For much of the twentieth century, plant physiologists considered themselves in an ideal position to study and explain the functions and processes of plants. Much of that authority stemmed from plant physiologists' long-standing commitment to experimental control and the integration of the physical sciences into biological practice. This article places plant physiology back in the center of the story of the recent life sciences. It shows the development of parallel experimental research programs into environmental as well as genetic effects on growth and development in plant physiology and genetics, and notes that the pursuit of an experimental environment was celebrated as much as (and occasionally more than) a molecular vision of life throughout most of the twentieth century by much of the plant science community. Thus, this article concludes that the history of the recent life sciences needs new complementary narratives of plant physiology with genetics, new concepts with technological tools, and plant-sized scales with the molecular. The history of the 'Age of Biology,' as the plant scientists saw it, helps confront the issue first posed by Evelyn Fox Keller, namely that the history of genetics has overshadowed a larger history of experimental life science. My answer here is through a larger narrative of the rise of the complementary experimental sciences of genes and environments in the life sciences.

中文翻译：

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生物学时代：当植物生理学成为美国生命科学的中心时

在 20 世纪的大部分时间里，植物生理学家认为自己处于研究和解释植物功能和过程的理想位置。大部分权威源于植物生理学家对实验控制和将物理科学整合到生物实践中的长期承诺。本文将植物生理学重新置于近期生命科学故事的中心。它展示了在植物生理学和遗传学中对环境以及遗传对生长和发育的影响的平行实验研究计划的发展，并指出对实验环境的追求与（有时甚至超过）分子视觉一样受到赞誉。植物科学界的大部分人在 20 世纪的大部分时间里都在生活。因此，本文的结论是，近代生命科学的历史需要植物生理学与遗传学、新概念与技术工具以及植物尺度与分子的新互补叙述。正如植物科学家所看到的那样，“生物学时代”的历史有助于解决伊夫林·福克斯·凯勒 (Evelyn Fox Keller) 首先提出的问题，即遗传学的历史掩盖了实验生命科学的更大历史。我在这里的回答是通过对生命科学中基因和环境互补实验科学兴起的更大叙述。正如植物科学家所见，这有助于解决伊芙琳·福克斯·凯勒 (Evelyn Fox Keller) 首先提出的问题，即遗传学的历史掩盖了实验生命科学的更大历史。我在这里的回答是通过对生命科学中基因和环境互补实验科学兴起的更大叙述。正如植物科学家所见，这有助于解决伊芙琳·福克斯·凯勒 (Evelyn Fox Keller) 首先提出的问题，即遗传学的历史掩盖了实验生命科学的更大历史。我在这里的回答是通过对生命科学中基因和环境互补实验科学兴起的更大叙述。