Botany Certificate Electives

Students seeking a Certificate must complete at least 58 elective course hours.

Elective course offerings vary with every catalog season. Browse this page to discover what's currently scheduled.


July

Discover how trees communicate via chemical signals in the air (to warn of insect attacks) and transfer nutrients to one another through complex underground fungal networks (sometimes to assist sick trees).
271BOT385O 07/15 We 6:00pm-8:00pm Kutos
ONLINE

August

Discover the many herbs and spices prized for centuries to heal, to revitalize the immune system, and to treat and prevent asthma, insomnia, flu, and more.
271BOT346BO 08/02 Su 10:00am-12:00pm Candee
ONLINE

As nature's masterpieces of design, flowers are where beauty meets strategy. Explore the diversity of floral forms through the lens of evolution and pollination, revealing how petal symmetry, organ fusion, color, and scent shape beneficial partnerships with pollinators.
271BOT393O 08/04 Tu 10:00am-1:00pm Bijkerk
ONLINE

Explore these two beautiful and intriguing groups of herbaceous plants. NYBG's Director of the William and Lynda Steere Herbarium Dr. Emily Sessa will take you through the basic aspects of ferns and lycophytes. Gain an understanding of their form and more...
271BOT360 08/14 Fr 10:00am-1:00pm Sessa
NYBG

September

Learn how to analyze the diversity of fruits and seeds, along with their dispersal mechanisms. By doing so, you'll reveal a fascinating aspect of plant biology and better understand the critical role that plants play in their ecosystems.
271BOT342O 09/08 Tu 10:00am-12:30pm Bijkerk
ONLINE

In NYC, fall is the best time to hunt for edible fungi. Paul Sadowski, 25-year veteran of the NY Mycological Society, will lead a mushroom hunt, and show you how to identify many species and their look-alikes, where to find more...
271BOT368 09/18 Fr 10:00am-1:00pm Sadowski
NYBG

Examine the political ecology of trees; their use and abuse in history, and how these woody plants have shaped our world. In this historical survey, you'll gain a renewed perspective of the role that trees play in your everyday life more...
271BOT352O 09/30 We 6:00pm-8:00pm Thomson
ONLINE

October

Botanical Latin is essential for anyone with a serious interest in identifying plants. But, contrary to popular belief, mastering Latin plant names need not be intimidating or boring. Review the rules of taxonomy, Latin grammar, and pronunciation, and learn the more...
272GAR360O 10/01 Th 6:00pm-8:00pm Bakshi
ONLINE

Paleobotany, the study of plant evolution through fossil evidence, gives us insights into Earth's flora, past and present. In this class, you'll learn about the evolution of plants—from when life first emerged from the ocean to modern day trees and more...
272BOT434O 10/06 Tu 6:00pm-8:00pm Boyer
ONLINE

Among Earth's most amazing and oldest living organisms, lichens grow on bark, rock, and barren soil. They thrive in rain forests, deserts, the arctic-even environments simulating Mars! Lichens are sensitive environmental indicators, yet scientists are only just beginning to understand more...
272BOT313 10/21 We 10:00am-1:00pm Howland
NYBG

November

Plants do not grow in isolation—they exist within a rich and dynamic ecosystem teeming with microorganisms. Explore the fascinating and essential relationships between plants and the microbial world that surrounds them. From symbiotic fungi that extend the reach of plant more...
272BOT341 11/14 Sa 11:00am-1:00pm Zumajo
Nigris
NYBG

December

Discover the power, the allure, and the science of psychedelic mushrooms. This lecture focuses on the mycology of psychedelic mushrooms, focusing on Psilocybe species, Amanita muscaria, and Claviceps purpurea (from which LSD is synthesized), and how they are used in more...
272BOT302O 12/02 We 6:00pm-8:00pm Bone
ONLINE

January

Discover how trees communicate via chemical signals in the air (to warn of insect attacks) and transfer nutrients to one another through complex underground fungal networks (sometimes to assist sick trees).
273BOT385AO 01/13 We 6:00pm-8:00pm Kutos
ONLINE

Botanical Latin is essential for anyone with a serious interest in identifying plants. But, contrary to popular belief, mastering Latin plant names need not be intimidating or boring. Review the rules of taxonomy, Latin grammar, and pronunciation, and learn the more...
273GAR360AO 01/14 Th 11:00am-1:00pm Bakshi
ONLINE

Discover the many herbs and spices prized for centuries to heal, to revitalize the immune system, and to treat and prevent asthma, insomnia, flu, and more.
273BOT346AO 01/23 Sa 10:00am-12:00pm Candee
ONLINE

February

Discover the fascinating world beneath the soil by exploring the botanical intricacies of geophytes—commonly known as "earth plants". From the layered architecture of bulbs and tubers (such as tulips and potatoes) to the stealthy spread of rhizomes (think ginger or more...
273BOT370O 02/17 We 10:00am-1:00pm Bijkerk
ONLINE

Scientists have engineered so many new products from mycelium that Scientific American heralds the dawn of the "Mycelium Revolution" and Harper's Bazaar dubs fungi "The Future of Fashion." Explore how scientists have harnessed mycelium's ability to create complex structures that more...
273BOT349O 02/23 Tu 6:00pm-7:30pm Michelotti
ONLINE

March

Discover how trees communicate via chemical signals in the air (to warn of insect attacks) and transfer nutrients to one another through complex underground fungal networks (sometimes to assist sick trees).
273BOT385BO 03/04 Th 6:00pm-8:00pm Herrera
ONLINE

Why do some species have smooth bark, while on others it is thick and broken? Why does bark peel? The traits typically used to describe trees—leaves, twigs, and buds—are often hard to see or seasonally absent. Bark, on the other more...
273BOT426 03/07 Su 10:30am-3:30pm Wojtech
NYBG

Discover the many herbs and spices prized for centuries to heal, to revitalize the immune system, and to treat and prevent asthma, insomnia, flu, and more.
273BOT346BO 03/13 Sa 10:00am-12:00pm Candee
ONLINE

Lichens are among the most unique, resilient organisms on Earth—and among the least understood. In this class, you'll explore the identification, natural history, and ecology of lichens of the Northeast, especially those in the NYC area.
273BOT365 03/14 Su 11:00am-2:00pm Rao
NYBG

Botanical Latin is essential for anyone with a serious interest in identifying plants. But, contrary to popular belief, mastering Latin plant names need not be intimidating or boring. Review the rules of taxonomy, Latin grammar, and pronunciation, and learn the more...
273GAR360BO 03/25 Th 11:00am-1:00pm Bakshi
ONLINE