Southern Utah University

Course Syllabus

Southern Utah University
Southern Utah University
Spring Semester 2026

Plant Taxonomy (Face-to-Face)

BIOL 3550-01

Course: BIOL 3550-01
Credits: 3
Term: Spring Semester 2026
Department: BIOL
CRN: 12688

Course Description

Identification, classification, and relationship of the vascular plants of the southwestern Utah region. Three (3) hours of lecture per week. A minimum grade of "C" (2.0 or above) must be earned in this course before it can be counted in a biological science major or minor or as a prerequisite for any other biology course. (Spring - Even Years) [Graded (Standard Letter)] Co-requisite(s): BIOL 3555 Prerequisite(s): BIOL 1620 and BIOL 1625 - Prerequisite Min. Grade: C

Required Texts

Required text: 
  • Botany in a Day: The Patterns Method of Plant Identification, 6th ed., by Thomas Elpel. You won’t need this book until we start covering angiosperms in depth a little later in the class.

Optional supplementary texts (all are good reference books for different aspects of the class):
  • Plant Systematics, by Michael Simpson
  • Woody Plants of Utah, by Renée Van Buren, et al. (2011).
  • A Utah Flora, by Welsh et al., 4th (2008), or 5th (2015) edition. This book features a dichotomous key for all Utah plant species. It is dense and challenging, but also a key reference for anyone who intends to make a career of working with Utah plants.
  • Plant Identification Terminology, by James G. Harris

Web resources:
  • An excellent resource for plants of the southwestern United States. You can look up information on specific plants, generate distribution maps, and make checklists and even interactive keys for a given location.

  • Focus is on the Four Corners region, so decent overlap with our area. Taxonomically up-to-date and an EXCELLENT resource.

  • This is the companion website to the Botany in a Day book. It has good family-level descriptions of common North American plant groups. Emphasizes diagnostic characters to help you learn to recognize families quickly.

  • A really useful website that will generate on-the-fly floral checklists based on date and location.

Also STRONGLY recommended: a 10x hand lens (“loupe”). You can find decent ones for under $10 on Amazon, or get a really nice Belomo or Bausch and Lomb triple-lens loupe for around $35-$40. I have a set of the basic ones available for lab, but not enough for everyone. If you’re into this stuff at all, you’ll want one of these.

Learning Outcomes

In this course we will explore the phylogenetic relationships, adaptation, diversity, and classification of land plants. A major theme underlying the course will be the reading and use of phylogenetic trees as key tools in plant taxonomy and systematics. We will also emphasize getting to know the local flora through observation and collection.
My goal in this course is to get you to learn deeply about plants by noticing and appreciating them in ways you perhaps never have before. I will encourage you to engage with plants outside of the classroom – they are literally all around us and will repay any efforts you put into observing them. 

Course learning outcomes:
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
  • Read and use phylogenies, and relate phylogenies to classification.
  • Summarize important adaptive events in the evolution of land plants.
  • Identify plant families and species based on vegetative and floral morphology.
  • Recognize and articulate the value of biodiversity.

Course Requirements

Course Assessment:
Three midterm exams (100 pts each)
~30 Daily reading guide assignments (5 pts each) 
Weekly quizzes (10 pts each)
Weekly study skills reflections (5 pts each)
Floral guide book project

Course Outline

Date   |   Day   |   Topic
1/7    | W |   Syllabus; taxonomy, classification and phylogeny
1/9    | F  |   Intro to plant structure
1/12   | M |   Plant structure 2
1/14   | W |  Phylogeny, relatedness, and taxonomy
1/16   | F |   Analyzing evolution on phylogenetic trees
1/19   | M |   MLK Day
1/21   | W |   Life cycle evolution, green algae; transition to land
1/23   | F |   Transition to land 2; General features of land plants
1/26   | M |   Bryophytes
1/28   | W |   Bryophytes 2
1/30   | F |    Polysporangiophytes/evolution of vascular tissues/Zosterophyllophytes/lycophytes
2/2    | M |    Monilophytes
2/4.   | W |    Monilophytes 2
2/6    | F |     Exam 1
2/9    | M |    Evolution of megaphyll leaves/euphyllophytes
2/11   | W |   Lignophytes
2/13   | F |    Lignophytes/progymnosperms
2/16   | M |   Evolution of seeds/gymnosperms
2/18   | W |   Presidents' Day
2/20   | F |    Gymnosperms 2
2/23   | M |    Finish Gymnosperms and Seeds
2/25   | W |   Spring Break; no class
2/27   | F |    Evolution of flowers and fruits/origin of angiosperms
3/2    | M |    Overview of main angiosperm groups: ANA grade, magnoliids, monocots, rosids, and asterids
3/4    | W |    Exam 2
3/6    | F |     Field trip to Beaver Dam Mtns
3/9 - 3/13   | M-F |   Spring Break; no class
3/16   | M |    Field trip to Beaver Dam Mtns, AZ
3/18   | W |    Monocots
3/20   | F |     Basal eudicots: Berbericaceae and Ranunculaceae
3/23   | M |    Field trip to Riverfront Trail, St. George
3/25   | W |    Rosids I
3/27   | F |     Rosids I and II
3/30   | M |    Field trip to Hellhole Trail, Ivins
4/1    | W |    Caryophyllales
4/3    | F |     Basal asterids
4/6    | M |    Field trip to Red Reef Trail, Leeds
4/8    | W |    Asterids I
4/10   | F |    Asterids II
4/13   | M |   Field trip to Spring Creek Canyon, Kanarraville
4/15   | W |   Biogeography of plants of the Intermountain West
4/17   | F |    Course Comprehensive Review

Instructor's policies on late assignments and/or makeup work

Late work:
Assignments handed in late will be docked 10% of the total possible value of the assignment per day, starting at the time the assignment is due to be handed in. Due dates and times for all assignments can be found on the syllabus calendar and will be posted on Canvas.

Attendance Policy

Lecture consists of three 50-minute meetings each week. Class attendance is required.

ADA Statement

Students with medical, psychological, learning, or other disabilities desiring academic adjustments, accommodations, or auxiliary aids will need to contact the Disability Resource Center, located in Room 206F of the Sharwan Smith Center or by phone at (435) 865-8042. The Disability Resource Center determines eligibility for and authorizes the provision of services.

If your instructor requires attendance, you may need to seek an ADA accommodation to request an exception to this attendance policy. Please contact the Disability Resource Center to determine what, if any, ADA accommodations are reasonable and appropriate.

Academic Credit

According to the federal definition of a Carnegie credit hour: A credit hour of work is the equivalent of approximately 60 minutes of class time or independent study work. A minimum of 45 hours of work by each student is required for each unit of credit. Credit is earned only when course requirements are met. One (1) credit hour is equivalent to 15 contact hours of lecture, discussion, testing, evaluation, or seminar, as well as 30 hours of student homework. An equivalent amount of work is expected for laboratory work, internships, practica, studio, and other academic work leading to the awarding of credit hours. Credit granted for individual courses, labs, or studio classes ranges from 0.5 to 15 credit hours per semester.

Academic Freedom

SUU is operated for the common good of the greater community it serves. The common good depends upon the free search for truth and its free exposition. Academic Freedom is the right of faculty to study, discuss, investigate, teach, and publish. Academic Freedom is essential to these purposes and applies to both teaching and research.

Academic Freedom in the realm of teaching is fundamental for the protection of the rights of the faculty member and of you, the student, with respect to the free pursuit of learning and discovery. Faculty members possess the right to full freedom in the classroom in discussing their subjects. They may present any controversial material relevant to their courses and their intended learning outcomes, but they shall take care not to introduce into their teaching controversial materials which have no relation to the subject being taught or the intended learning outcomes for the course.

As such, students enrolled in any course at SUU may encounter topics, perspectives, and ideas that are unfamiliar or controversial, with the educational intent of providing a meaningful learning environment that fosters your growth and development. These parameters related to Academic Freedom are included in SUU Policy 6.6.

Academic Misconduct

Scholastic honesty is expected of all students. Dishonesty will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent (see SUU Policy 6.33). You are expected to have read and understood the current SUU student conduct code (SUU Policy 11.2) regarding student responsibilities and rights, the intellectual property policy (SUU Policy 5.52), information about procedures, and what constitutes acceptable behavior.

Please Note: The use of websites or services that sell essays is a violation of these policies; likewise, the use of websites or services that provide answers to assignments, quizzes, or tests is also a violation of these policies. Regarding the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), you should check with your individual course instructor.

Emergency Management Statement

In case of an emergency, the University's Emergency Notification System (ENS) will be activated. Students are encouraged to maintain updated contact information using the link on the homepage of the mySUU portal. In addition, students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the Emergency Response Protocols posted in each classroom. Detailed information about the University's emergency management plan can be found at https://www.suu.edu/emergency.

HEOA Compliance Statement

For a full set of Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) compliance statements, please visit https://www.suu.edu/heoa. The sharing of copyrighted material through peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing, except as provided under U.S. copyright law, is prohibited by law; additional information can be found at https://my.suu.edu/help/article/1096/heoa-compliance-plan.

You are also expected to comply with policies regarding intellectual property (SUU Policy 5.52) and copyright (SUU Policy 5.54).

Mandatory Reporting

University policy (SUU Policy 5.60) requires instructors to report disclosures received from students that indicate they have been subjected to sexual misconduct/harassment. The University defines sexual harassment consistent with Federal Regulations (34 C.F.R. Part 106, Subpart D) to include quid pro quo, hostile environment harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking. When students communicate this information to an instructor in-person, by email, or within writing assignments, the instructor will report that to the Title IX Coordinator to ensure students receive support from the Title IX Office. A reporting form is available at https://cm.maxient.com/reportingform.php?SouthernUtahUniv

Non-Discrimination Statement

SUU is committed to fostering an inclusive community of lifelong learners and believes our university's encompassing of different views, beliefs, and identities makes us stronger, more innovative, and better prepared for the global society.

SUU does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, citizenship, sex (including sex discrimination and sexual harassment), sexual orientation, gender identity, age, ancestry, disability status, pregnancy, pregnancy-related conditions, genetic information, military status, veteran status, or other bases protected by applicable law in employment, treatment, admission, access to educational programs and activities, or other University benefits or services.

SUU strives to cultivate a campus environment that encourages freedom of expression from diverse viewpoints. We encourage all to dialogue within a spirit of respect, civility, and decency.

For additional information on non-discrimination, please see SUU Policy 5.27 and/or visit https://www.suu.edu/nondiscrimination.

Pregnancy

Students who are or become pregnant during this course may receive reasonable modifications to facilitate continued access and participation in the course. Pregnancy and related conditions are broadly defined to include pregnancy, childbirth, termination of pregnancy, lactation, related medical conditions, and recovery. To obtain reasonable modifications, please make a request to title9@suu.edu. To learn more visit: https://www.suu.edu/titleix/pregnancy.html.

Disclaimer Statement

Information contained in this syllabus, other than the grading, late assignments, makeup work, and attendance policies, may be subject to change with advance notice, as deemed appropriate by the instructor.