Good videos for Plant Biology

The Secret Life of Plants series

This series is written and produced by Dr Lawrence Jensen and Andrew Chung. Dr Jensen has recently retired from teaching botany at the University of Auckland.

The series consists of four videos which show wonderful computer animations of the reproductive processes in plants.

The four have the following titles.

• The Secret Life of Mosses
• The Secret Life of Ferns
• The Secret life of Pines
• The Secret Life of Flowering Plants

Each videotape has three versions of increasing complexity. The running times are different for each version and the times are listed on the tape box.

The "Simple version" is short and easy to understand. The Intermediate version has simple terminology with summaries, and the Advanced version has scientific terminology.

Each video has a multiplicity of uses within any educational institution. The simple version may be used at all levels either for Junior science students to introduce them to the processes of reproduction in plants, or as a quick introduction to familiarize senior students with the topic before they commence a more in depth study. The choice of using the intermediate or advanced versions then depends on student ability and the nature of the course in which it is being used.

For more information see http://www.sbs.auckland.ac.nz/info/schools/nzplants/res_ani_resources.htm

 A series of free internet teachers notes are available.

http://www.sbs.auckland.ac.nz/info/schools/nzplants/res_ani_distributors.htm

This is a wonderful series of six videos by filmmaker David Attenborough, for the BBC. They have been shown on TVO and many other educational TV channels. Each video runs for about 50 minutes.

The titles are.

• Travelling
• Feeding and Growing
• Flowering
• The Social Struggle
• Living Together
• Surviving.

All of them make excellent viewing, with David Attenborough appearing (often in the same outfit) in various parts of the world in rapid succession. The time-lapse sequences are spectacular. There are a few inaccuracies, with some confusion between pollination and fertilization, and between a single flower and an inflorescence, but overall the videos are well worth seeing. They can also be used in classes for short video clips to illustrate a particular point.

Available from Amazon.com

There is a book by the same title which covers the same material.

Attenborough, D. 1995 . The Private Life of Plants. Published in the States by Princeton University Press. Princeton, New Jersey.

ISBN 0-691-00639-3