Dendrology: Woody Plant Identification and Ecology
Covers identification, ecology, range, and adaptations of evergreen and deciduous woody plants, emphasizing Wisconsin natives, with lab and field work.
Summary
Recent recorded grades — Fall 2023: 3.93 GPA, 92.6% A/AB (n=27 letter grades); Fall 2024: 3.90 GPA, 91.7% A/AB (n=24 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.95 GPA, 96.4% A/AB (n=28 letter grades).
What you’ll be able to do
Identify all native Wisconsin trees, some common shrubs and vines, and a few important woody exotics by common and scientific name, in summer or winter condition.
Demonstrate a basic understanding of wood structure and use a key to identify blocks of wood.
Recognize the characteristic tree taxa of some of the world's major forest types and some interesting examples of the diversity of trees and their adaptations to their environments.
Compare the morphology, life history, and ecology of woody species to their distribution and habits.
Understand how humans affect the composition, structure and economic value of tree communities and apply this information to questions about management of woody vegetation under changing conditions.
Compare at least two methods for learning to identify a plant species using evidence from your experience in this course.
Construct new materials to teach woody plant ID or tree management issues to a particular target audience.
Survey current scientific literature on a particular topic relevant to management of woody vegetation under changing conditions, and summarize current knowledge and knowledge gaps. Recommend next steps in research to improve management.
Source: UW Guide 1· UW Guide 2
Grade history
↗All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors
Prerequisites
Course mapSophomore standing
- Sophomore standing
This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.
Prerequisite text tree
- Sophomore standing
Professors
Spring 2027No instructors recorded for this selection.
Historical instructors & teaching patterns
Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
Calendar & sections
Spring 2027Schedule loads here as you scroll.
| Section | Mode | Enrolled / capacity | Waitlist |
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Meeting source records
Student experience
the class
Recent recorded grades — Fall 2023: 3.93 GPA, 92.6% A/AB (n=27 letter grades); Fall 2024: 3.90 GPA, 91.7% A/AB (n=24 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.95 GPA, 96.4% A/AB (n=28 letter grades).
difficulty & workload
No workload feedback recorded.
Topics
- Woody plant identification, ecological characteristics, ranges, environmental adaptations, and uses, focusing on Wisconsin natives.
- Characteristic tree taxa of major world forest types and examples of tree diversity and environmental adaptations.
- Human impacts on tree community composition, structure, and economic value, and management of woody vegetation under changing conditions.
Skills
- Identifying native Wisconsin trees, shrubs, vines, and woody exotics by common and scientific name in summer or winter.
- Understanding wood structure and using keys to identify wood blocks.
- Comparing morphology, life history, and ecology of woody species to their distribution and habits.
- Analyzing human effects on tree community composition, structure, and economic value for management applications.
Grades
Latest available · Fall 2025— not enough history to project Spring 2027.
Grade distribution · % of letter grades
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Through Fall 2025
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Not enough comparable courses for Spring 2027 in UW–Madison.
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Catalog & offerings
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Grade history
Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.
Explore recorded gradesRecorded 2026-10-14
Model outputs & technical records
LLM outputs across runs
Full model traces
Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.
Model & dataset provenance
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"observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
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