BFG Ch 9: flowers

Question 1

At what location does the apical meristem start making the flower?

Answer 1

at the “pedicel”.

The stem bearing the flower parts is called the receptacle

Question 2

Calyx

Answer 2

Outer whorl of flowers

Question 3

Sepals

Answer 3

temporary protective scales around an unopened bud

Question 4

incomplete flowers

Answer 4

blossoms that lack one of the parts of a whole flower (the calyx with several sepals)

Question 5

Corolla

Answer 5

showpiece of a flower.

the layer of petals. Visual attractant for animals and insects

Question 6

Perianth of the flower is made of what two parts?

Answer 6

the calyx and the corolla

Question 7

What is flower color usually related to?

Answer 7

the vision of the visitors

bees like blues and violets,
hummingbirds like red

Question 8

Tepals

Answer 8

perianth consists of only one whorl of leaves called tepals.

ex. of tulips. The tepals just change color

Question 9

Components of the male reproductive structure, the Stamens

Answer 9

filament (stalk)
anther (tip)
pollen (within the anther)

Question 10

Pollen

Answer 10

contains two cells. One divides to form two sperm cells.

The other burrows the hole into the female tract

Question 11

Components of the female reproductive structure, the Pistil

Answer 11

Stigma (top; sticky receptive surface for pollen)
style (elevates stigma to the right position)
ovary (becames a fruit, contains undeveloped seeds or “Ovules”)

Question 12

Flower parts can be completely separate or..

Answer 12

fused into tubes partially like in foxgloves and stuff.

Question 13

How can parianth parts be arranged?

Answer 13

usually symmetrically around the central point of the flower

Actinomorphic: spokes on a wheel
zygomorphic: irregular forms

Question 14

Describe how pollination by animals occurs and why it’s advantageous

Answer 14

anthers dust pollen on the animal’s body

both anthers and stigma are strategically positioned to make contact with the animal.

animal delivers pollen to stigma.

Many flowers are precisely engineered for their specific pollinators

More direct and quick than wind or water pollination strategies

Question 15

How are flowers a roadmap to rewards for pollinators?

Answer 15

they specifically advertise their nectar or pollen using “nectar guides” (the petal color pattern)

Nectaries are glands at the base of petals, stamen, and pistils that secrete nectar.

some species conceal nectar at the bottom of deep flowers

pollinators are often forced into weird positions to get the nectar, and are most certainly being dusted with pollen at that point.

Question 16

Inflorescences (disc, ray flowers, composite head)

Answer 16

flowers that form singly on upright stalks

have a composite head, which consists of a central cluster of small disc flowers surrounded by a ring of ray flowers

form ideal landing pads for insects/pollinators

lots of nectar

Question 17

Morphology of plants that pollinate by wind and how it works

Answer 17

large number of flowers clustered on upper branches

vast amounts of pollen released to wind; small amount actually lands on flowers

most ancient form of pollination (gymnosperms)

evolved before insects; many species of monocots do this.

wind pollinated dicots exist too

some aquatic species do this as well using wind on water to push male flowers close to female flowers.

Question 18

pollination alternative: hybridization

Answer 18

can’t find your own plant? well hybridize with some other plant then.

Question 19

adaptations: outbreeding and how to prevent self-fertilization

Answer 19

avoiding self-fertilization chemically via methods to cross-breed with good pollination strategies

stigma and anthers are usually spatially separated, or mature at different times

Question 20

monoecious condition

Answer 20

“oe household”

means that one plant bears both types of flowers, male and female

Question 21

dioecious species

Answer 21

two flower types are borne by separate individuals (each plant is male or female, not both)

Question 22

self-pollination

Answer 22

precludes genetic diversity via hybridization, but it’s a last resort when no other reproduciton is available.

Question 23

cleistogamy

Answer 23

closed marriage

refers to the type of flowers that remain closed and reproduce with themselves

Question 24

Pollen tube

Answer 24

forms when pollen is on the stigma.

grows through the pistil’s tissues to reach the ovule and fertilize the egg.

fueled by the stigma itself

Question 25

second pollen grain divides to make sperm. now what?

Answer 25

sperm arrives at the egg; forms a zygote; forms the embryo

second sperm arrives; forms the endosperm food storage.

Question 26

Now the ovule has a fertilized embryo in it. What happens?

Answer 26

the ovule grows; seeds mature; swells to become a fruit (angeion)

Embryo and seed/fruit growth evidently stimulated by gibberellin

Question 27

Parthenocarpy

Answer 27

means virgin fruit

capable of producing full-grown fruits without stimulation of pollination and fertilization

ex. naval oranges, bananas, pineapple

Question 28

apomixis

Answer 28

when the parent bypasses fertilization and the resulting plant has a genetic composition identical to the parent.

Question 29

fruit types: fleshy

Answer 29

pericarp tissue is the fleshy part. soft ones obv want to be eaten

Question 30

strawberry flowers

Answer 30

bear numerous pistils on a single recepticle; thus a strawberry is a ton of fruits fused together

Question 31

simple fruit

Answer 31

derived from a flower bearing a single ovary

Question 32

aggregate fruit

Answer 32

comes from a flower having many ovaries; collection of small fruits borne on a single recepticle

Question 33

Multiple fruits

Answer 33

best example: pineapple. formed from separate pericarps, each from its own flower and ovary; fused together

Question 34

seed dispersal

Answer 34

final act of reproduction

involves getting seeds away from the parent

eventually released when the container rots or opens (the fruit)

methods: feathery parachutes that fly
dustlike seeds that blow everywhere
fibrous husks for floating
hooks and barbs for traveling with animals
sticky stuff for traveling with birds (mistletoe)
animal’s intestinal tracts! you don got eat

Question 35

What is the cost of reproduction?

Answer 35

20-30% of the resources of the annuals; a little less in perennials.

bigger the reproductive structure, the harder it is on the plants.