Botany
In the study of plant life, botanists research diseases and disorders, plant physiology, taxonomy, and the cellular life of our planet’s flora.
Occasionally, plants will inform us of our history if we will look closely at the clues. In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, a series of expeditions to Greenland yielded fascinating evidence of the country’s climate history. Explorers brought back with them fossils bearing the imprints of ancient ferns. T.G. Tutin describes these new species of fern as specific to the Cretaceous Period, and indicative of a more tropical climate during that era.
Here is the original transcript of an expedition from 1897 chronicling the discovery of the ancient ferns.
Here is another case where scientists are studying the effect of prehistoric trees on Climate Change.