Chapter 4-Kingdome Viridiplantae (Bryophytes and Seedless Vascular Plants) Flashcards
T/F Land plants are the beginning of all terrestrial food chains?
True
What are some things that land plants provide?
food, shelter, clothing, medicines, aesthetic value, oxygen, and many other things
What are some main characteristics of land plants?
autotrophic, contain chlorophyll a, b, and carotenoids
What are some characteristics that link land plants to green algae?
same pigments (a, b, carotenoids), use of starch for energy storage, presence of cellulose in cell walls
What is the habitat like for land plants?
terrestrial primarily, few aquatic tax derived from terrestrial ones
What are some benefits of being a multicellular land plants?
improves surface area/volume ratio and reduces water loss
What does a waxy cuticle do?
aboveground parts that reduce water loss, made up of chitin which is a substance that doesn’t allow water to pass
Do all land plants have a waxy cuticle?
yes but some taxa it is only minimal or found on only some life cycle stages
What do stomata do?
pores that can open and shut, regulate gas exchange and minimize water loss
What type of life cycle do land plants have?
haplodiplontic life cycle (aka an alternation of generations)
What are the terms of the 2 forms of generations?
gametophyte and sporophyte
Which form is dominant in ancestral groups in the life cycle?
gametophyte
Which form is dominant in recent-to-evolve groups?
sporophyte
What does the sterile jacket layer provide?
surrounds reproductive structures (antheridia, archegonia, and sporangia), protects structures from desiccation
T/F Spores are able to resist desiccation as well as go dormant?
True
Where are embryos located in land plants?
protective structure, located in the “seed”, adaptation to terrestrial habitat
What are the xylem and phloem?
conducting tissues that transport water and other materials around plant and allow it to grow away from immediately adjacent moisture
Did the first group of land plants that evolved have all of these characteristics?
no
What is a clade?
group of organisms related by descent
What are cladistics?
a technique that constructs an evolutionary tree using shared derived characteristics
What are shared derived characteristics?
unique to a particular clade or branch
What is a characteristic that is unique to a particular brand or group called?
synapomorphy
A cladogram is one form of a phylogenetic (evolutionary) tree. What is a another called that is based on overall similarity?
phenogram
T/F An ancestral green algae is believed to have led to both modern green algae and all other members of the Kingdom Plantae.
False: Kingdom Viridiplantae
What types of plants are part of the Bryophytes?
mosses, liverworts, and hornworts
Why are bryophytes called “amphibians of the land plants”?
live in moist environments and reproduction requires water
T/F Bryophytes are the most ancestral group of terrestrial plants.
True
How did bryophytes come to be?
green algal ancestors gradually moved onto land to become first bryophytes, first land plants
How far do the first bryophyte fossils date back to?
400 mya
Have spores been found that date back to 600 mya
no, 550 mya
When does fossil evidence indicate that plants, animals, and fungi colonized land?
500 mya
What was an advantage for plants moving to land?
few predators
What are characteristics of all bryophytes?
multicellular, reproductive structures surrounded by sterile jacket layer, plant embryo protected from desiccation, spores able to resist desiccation as well as dormant
Bryophytes are nonvascular. What does that mean?
do not have conducting tissues (xylem and phloem)
Why can’t Bryophytes grow tall?
increase in height would take them out of moist microenvironment and strength of xylem cells necessary for support
Do nonvascular plants have leaves, roots, or stem?
no since they’re defined as vascular tissue
What are the root-like structures called in Bryophytes?
rhizoids (composed of one to several cells)
What is the use of rhizoids?
anchoring the plant, not absorbing water or other materials
What is the plant body called in Bryophytes?
thallus
Is the gametophyte or sporophyte dominant in Bryophytes?
gametophyte which produces gametes
What are the sexual structures in Bryophytes?
multicellular antheridia (produces swimming biflagellated sperm), multicellular archegonia (produces eggs), and produces a zygote from fertilization
What happens in the sporophyte generation in Bryophytes?
produces spores, generation produced as a result of mitosis of the zygote, and remains attached to gametophyte (obtains nutrition)
Which phylum contains the liverworts?
Phylum Hepaticophyta
The liverworts are the earliest known plants. When do the earliest fossils date back from?
400 mya
Where can liverworts be found?
in moist environments (on soil, trunks, and rocks)
What are the 2 general forms of liverworts?
thallose and leafy
T/F Leafy species exist in temperate zones and thallose exist worldwide.
False: leafy is worldwide and thanes in temperate zones
What do thallose liverworts look like?
inconspicuous and flat, branches dichotomously (unusual for plants), bilaterally symmetric, small and measured in mm or cm
Water are some other characteristics of liverworts?
surface is cutinized, thallus contains one pores that cannot close, gases can be exchanged and water can escape, sporophyte contains no pores,
Describe asexual reproduction in liverworts.
either by fragmentation or though production of gamma cups, small cup-like structures produce gamma, these pieces of gametophytic tissue can be splashed out by rain and grow into new plants
Describe the alternation of generations in liverworts.
gametophyte is dominant, most are dioecious meaning that the female and male parts exist on different plants; female have archegoniophores that bear archegonia on lower surface and archegonium contains one egg, male have antheridiophores that bear antheridia in upper surface, antheridium contain many sperm
Which phylum contain the true mosses?
Phylum Bryophyta
When do the earliest mosses date back to?
300 mya
What type of habitats do mosses live?
moist habitats (soil, trunks, roofs, and bird nests), large mats sometimes, tolerate less moisture than liverworts, some live in harsh environments, some can survive in dry places like deserts, Antarctic taxa survive freezing and darkness
How do sperm in mosses get to the egg.
swim, reproduction limited to when water available
T/F The thallus in mosses is erect and non symmetrical.
False: it is symmetrical
Which form is dominant?
gametophyte, thin, leaf-like structures that remain close to water, measured mm and cm
What are some other characteristics of mosses?
many have stomata on sporophyte and stay open generally, gametophyte does not have stomata, conducting cells in gametophyte and sporophyte, leaves partially covered by cuticle
Describe the life cycle of mosses.
alternation of generations life cycle, most dioecious, archegonia born at tips of female gametophytes and antheridia born at tips of male gametophyte not on “phores” (branches) as in liverworts, fertilization by swimming or splashed sperm; sporophyte (consisting of seta (stalk) and capsule, arises from fertilized egg on tip of female gametophyte, meiosis occurs in capsule producing spores, asexual reprod. by fragmention
What are mosses used for?
stabilize soil, reduces erosion, pioneer species after lichens,
What is interesting about sphagnum moss?
found in bogs, spongy wet ground with much decaying material, absorbent and acidic, used as a wound dressing in WWI and by aboriginal peoples for disinfectant and diaper purposes
Which phylum contains the hornworts?
Phylum Anthocerophyta
What are hornworts named for?
sporophyte shaped like an elongated tapered horn emerging from the gametophyte
What is unusual about the gametophyte in hornworts?
flat and less than the size of a dime
What are characteristics of sporophytes in hornworts?
indeterminate growth and can grow for several months
What are habitats common for hornworts?
unplowed fields and eroded locations
What are some other characteristics of hornworts?
stomata on sporophyte that can open and shut reducing water loss, cutting in epidermal cells reducing water loss
What mutualistic relationship do some hornworts participate in?
nitrogen-fixing Nostoc living in cavities in the plant
What 2 phyla are seedless vascular plants?
Phylum Lycophyta and Phylum Pterophyta
When do the oldest fossils date back for seedless vascular plants?
410 mya
T/F Seedless vascular plants have xylem and phloem that do not produce seeds.
True
What does the xylem do?
transport necessary substances and to support themselves against gravity, conducts water and minerals from roots to other parts of the plant
What does the phloem do?
conducts photosynthates (sugars) from the photosynthetic parts of the plant elsewhere, allows roots to be nourished and grow deeper
What does lignin help with?
makes cell walls stronger, helping support of the plant
What are benefits from being a seedless vascular plant and not relying on water?
grow elsewhere, grow tall, disperse pores, larger geographic ranges
Do seedless vascular plants still have swimming sperm?
yes
Since vascular plants have vascular tissue, do they have true roots, stems, and leaves?
yes
Which form is dominant in the alternation of generations life cycle?
sporophyte
What happens in the alternation of generations life cycle for seedless vascular plants?
most have sporophylls (evolved from leaves) that bear sporangia, sporangia produce spores, gametophyte produce antheridia and/or archegonia
Which phylum include the club mosses?
Phylum Lycophyta
What did the club mosses form that are important?
coal deposits
T/F Club mosses are diminutive plants.
True
What are some characteristics of club mosses?
several cm in height, have rhizomes, aboveground branches covered with leaves called microphylls that are small and single-veined
What are rhizomes?
horizontal underground stems that give rise to vertical branches
How can asexual reprod. occur in club mosses?
if part of a rhizome becomes detached from rest of plant
Which form is dominant in club mosses?
sporophyte
Describe the alternation of generations cycle in club mosses?
sporophylls bearing sporangia grouped into storable (cones) at end of branches, sporangia produce spores, some lycophytes have 2 spores (microspores give rise to male gametophyte and megaspores produce female gametophyte), heterosporous (all seed plants)
Which phylum do the horsetails, whisk ferns, and true ferns belong to?
Phylum Pterophyta
Which form is dominant in the life cycle in Phylum Pterophyta?
sporophyte
What other names are there for horsetails?
scouring rushes and snakegrass
What gives horsetails their name?
many branches make stem look like bushy horse’s tail
What are some characteristics of horsetails?
numerous vertical stems grow from horizontal rhizome tat is hard to eradicate if growing as weeds; stems are jointed, ribbed, and photosynthesis, silica in epidermal cells of these plants made them useful to pioneers for cleaning pans and polishing hardwood floors, leaves are the small dark structures at the joints
Describe the alternation of generations cycle in horsetails.
spores are produced in sporangia, located on sporangiophores (phore=branch) in strobilus (cone-like structure) at tip of stem; spores have surface extensions called elates, elators move in response to changes in humidity, presumable helping to free spores form their sporangium and perhaps aiding in flight
What are elators used for?
dispersal
Where does Psilotum whisk ferns live?
in U.S. (TX to FL and Hawaii)
What do whisk ferns look like?
whisk brooms with numerous upright and branched stems, plant body lacks true roots and leaves
Where does photosynthesis occur in whisk ferns?
green stems
What are characteristics of true ferns?
herbaceous and not woody, perennial; vary in size from mm to 25 meters; horizontal rhizome which leaves grow,
Where do true ferns live?
shady forests, some are epiphytes (live on plants but do not hurt them), occasionally in desert of SW Idaho, slightly moister microhabitats
What are leaves called in true ferns?
fronds, generally large
What are sections called?
leaflets (pinnae)
What is a young frond called?
fiddlehead, breaks through soil in cold position which resembles a fiddle
What do stomata do on leaves of true ferns?
regulate gas exchange
What form is dominant in true ferns?
sporophyte
What are sori on true ferns sometimes mistaken as?
insects or insect eggs and gets thrown away because owner thinks it’s sick
Sporangium that has specialized cells in a medial position called what?
annulus
Where are sori located on ferns?
normal leaves or on specialized leaves
What does the gametophyte generation in true ferns look like?
heart-shaped and smaller (measured in mm)
What is the gametophyte generation in true ferns called?
prothallus
What does the portholes produce?
antheridia and archegonia; if a zygote produced, grows into sporophyte; sporophyte dwarfs tiny gametophyte so no gametophyte associated with adult sporophytes
