Department of Botany

College of Letters and Science
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Mission

Our mission is to discover, maintain, and transmit knowledge concerning basic plant biology and provide leadership in the biological sciences.

Diversity Statement

The Department of Botany at UW-Madison aspires to advance the educational and professional development of all its members, regardless of their cultural backgrounds or manners of personal identification. This department commits to make every student, staff, and faculty member feel recognized, respected, safe, and empowered.

UW scientists decipher the mysteries of enigmatic fungi

“There are very few places on the globe where you have the collection of expertise with fungi that we have at UW–Madison,” says Anne Pringle. She and Ken Cameron are featured in an exploration of …

Study shows how aspen forests maintain the diversity needed to adapt to changing environments

A new decade-long study by University of Wisconsin­–Madison researchers, including Botany's Ken Keefover-Ring, reveals how aspen stands change their genetic structure over the years as trees balance defending themselves from pests with growth to compete for sunlight. The findings are valuable for conservation biologists who want to preserve diverse forest ecosystems in the face of global warming, invasive species and other environmental changes.

Mystified on a mountain

The tires on our Jeep barely grip the twin strips of overgrown asphalt. I catch myself asking the battered skid plates underneath to forgive my fondness for potholes. But there is hardly any room for evasion. On our left is an impenetrable green wall of trees, ferns, tree-ferns, and moss. To the right, a truncated grass verge reminds us of the shear 2,000 ft. plunge to the valley below. Rising fog obscures the ledge—and my anxiety.

Events

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