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botany

/ˈbɑtni/

/ˈbɒtəni/

Other forms: botanies

The study of plants is called botany. Each climate has its own particular botany, so if you study desert growth, you might focus on such plants as cactus and sage, while if you're in the jungle you'd study the lush growth there.

Someone once said, "Botany is the science in which plants are known by their aliases." Indeed, the study of botany includes learning the scientific names of plants. The origin of the word botany came from the Greek word botane, which means "grass" or "pasture." Since the original meaning focused on the idea of a pasture, it's possible the study of botany came about from herdsmen needing to know what plants were safe for their herds to eat.

Definitions of botany
  1. noun
    the branch of biology that studies plants
    synonyms: phytology
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    types:
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    mycology
    the branch of botany that studies fungi and fungus-caused diseases
    pomology
    the branch of botany that studies and cultivates fruits
    palaeobotany, paleobotany
    the study of fossil plants
    algology, phycology
    the branch of botany that studies algae
    pteridology
    the branch of botany that studies ferns
    palaeodendrology, paleodendrology
    the branch of paleobotany that studies fossil trees
    type of:
    biological science, biology
    the science that studies living organisms
  2. noun
    all the plant life in a particular region or period
    “the botany of China”
    synonyms: flora, vegetation
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    Antonyms:
    fauna, zoology
    all the animal life in a particular region or period
    types:
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    browse
    vegetation (such as young shoots, twigs, and leaves) that is suitable for animals to eat
    brush, brushwood, coppice, copse, thicket
    a dense growth of bushes
    growth
    vegetation that has grown
    bush, chaparral, scrub
    dense vegetation consisting of stunted trees or bushes
    stand
    a growth of similar plants (usually trees) in a particular area
    forest, wood, woods
    the trees and other plants in a large densely wooded area
    shrubbery
    a collection of shrubs growing together
    garden
    the flowers or vegetables or fruits or herbs that are cultivated in a garden
    brier, brier patch, brierpatch
    tangled mass of prickly plants
    ground cover, groundcover
    low-growing plants planted in deep shade or on a steep slope where turf is difficult to grow
    brake
    an area thickly overgrown usually with one kind of plant
    canebrake
    a dense growth of cane (especially giant cane)
    spinney
    a copse that shelters game
    bosk
    a small wooded area
    grove
    a small growth of trees without underbrush
    jungle
    an impenetrable equatorial forest
    rain forest, rainforest
    a forest with heavy annual rainfall
    underbrush, undergrowth, underwood
    the brush (small trees and bushes and ferns etc.) growing beneath taller trees in a wood or forest
    Hernaria glabra, rupturewort
    common prostrate Old World herb often used as a ground cover; formerly reputed to cure ruptures
    whitlowwort
    any of various low-growing tufted plants of the genus Paronychia having tiny greenish flowers and usually whorled leaves; widespread throughout warm regions of both Old and New Worlds; formerly thought to cure whitlows (suppurative infections around a fingernail)
    pearl-weed, pearlweed, pearlwort
    any of various low-growing plants of the genus Sagina having small spherical flowers resembling pearls
    Helxine soleirolia, Soleirolia soleirolii, baby tears, baby's tears
    prostrate or creeping Corsican herb with moss-like small round short-stemmed leaves
    old growth, virgin forest
    forest or woodland having a mature or overly mature ecosystem more or less uninfluenced by human activity
    second growth
    a second growth of trees covering an area where the original stand was destroyed by fire or cutting
    type of:
    accumulation, aggregation, assemblage, collection
    several things grouped together or considered as a whole
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘botany'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback
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