All Things Plants And Plant Ecology Flashcards
Plants evolved from…
Green algae
Algae are NOT…
Plants
Common ancestor of land plants
Charophytes
Plants had to adapt to life on land by…
Freshwater green algae
Often found in shallow ends of lakes and ponds
Regularly experience periods of drying out
Benefits of being on land
Bright, unfiltered sunlight
More carbon dioxide in air than water
Soil rich in mineral nutrients
Evolved prior to land animals so no predators
Costs of being in land
Relative scarcity
Gravity and the lack of structural support
Difficult for sperm and egg to find each other and not dry out
Embryos
Develop inside female plant after fertilization
Cuticle
A waxy layer that coats leaves
Stomata
Small holes/pores in leaves
Roots
Underground portion of plant
Plants had to be close to water until evolution of…
Vascular tissue
Vascular tissue
Tubes like cells that allow for transport of water and nutrients and provides mechanical support
Nonvascular plants
Do not have an extensive transport system
Vascular plants
Have extensive system of vascular tissue, or cells that transport water and nutrients throughout the plant body
Xylem
Conducts water and dissolved minerals upwards from roots into the shoots
Phloem
Transports sugars from where they are made (usually the leaves) to where they are needed or stored (roots, sites of growth)
Early vascular plants still relied on…
Water
Swimming sperm had to travel from male to…
Female reproductive organs
Spores needed water to…
Grown and disperse
Early seed plants resembled…
Tree ferns
Gynosperms
(Naked seed)
Seeds are not in enclosed chambers
Ex. Conifers
Angiosperms
(Flowering plants)
Seeds develop inside chambers that originate within flowers
90% of all extant plant species
Benefits of seeds
Protects the fertilized egg
Herd physical structure
Protects against desiccation
Travel long distances
Survive for long periods of time (years)
Pollen
Mechanism for delivering sperm to egg in absence of water
Protects sperm from desiccation
Flowering plants have the most…
Recent adaptations to life on land
Non-flowering plants (gymnosperms)
Rely on wind for pollination
Seeds exposed in underside of leaves/scales
Evergreen life cycle
Unisexual
Flowering plants (angiosperms)
Rely on pollinators (insects, bats, birds) to move pollen
Seeds are enclosed in an ovary (often fruit)
Seasonal life cycle
Unisex/Bisexual
Flowers and fruit are a reproductive strategy that
Protect embryo
Increase genetic variability
Increase selected range
Flowers are…
Site of pollination
Seed production
Attract pollinators with colors, design, scent
Fruit are…
Physical barrier that protects seeds as they develop
Prevents desiccation
Help disperse seeds
Plant Ecology
The relationship between plants and their environment
Eusocial
Organized community where individuals take on specialized and usually lifelong jobs that support one or more needs of the entire community
Examples of eusocial communities
Staghorn ferns
