Botany is the scientific study of plants—how plants function, what they look like, how they are related to each other, where they grow, how people make use of plants, and how plants evolved. Botany often includes the study of algae, may deal with fungi and bacteria, and usually explores the lives of plants, from tiny floating duckweeds to gigantic redwood trees. Plants are essential to the lives of humans, providing all our food—either directly or indirectly—as well as the oxygen we breathe. In addition, the plant kingdom is nature’s medicine cabinet because plants are the source of many of the most important remedies used today. Some plants produce beautiful flowers for which people pay hundreds of dollars, plants and plant materials are worn by people, and some plants produce toxins that kill animals, including humans. Plants are the foundation of all terrestrial communities, and they dramatically affect the world’s climate, the global cycles of nutrients and water, as well as the lives of animals every day.

Because plants are so diverse, botanists--who are scientists that study plants--share a common interest in and curiosity about the hundreds of thousands of species of plants on earth. While some botanists earn a Ph.D. and may conduct research and teach at a college or university, many more botanists earn a bachelor’s degree and find careers in a wide variety of places and occupations. If you want to work in a tropical forest or on a farm, studying Botany can help prepare you. If you want to search for new medicines or advance the frontiers in the study of cellular and molecular plant processes, working with a botanist can lead you in the right direction. If you want to understand ecological and global processes, botanical knowledge is critical. If you want to become a doctor or a dentist or work in the health professions, a Botany degree can be used as a means to your goal. Or, if you just want to learn how to grow bigger vegetables, more colorful flowers, or healthier lawns, Botany will be extremely beneficial to you.

The need for botanists and those trained in botany will continue to grow in the future. The headline of a recent news article from the journal Nature was, "U.S. universities find that demand for botanists exceeds supply." Businesses, industry, and research centers are also looking for botanists. For instance, the Danforth Plant Science Center in St. Louis recently opened and now employs many botanists to increase understanding of basic plant biology, to apply new knowledge for the benefit of human nutrition and health, and to improve the sustainability of agriculture worldwide. In Oklahoma, the S. R. Noble Foundation employs botanists who investigate how to enhance plant productivity through fundamental research and applied biotechnology. As the population of people on earth continues to explode, the need to produce more productive crops and more nutritious foods will depend on the talents of botanists. Because all people use resources and produce wastes, there will also be increasing pressures on the environment with a need for botanists to help solve problems with air, water, and soil pollution and to preserve the ecosystems around the globe. The world is constantly changing, but the need for future botanists remains strong.