Chapter 1: The plant kingdom

Question 1

Haploid

Answer 1

A half cell. In the gametophyte stage each cell of a plant only carries half the DNA. This is the first stage of the alternation of generations.

Question 2

Sporophyte

Answer 2

The second stage in the alternation of generations. This happens when a sperm and egg cell fuse, resulting in a cell with a complete DNA.

Question 3

Diploid

Answer 3

A whole cell, the sporophyte generation.

Question 4

Gregor Johann Mendel

Answer 4

Pea obsessed Czech monk and father of genetics.

Question 5

What are the main evolutionary groups used to classify plants?

Answer 5

• Algae
• Bryophytes: mosses & liverworts
• Lichens (not considered part of plant kingdom)
• Ferns & relatives (e.g. horsetails)
• Gymnosperms: conifers & relatives (e.g. cycads & ginkgo)

Question 6

What is algae and how is it classified?

Answer 6

A simple life form that lacks the variety of cell types seen in other plants, and complicated structures such as roots, leaves, or other specialised organs.

Includes seaweeds, phytoplankton, and diatoms.

Question 7

What does the plant group bryophytes include?

Answer 7

Mosses and liverworts

Question 8

How are mosses and liverworts defined by botanists?

Answer 8

Little differentiation between cells, but some specialised parts for transporting water.

Bryophytes are multicellular organisms are more complex than algae, but are still relatively simple plants.

Question 9

Who was Gregor Johann Mendel?

Answer 9

A lichen is a symbiotic organism that is part fungi and part algae. They are classified by their fungal component which puts them outside the plant kingdom.

There are seven main groups of lichen

1. Crustose
2. Filamentous
3. Foliose (leafy)
4. Fruticose (branched)
5. Leprose (powdery)
6. Squamulose (scaly)
7. Gelatinous

Question 10

What feature define a plant as a fern?

Answer 10

Ferns, or pteridophytes, were the first plants to truly colonise land. They show more cell differentiation than mosses and lichens and have complex specialised organs. They were the first plants to develop a vascular system (for water and nutrients)

Question 11

What is a Gymnosperm?

Answer 11

Conifers and relatives, including cycads and ginkgo. These seed bearing plants have complex vascular systems and specialised tissues.

Question 12

What defines the spermatophyte group?

Answer 12

It is the group of all plants that produce seeds.

Question 13

How are angiosperms defined by botanists?

Answer 13

Angiosperms are the group of all flowering plants. All angiosperms are spermatophytes (seed bearing).

Question 14

What defines herbaceous plants?

Answer 14

They are non-woody angiosperms.

Question 15

Who was the father of Botany?

Answer 15

Theophrastus (371-286 BC), a student of Aristotle.

Question 16

What are the defining features of a monocot?

Answer 16

• 1 seed leaf that is usually flat
• Leaves tend to be long and narrow with veins running up and down
• New leaves often form within sheaf of an older leaf
• Stems usually herbaceous and un-branching & do not thicken with age
• Adventurous roots
• Trimerous flower parts (3s)
• Sepals often the same colour as petals

Question 17

What are the defining features of a dicot?

Answer 17

• 2 seed leaves that are usually fleshy
• Leaves come in all shapes and veins form complex networks
• Stems are usually woody and branching
• Vascular system is cylindrically arranged
• Form a taproot
• Flower parts are in fours and fives
• Sepals are usually green and form a calyx at the base of the flower

Question 18

What are the main plant taxonomy groups?

Answer 18

Family: Broad class of plant, names end in '-aceae'
Genus: Taxonomic group of plants that share physical features. 
Species: A group of interbreeding populations which are reproductively isolated from other species. 

Subspecies: Geographically isolated groups with some morphological differences.
Variety: Naturally occurring group of plants that share some common difference to other plants of the species, but that are not defined geographically.
Form: Minor but noticeable differences that are not correlated with geography.

Hybrids: A cross between 2 botanically distinct species.
Cultivars: A new plant created in cultivation.

Question 19

How is a plant family name written?

Answer 19

First letter capitalised and in italics

Question 20

What are the plant families that have changed name to conform with the -aceae convention?

Answer 20

8 or 12 families depending on how you classify the former Leguminosae family. 
 • Asteraceae (Compositae)
 • Brassicaceae (Cruciferae)
 • Poaceae (Gramineae)
 • Clusiaceae (Guttiferae)
 • Lamiaceae (Labiatae)
 • Fabaceae (Leguminosae)
 - Caesalpiniaceae
 - Mimosaceae
 - Papilionaceae 
 • Arecaceae (Palmae)
 • Apiaceae (Umbelliferae)