Student Project
A significant learning experience during the course of the semester will be the completion by each student of a conservation strategy for a rare and/or imperiled plant species. This project will 1) describe the species in question, its distribution, and its economic uses and ecological importance, 2) explain the factors that make the species rare and/or imperiled, 3) outline what, if any, steps are being undertaken to conserve the species in question, and 4) recommend how to ensure the future viability of the species.
This assessment will be presented in two formats: a class presentation near the end of the semester, and a paper due at the end of the semester. The class presentation will be an opportunity for students to hone their presentation skills, and to listen to input that can be used to improve the paper.
Students will be expected to conduct a thorough scientific literature search about their species, but to be able to present their findings in a non-scientific format to a general audience. Students may choose from among the following woody plant species, or may propose another species to the instructor:
Pacific yew (Taxus brevifolia)
Florida torreya (Torreya taxifolia)
California torreya (Torreya californica)
Table Mountain pine (Pinus pungens)
intermountain bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva)
Rocky Mountain bristlecone pine (Pinus aristata)
Monterey pine (Pinus radiata)
bishop pine (Pinus muricata)
whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis)
bristlecone fir (Abies bracteata)
eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis)
giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum )
coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens )
Monterey cypress (Cupressus macrocarpa)
Pacific dogwood (Cornus nuttallii)
flowering dogwood (Cornus florida)
bigleaf magnolia (Magnolia macrophylla)
Ashe magnolia (Magnolia ashei)
mountain camellia (Stewartia ovata)
silky camellia (Stewartia malacodendron)
yellowwood (Cladrastis kentukea)
butternut (Juglans cinera)
nutmeg hickory (Carya myristiciformis)
tanoak (Lithocarpus densiflorus)
