Lecture 8: Gymnosperms 1 Flashcards
What are the 3 major groups of vascular plants?
Ferns
Gymnosperms
Angiosperms
What TYPE of plants are gymnosperms usually?
Woody
What are the LEAVES on gymnosperms?
fan-like, scale-like or needle-like, often persistent (sometimes caducous; fall off when young)
What are the FLOWERS of gymnosperms?
unisexual with no perianth, arranged in infl called “cones”
Cones are grouping of flowers inflorescence = potentially spike/spite
Why don’t gymnosperms have fruit?
bear their ovules on flat, scale-like carpels; since the ovules are not enclosed in an ovary (like in Angiosperms), they don’t form a fruit, and the seeds are “naked”.
_______ are ancestral and palm looking
Cycadales; Cycadaceae
What type of LEAVES of cycadales?
pinnately compound, persistent
True or False: Cycadales are monecious
False, dioecious
______ have naked ovules
Cycadales
In cycadales the male inflorescence looks like _____ and the female inflorescence looks like _______?
a cone, a flower
What are cycadales cultivated as in Canada?
Ornamentals
True or False: Cycads have been used as a food source in Australia for at least 4,300 years
True, seeds were used as food, never domesticated though
What TYPE of plant is ginkgoales?
Trees with no resin canals
What are the LEAVES of ginkgoales?
simple closely packed on stubby short shoots,
fan-like, veins dichotomously branched,
emarginate (notch) or bilobed,
deciduous
True or False: Ginkgoales is diecious.
True
What are the FLOWERS of ginkgoales? (Both M and F)
M = spike-like infl F = reduced to ovules which are paired on peduncles
What is a unique characteristic of the ginkgoales seeds?
a fleshy, bad-smelling outer coat and a hard inner coat
if you remove the fleshy part, the rest is a delicacy in China
True or False: Biloba is the only one of the ginkgoales family, up to 5000 years old
True
Where is the work Ginkgo derived from?
Japanese word Ginkyo meaning “silver apricot”
True or False: Gingkos are used as a sacred tree based on its longevity
True, known as:
a symbol of unity of opposites.
symbol of eternity and longevity
bearer of hope
symbol of love
protector against fire
What are the 3 health benefits of using ginkgo (ginseng)
improves blood flow
protects against oxidative cell damage from free radicals
blocks many of the effects of PAF (blood clotting)
True or False: Ginkgo is cultivated worldwide as ornamental in urban areas (resistant to pollution). Leaves turn yellow in the fall.
True
What TYPE of Plant is taxus?
Trees or shrubs; no resin canals (no smell)
What are the LEAVES of taxus?
needle-like, persistent, alternate, 2-ranked.
What are the FLOWERS of taxus? (M and F)
M = in small cones F = solitary, naked ovules
WHat is the outer and inner layer of seeds made of in taxus?
with a fleshy outer layer (bright red) and hard inner layer.
True or False: The whole taxus plant is toxic
False, with the exception of the red, fleshy part of seeds, the rest of the plant is toxic.
Seeds evolved so it can be dispersed by birds
In what type of ecosystem can taxus be found?
Shrub in rich often swampy forests: deciduous, mixed, or coniferous (hemlock, white pine, fir, and especially cedar), often thriving on banks and in ravines
Taxus has become scarce in many parts of the state due to severe ______ browsing.
Deer
What is the cancer combating drug found in Taxus?
Paciltaxol (Taxol), which has a antimitotic mechanism
What is the TYPE(S) of plants in the family Cupressaceae?
Shrubs & trees with resin glands (smelly)
What are the LEAVES in the family Cupressaceae?
either scale-like & opposite,
or needle-like, in which case they are solitary or whorled
True or False: The family Cupressaceae is both monecious and dioecious.
True
What are the FLOWERS in the family Cupressaceae? (M and F)
Male flowers in small cones.
Female cones with a few flowers – in Juniperus 3 carpels fuse completely; in Thuja carpelar scales opposite
What are the 4 genera of cupressaceae?
Thuja
Juniperus
Taxodium
Sequoia
What TYPE of plant is the genus Thuja?
Trees (sometimes shrubs when young)
What are the LEAVES of the genus Thuja?
scale-like, opposite
True or False: Thuja is dioecious
False, monecious
What are the FLOWERS of the genus Thuja? (Female)
Female cones with a few pairs of opposite scales.
What is the species Thuja occidentalis used for medically?
treatment of the common cold, and its efficacy as an adjuvant to standard antibiotic treatment of severe bacterial infections
True or False: Thuja is non -toxic
False, can be very toxic, dosage must be correct
What TYPE of plant is the genus Juniperus?
Trees or shrubs
What are the LEAVES of the genus Juniperus?
scale-like, opposite and
needle-like, whorled (3 per node)
sometimes both on the same plant
Is Juniperus monecious or dioecious?
Dioecious
What are the FLOWERS of the genus Juniperus? (Female)
Female cones: 3 carpels perfectly fused at maturity, berry-like but not fruit
What is one human use for the Juniperus plant?
Female cones used for fragrance in gin
The Juniperus spp. thats a shrub with only needle-like leaves is _____ and the one that’s a tree with both types of leaves is ______.
J. communis
J. virginiana
What TYPE of plant is the genus Taxodium?
Trees with pneumatophores (gas exchange)
What are the LEAVES of the genus Taxodium?
needle-like, soft, caducous
What are the FLOWERS of the genus Taxodium? (Female)
Female cones: spherical
What TYPE of plant is the genus Sequoia?
Giant trees
What are the LEAVES of the genus Sequoia?
needle-like, persistent
What are the FLOWERS of the genus Sequoia? (Female)
Female cones: round; carpel-scales peltate
