology - Caricaceae (sedges)
 * Charology - Charales (stoneworts)
 * Citrology - Citrus
 * Cycadology - Cycadophyta
 * 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 - Spaghnum
 * Synantherology – Asteraceae (composites)

study of chronological dating using plants
 * Acanthochronology – Cactaceae
 * Dendrochronology - wood