Botany, also called plant science, plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek word βοτάνη meaning "pasture", "herbs" "grass", or "fodder"; βοτάνη is in turn derived from βόσκειν, "to feed" or "to graze". Traditionally, botany has also included the study of fungi and algae by mycologists and phycologists respectively, with the study of these three groups of organisms remaining within the sphere of interest of the International Botanical Congress. Nowadays, botanists study approximately 410,000 species of land plants of which some 391,000 species are vascular plants, and approximately 20,000 are bryophytes.

वनस्पति विज्ञान या पादप विज्ञान, पौधों के जीवन का विज्ञान और जीव विज्ञान की एक शाखा है। एक वनस्पति वैज्ञानिक या पादप वैज्ञानिक एक वैज्ञानिक है जो इस क्षेत्र में विशेषज्ञता रखता है।