Woody Plants of the Great Lakes Region is an introduction to the trees, shrubs, and other plants that make up the woody flora of the western Great Lakes region. In this course for upper division undergraduate students from the colleges and universities participating in the Associated Colleges of the Chicago Area (ACCA) consortium, learn the identification and ecology of the plants you see most often in our woodlands and landscapes, including native plants, naturalized plants, and important woody landscape plants of the area.
This course will take place both online and in person. In-person experiences will include field trips to the grounds of the Arboretum to become familiar with field identification characteristics of trees and provide opportunities to apply learned taxonomic principles by examining fresh cut specimens and dried herbarium plant materials. Field trips to regional natural areas rich in woody plants will provide further opportunity to practice identification and to learn the habitat preferences of plants studied.
The course will include hiking, both on trails and off trails, occasionally over uneven and hilly ground. Online learning will include live presentations and discussions with your instructor via Zoom web conferencing and readings and assignments through a course website at treelearning.mortonarb.org.
Prerequisites: This course is open to upper division students from colleges or universities that are members of the Associated Colleges of the Chicago Area (ACCA). General Biology and one of the following: Botany, Ecology, Evolution, Genetics, Physiology, or Zoology are required prerequisites for this class. If you don’t have these prerequisites, please contact Registrar-ed@mortonarb.org to request permission from the Arboretum before enrolling in this class.
Credit: 4 semester hours (or equivalent), upper division undergraduate
ACCA-WP