History of botany scope of the subject as technology has opened up new techniques and areas of study. Modern molecular systematics, for example, entails the principles and techniques of taxonomy, molecular biology, computer science and more. Within botany there are a number of sub-disciplines that focus on particular plant groups, each with their own range of related studies (anatomy, morphology etc.). Included here are: phycology (algae), pteridology (ferns), bryology (mosses and liverworts) and palaeobotany (fossil plants) and their histories are treated elsewhere (see side bar). To this list can be added mycology, the study of fungi, which were once treated as plants, but
Four Treasures of the Study ceramic stones (澄泥硯) which are manufactured by a process which is said to have been developed in Luoyang in Henan. Classical scholars had more than just the Four treasures in their studies. The other "Treasures" include the brush-holder (笔架), brush-hanger (笔挂), paperweights (镇纸), the brush-rinsing pot (笔洗), and the seal (圖章) and seal-ink (印泥). For painting, Chinese pigments are also used. Four Treasures of the Study Four Treasures of the Study, Four Jewels of the Study or Four Friends of the Study is an expression used to denote the brush, ink, paper and ink stone used in Chinese and other